# Poodles and cats



## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

Hi, 

I'm doing research at the moment in anticipation of adding a standard poodle to our family toward the end of 2012/early 2013. We have two Siamese cats which are already part of our family. What is the correct way to introduce the cats and dog/puppy? Is it wiser to get a puppy then an adult? I've heard it is better to get a puppy because of the cats. 

I'm interested in any and all opinions/suggestions. I'm sure this will be the first of many many posts with questions I will be asking.

Thank you.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I have cats and dogs, two of which are toy poodles. The cats have hidey holes throughout the house to get away from the dogs if/when they want. I think it's easier to introduce puppies to cats than adult dogs. Either way, do it slowly. Keep the dog/pup under control - leashed, and trim the cat's claws before introductions. I pretty much don't 'introduce' them so much as tether the new dog/pup to me while everyone gets used to each other. 

If it helps, though, my poodles wrestle and play with the cats regularly. They all seem to enjoy it. Really kind of cute. (I have Siamese as well).

oh, yeah - welcome and feel free to ask all the questions you need.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

You are right to think it best to get a puppy when you already have cats. You could get an adult that is used to cats, but it would be hard to find. My last standard was not around cats for the first year of her life and I never fully trusted her around the cats. We had to keep them separated. 

My current poodle was around cats from a puppy. They aren't best buddies, but I don't worry about her hurting the cats and don't keep them separated. She knows how upset we would be if she even thought about touching a kitty. It also helped to allow her to get a few good swipes with the claws when she was little, although I felt bad for her the time she had a claw mark on her nose for a week. She does burn holes in them with her eyes from a couple feet away which can be annoying, but not harmful. 

You could get a puppy with less intensity and prey drive than mine has. There are people on here with poodles that adore their kitties. It is possible!


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

We have two older cats, a Himalayan and an Abyssinian, and they hate our dogs. However, just recently my kids have been playing "room puppy" and taking a dog onto their bed, which is the cats' territory. The dogs have been awesome, and the cats seem to accept the dog and sleep alongside them on the bed. This is major progress!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

If you can get an adult that has been raised with cats, it could work, but many dogs make a distinction between "our" cats and "other" cats. A puppy will be hard work for the first weeks, but will eventually settle down with them - a pup used to cats would be ideal!

Make sure the cats have safe space that the dog cannot get to - perhaps upstairs, or rooms downstairs blocked off with baby gates. Remember to give them protected access to their cat flap, if you have one. Then do your absolute best to ensure the puppy never discovers that it is fun to chase cats - manage all encounters with the puppy crated or leashed. Your cats will either hide away upstairs grumbling at your perfidy at bringing in a horrible intruder, or swagger around determined to impress the newcomer with their superior status (I've had both!). I would discourage any play between cats and dog at first - polite sniffs and nose kisses, yes, but pups easily get excited, and thngs can escalate. Toys, treats, games are all good distractions for a puppy - be more fun yourself than a cat could ever be.

Training dogs with a cat around is an interesting activity - with Siamese especially you may quickly find yourself click-and-treating the cats as well as the dog! Cats learn a great deal by observation, and it doesn't take them long to observe that something as simple as sitting is earning someone else chicken. I rarely manage a training session these days without at least one cat wanting a piece of the action!


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## Kmom (Nov 18, 2011)

This was my biggest worry when I brought my spoo puppy home. I have a 10 year old Abyssinian who doesn't really like people except for our family. We brought Kobe home at 8.5 weeks and for the first several weeks only let the cat and puppy be together supervised. We also gave the cat a safe place, blocking off the laundry room with a baby gate, and moved his food to the laundry room (litter box already there). A few short weeks after that and us getting tired of stepping over the gate, we removed the gate and now they run free together in the house. Mainly the puppy wants to play and the cat wants no part of it, but the cat will always win. The cats will find their hiding places where the dog can't fit, like behind the couch. It's a treat to watch them play.


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## happybooker1 (Dec 6, 2011)

*Poodles and cats Playing*

Remi & Jenga.MOV - YouTube


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Sunny, athough not a spoo -- he is a mpoo -- was raised with cats and thinks nothing of them. The breeder said she had an adult cat that she used to socialize the pups and they would crawl all over her, and she just let them -- so now, at 4, Sunny looks at a cat, and then past them -- he could care less. I would think many breeders do socialize the pups with cats, too, just in case their new homes have cats.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

happybooker1,

That was so cute, I smiled all the way through it. Remi is a doll and I love his little bell.
I actually giggled a little at work when Jenga pounced on Remi. Thanks for the feel good moment.


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

*Thanks and using some suggestions now*

Apparently the response I posted yesterday didn't post. 

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I will be incorporating many of your suggestions when we get our spoo and some immediately.

After I posted my request I realized I could use a lot of these suggestions for my brothers spoo.

My brother and SIL have a spoo puppy born on 10/28/11 who has been coming over to be exposed to cats about once a week. He has already chased the cats and been swatted twice. So I had already placed a babygate on my mom's bedroom 10 inches above the floor. They can come and go but he can't get to them. Today I'm going to implement another one of your suggestions. He will be in my home office (I work from home) with me behind another babygate 10 inches off the floor. Again the cats can come and go but he will stay with me. 

He doesn't want to harm them, he just wants to play. The tail is wagging a mile a minute. He just needs to tone it down a bit.

