Useful Tips to Make Your Cat's Introduction to a New Puppy Fruitful

Cats and dogs can coexist as pets in the same household. However, this coexistence is harmonious only if you manage to introduce them peacefully to each other. If you are bringing a new puppy to your household which already has a cat, make sure you follow these great rules of introduction.

Prepare the Household

Your cat has been living there for long and bringing a puppy should not be a threat to her routine and space. Make sure that you:

• Place your cat's feeding dishes at some place higher.
• Relocate the litter tray to the place only cat can access.
• Allocate a 'personal' space for the cat where she can hide/stay whenever it wants to be alone.
• Safely store the cat medications.

The Initial Separation

There should be no first direct face-to-face meeting between the two pets. Here’s what you need to do:

• Confine the new pup into a room so that cat’s doesn’t feel its territory being breached.
• Then, it would be the cat’s turn to be confined so that the pup explores its new home.
• Make sure you stock the confinement with food, water, toys and other things for each pet.

Introduce the Scents First

The petmed experts and veterinarians believe that scents arrange the first interaction between two animals. So, exchange their scents through beddings, toys, towels, blankets etc.

The First Meeting

Let the first face-to-face meeting happen in a large space. Always keep the puppy on a leash. It’s also advised to keep the cat in a carrier. Watch out how the two animals react to each other’s presence. During the entire process, interact with both the pets equally. If the new puppy stays peaceful, reward it suitably. However, don’t punish it on bad behavior. Simply distract it when it shows aggression.

Follow this meeting with many more short meetings while keeping the puppy tied. It is also recommended to take both the pets to the vet for health checkups and follow the prescribed pet medications to avoid any infection to pass.