Whippets & cats

[Swevenly]

Hi

i have a 9 year old cat who is quite introverted otherwise she’s pretty chilled. Does anyone have tips for a routine to establish introducing a new whippet puppy into my home? I will be bringing the pupp to work so I can look after him but also mindful that I want him to spend time getting used to the car at home
Any advice on how you guys did this in terms of establishing a routine would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[Swevenly]

And what you guys do should they start to chase the cat how do you control that?

 

[Parrotperson]

Someone will jump in and help here. I’ve never had cats so am useless but where are the pictures?!! It’s compulsory to post pics of puppies on here you know! ?????

 

[Highmileagecob]

Yep, you won't have any problems if the cats stand their ground. My daughter brought her Bedlington Whippet puppy to show me. Puppy immediately made a run for my cat (12lbs, boss of the house). Cat stood up and whacked puppy across the nose, then pounced and knocked the puppy flying. Lots of growling and snarling from the cat, dog grew up to be very wary of cats in general.

 

[Clodagh]

Yep, you won't have any problems if the cats stand their ground. My daughter brought her Bedlington Whippet puppy to show me. Puppy immediately made a run for my cat (12lbs, boss of the house). Cat stood up and whacked puppy across the nose, then pounced and knocked the puppy flying. Lots of growling and snarling from the cat, dog grew up to be very wary of cats in general.

Really not recommended as a training tool! Cats can blind dogs.
Swevenly I would make sure the cat has a safe space where the dog cannot go, baby gates will help. Pup on a long line, always pay attention. Treat and distract, reward when pup is ignoring the cat. They will settle.
Disclaimer that I’ve never had a cat in the house but my adult rescue lurcher who I rehomed from coursers learned to leave the yard feral alone.

 

[Chiffy]

When I got my first whippet puppy, a very long time ago, we had two cats. I can’t remember any problems at all. I think it’s so much easier if the cat is established in a household before a dog comes along especially if it’s a puppy.
Hopefully the pup will just accept the cat but you must monitor the situation and not allow chasing . If you nip it in the bud early, you will be fine. Make sure the pup has somewhere safe and the cat also. I don’t remember there were such things as crates back in the day, but just a bed is good too.

 

[Swevenly]

When I got my first whippet puppy, a very long time ago, we had two cats. I can’t remember any problems at all. I think it’s so much easier if the cat is established in a household before a dog comes along especially if it’s a puppy.
Hopefully the pup will just accept the cat but you must monitor the situation and not allow chasing . If you nip it in the bud early, you will be fine. Make sure the pup has somewhere safe and the cat also. I don’t remember there were such things as crates back in the day, but just a bed is good too.

Is there any time frame where you would train them together, my ‘issue’ is that I will bring the pupp with me to work most days of the week so it is only in the evenings / weekends they will be together. I would like to come to a situation where I could go out for couple hours and leave them two to it ( obviously not in the early days as I could keep them in separate rooms but I would prefer them to get used to each other! ).

 

[Chiffy]

Evenings will be fine, everyone chilled, hopefully. Remember young pups sleep a lot. Also remember your cat can get up out of reach if necessary. If you go out and leave them both at home, I wouldn‘t leave them in the same room unless the pup is crated. From what I remember my whippets were shut in the kitchen if we were out and the cats had free range of the rest of the house with a small window so they could go outside too.
Dont worry too much, it will be fine.

 

[Spotherisk]

Dogs and cats can always be reactive, it’s training (and the clawed bop on the nose!) which teaches behaviour and then respect! Rew will chase bigger birds ie pheasants, jays Etc and will run past the Guinea fowl to do so, because we taught him Guinea fowl are off limits.

 

[Swevenly]

Evenings will be fine, everyone chilled, hopefully. Remember young pups sleep a lot. Also remember your cat can get up out of reach if necessary. If you go out and leave them both at home, I wouldn‘t leave them in the same room unless the pup is crated. From what I remember my whippets were shut in the kitchen if we were out and the cats had free range of the rest of the house with a small window so they could go outside too.
Dont worry too much, it will be fine.

Thank you Reassuring!