female rott pupp and black female cat

[robotnix]

hi,
We have a black female cat(only 3 years old), she was attacked by an aggressive malamuth and almost cut in 2 pieces. Today she's doing great, running, jumping.. everything and I guess she's leaving her 2nd life out of 7.
I'm going to get a female rott puppy and I'm just wondering if she'll get along with the pupp ... I'm sure not at first but do you think that eventually they'll get along? Do you think the cat can attack the pupp? I can manage to teach the dog to leave the cat alone but not the opposite. suggestions? Yes I can lock them in separate rooms when no one is home until the dog becomes more mature but I can't do this for years... they'll have to get along eventually....

I'm not worried about the pupp, I'm just wondering if the cat will try to harm the pupp ?!

yes I know also that this is not a cat forum but half my question is related to a rott pupp :)
thanks.

[moondog]

Hi robotnix - That's a hard one to answer, but it's going to depend on the cat. I had a neighbors cat come charging for Luna one day (we took off down the sidewalk like a couple of chickens, we did) and in a subsequent casual mentioning of this to the neighbor disclosed that the cat had been attacked by a dog. I really doubt this cat had injuries anywhere near the severity of your cat, but it ticked him off enough to start chasing dogs. Another cat with the same experience might hide any time a dog came around. I don't think you'll be able to answer that without exposing your cat to the presence of a dog (a puppy is a whole bouncing, pouncing, pogo-sticking different story!).

If you have a friend with a cat friendly dog, invite them over (assuming the cat is completely recovered) and see how your cat responds over the course of multiple visits.

A cat could most definitely hurt a puppy if it was serious about attacking. Most cats will just put the puppy in its place if need be and a relationship is born, but your cat hasn't had the best of experiences with dogs so I'd be really diligent about supervision. Who knows, maybe the cat will come to see the dog as a protector (if you play your cards right, that is :D )

[austin]

Last week I brought home a 1 yr. old female rottie, to a house with a 13 year old cat. She's never been attacked but, as a rule, doesn't really care for dogs or children. Like you, I was more concerned about the cat attacking the dog. I set her up in the spare bedroom with her food and litter box. Got a plastic baby gate for the door and cut a cat sized hole in the bottom. When I brought the dog home, she stayed back in that room. After 2 days, she made it halfway down the hall. Now, she's creeping into the living room as long as the dog is in her crate. They're wary of one another, but neither has exhibited any aggressive behavior. I think every case is probably different, but I'm glad I took that leap of faith and adopted my dog.

[ILVROTTIS]

Hi, i too had the same problem, i have a 3 y/o black cat Phoebe, she was very moody and didn't really like anyone but us, her family, i couldn't even take her to the vet...anyway a month before i got our puppy i found a vet that came to the house (vet van) and had her declawed, i cried and cried and felt guilty but i was afraid she would attack the puppy, (she has went after people) well when the puppy came it was the exact oppsite, mia of course wanted to play and phoebe wants no part of her. i came up with the idea and got baby gates and cut out a little hole in the bottom, big enough for phoebe but not for mia so when mia chases her she runs right through the hole, to get to another room, her food, litter box, ect....my husband filed the edges so they wouldn't be sharp...it works great. it looks like little cat size mouse holes (like on cartoons) sometimes they can even be in the same room (when mia is tired) mias vet said it will take time but they'll get along someday. hope this helps