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08-14-2005, 08:51 AM | #1 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Paris, France
Posts: 81
| Old dog meets cat! How do I do the introductions? Hi. I have a dilemma I hope some of you wise Yorkie owners can help me with. I have only been a "yorkie mom" for around 2 months but I adopted an 11 year old yorkie. In general he is an ideal dog, but he has never been around cats. The one time that he almost met a cat I was visiting a girlfriend who never bothered to mention that she had a cat until I heard this terrible hissing and growling and there was my 8 pound, 11 year old, almost toothless Corky thinking that he is going to take down her 22 pound killing machine of a cat. I screamed and grabbed him before he lost an eye or worse... So that was two months ago in San Diego his old home. We are all the way back home in Paris now and my husband and I just found out that we must go to the UK on short notice for just four nights. Today I learned that his dog sitter for next week has a small dog (no problem) and a CAT. "My cat is nice" said the dog sitter. "She is used to dogs, my dog, my friends dogs etc". So the problem won't be with the cat, it will be with Corky. What is the best way to introduce Corky to her cat so that he doesn't try to attack it and have the cat "defend" itself by way of scratching his eyes out. Even a minor scratch can be very bad for a dog as cats nails are full of bacteria. I am more than a little worried about this. To make matters worse. I can't even take Corky over early to meet her cat because she is out of town and doesn't return until the day we leave. I need things to go smoothly...Please help. |
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08-14-2005, 09:35 AM | #2 |
BANNED! Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,246
| We have a cat and they are great friends now but you do need to worry about the claws. I might ask your pet sitter if she can put the "caps" they have for cat claws on her cat while Corky is there just in case. Or ask her to keep them separated somewhat or only allow them togehte rwhen they are being closely supervised. Hope this helps. |
08-14-2005, 09:35 AM | #3 |
I Love My Yorkies Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Posts: 37,147
| Just try to make it as neutral territory as possibel. My dogs dont try to attack my cats. They love to terrorize them though.
__________________ Chachi's & Jewels Mom Jewels http://www.dogster.com/?132431Chachi http://www.dogster.com/?132427 |
08-14-2005, 10:09 AM | #4 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Victoria
Posts: 218
| My son sent his cat to us to care for while away in the Gulf. I have two yorkies both who we thought hated cats. When I brought the cat into the house I left the cat in her crate and only allowed one dog at a time to approach the crate sniff. I then put the cat still in crate in a separate room so that the cat could have some time to settle down and adjust. I reintroduced the dogs one at a time, sniff investigate, no barking allowed. I did this several times over the space of a few hours and then I let the cat out of the crate, still in a separate room. I then took the cat out of the room in my arms so there'd be no chasing etc and allowed the dogs to go in and investigate the crate etc. I held the cat in my lap while the dogs said hello, sniffed her out etc and then took her and put her back in the room with the crate. The next morning I allowed the cat and dogs to be together. There was one hiss and a swipe by the cat and the dogs soon realized it was best to be friends not enemies. A cat will only attack if it is cornered and most dogs will run like mad if they get one swipe from a cat. My guys became the best of friends and in a matter of days all three of them were sleeping in the cat's crate. Be sure and provide your dog sitter with your dog's crate so he has a safe place to go to. |
08-14-2005, 11:16 AM | #5 |
BANNED! Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,246
| Sounds like great advice. I did it similarly. |
08-14-2005, 01:37 PM | #6 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Paris, France
Posts: 81
| Dear Flakes, Thanks for the great advice. I think the idea of holding the cat in my arms when Corky first gets to greet her is a great one as Corky wouldn't dare be agressive to someone that is my "friend". Also I will put Corky in his crate and let him sniff the cat etc. I think a lot of sniffing will be the order or is that odour of the day. I will talk with the owner as you suggest, however, not to leave them alone unsupervised as you never know... I think that once Corky considers her friend and not his "prey" he will be fine, however one swipe would also accomplish that. It is late here in Paris and Corky says it is time for bed! Thanks again for the reply, you were a great help and your story made us laugh! |
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