I will be asking a lot of questions I'm sure and I appreciate any and all feedback. I have also sent this forum to my SIL and I am sure she will be joining in.


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## poodlemommy1 (Jun 27, 2011)

I have an old and experienced tabby cat. I got her and my first standard about the same time, so there's always been a dog in the house. She and my first standard played together all the time. After Emmylou died, we brought in my current Standard and she resumed playing. Next I got my male, and when they had a litter, I'll never forget the first time I let all 9 puppies out into the living area and they met the cat. I wish I had video. 9 puppies all stopped short, their tails stopped wagging and they looked at this creature in front of them. I wondered WHO would be the first to explore her? Of course it was the runt of the litter, he was the bravest of the bunch--- he went up to her and she calmly smacked him--- no nails. One by one, they each got the same treatment. She was incredibly kind. Just seemed to be teaching each one of them how it was going to be, she was the queen of this castle and there would be no gang warfare!! Those puppies never chased her, they respected her. It was unbelievable. She is the calmest cat I've ever known. When she got tired of them she jumped up on a table and just watched them from her perch. 

However, you have cats that have never been around dogs. Although I believe cats seem to understand that it's a PUPPY and therefore they are more tolerant, their tolerance only goes so far. Usually there's the warning smack and if the dog doesn't "get it", then the cat will up the ante. I have no qualms about saying that the cats will have control of this situation and the puppy will know who is boss. Even if the puppy chases the cats, the cats can go UP and the puppy can't. For the puppy's sake, the idea of having fenced off areas is the best solution, at least until everyone understands that the pup is here to stay. The cats will most likely be disgusted for awhile.


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

*Tolerance and peace*

Yes poodlemommy1,

It is true the cats haven't been around dogs for some time and have never lived with one fulltime. I used to work in NYC and was gone 12 hours a day minimum. It wasn't fair in my thinking to get a dog when he/she would be alone so much. My brother and SIL had a chow/golden mix that would stay with us when they traveled the last few years and evenually the cats and dog all learned their place. Plus the dog got older and more placid. Pretty much the cats ruled. But you are correct in that we are talking about a puppy and that changes everything. Puppies don't know the rules and are more active, vocal, etc. 

I want this to be a successful endeavor, for the cats, my brother's puppy and for my own when we get one. I'm not looking for them to be best buds, letting each other be would be excellent. Anything above that would be a bonus. I'm trying to be realistic. I've wanted a poodle for a very long time.


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

This is a horrible picture - it's a cell phone pic, first of all, and then the bed is unmade and the poodle is ungroomed, but this is how my 18 year old cat tolerates the poodles... We did get Lucy as an 8 week old pup...


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

outwest said:


> My current poodle was around cats from a puppy. They aren't best buddies, but I don't worry about her hurting the cats and don't keep them separated. She knows how upset we would be if she even thought about touching a kitty. It also helped to allow her to get a few good swipes with the claws when she was little, although I felt bad for her the time she had a claw mark on her nose for a week. She does burn holes in them with her eyes from a couple feet away which can be annoying, but not harmful.


 This is pretty much Trev...I introduced him as a puppy to our (mostly outdoor) cat. He wanted to play, kitty did not, so he got swiped at a few times. Now, he barks at the cat some, but he doesn't dare touch him. IMO, that's an acceptable situation...I actually prefer that the cat and dogs stay away from each other, mainly 'cause Sam will...ahem...dispose of the cat if she gets ahold of him. Mostly she leaves him alone because we make sure she gets in BIG trouble when she messes with him, but every now and then, she'll chase him out of the yard or something.


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## poodlemommy1 (Jun 27, 2011)

murphys said:


> I want this to be a successful endeavor, for the cats, my brother's puppy and for my own when we get one. I'm not looking for them to be best buds, letting each other be would be excellent. Anything above that would be a bonus. I'm trying to be realistic. I've wanted a poodle for a very long time.


I'm sure it will be, you are very conscientious. I know Siamese are very vocal... and very smart. Are you worried more about what your cats might do to the pup than the pup will do to the cats? I really do think the pup will learn quickly to leave the cats alone, but I don't know if your cats have a torture gene in them. My cat used to hide behind objects, wait for the dog to go by, then leap on her. This is when the cat was still young and frisky. As the saying goes-- it's all fun until someone gets hurt.:act-up:


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Too bad I am sooooooooooooo allergic to cats or it would be an easy way to bring another pet into the house to keep Sunny company and not have to do double walks! He grew up with cats, and doesn't even notice them really....they are more interested in him. The breeder said he was exposed to them, and played with them since he was a pup and prefers cat toys!!! (Personally, I think it's the catnip he likes!!!)


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

The cats are older - Sam is 13 and Mandy will be 10 in August. Honestly I wasn't worried at all until my SIL told me of the high prey drive of her spoo's parents and harm to a cat. I want to do this right. So we are going to get a puppy, keep trimming the cat's nails, control the intoductions and exposure and all will be well from what I'm hearing. 

Their puppy is over our house for a few hours every week so he gets to know our cats and they get to know him. We are getting there with them - slowly but surely.

Thank you again for your guidance.


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## swismiself (Feb 26, 2012)

This is a well-known activity for those of us in the cat world. It's called DOGGY RODEO! My first cat and my in-laws' cocker spaniel used to play like that...usually as revenge after the dog got done sliming her.


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