Moving into new house with Frenchie and 2 cats - HELP! How are Frenchies with cats?

samfergs · Apr 22, 2018

Hi all

I'm new here to the forum and am after some guidance! I met my partner last year, who has a Frenchie called Kilo, who will be turning 2 this September. We have now decided to take the step forward in our relationship and move in together into a new house for both of us (so Kilo is not king/territorial of the house...yet) however I happen to have 2 cats (Dexter-Danger the British Shorthair and Bella-Batgirl a rescue cat) Bella will be 2 in April and Dexter will be 2 in September, so all 3 animals are around the same age.

We have introduced Kilo to them once before, but he got overexcited and started chasing them, and they got a real fright. My partner told him off and he knew he had done something that 'wasn't right' and he listened but unsure if he understood why he was getting a telling off as he started whimpering. Obviously, we would love for them all to get on, even if they didn't get on but at least 'tolerated' each other, but don't really know how to approach the introduction and how do we encourage Kilo not to chase or react to the cats.

Any help will be really appreciated, we love our fur babies and are willing to do anything to make this work so we can start this stage of our life together!

Thanks

davidh · Apr 22, 2018

I am not going to be much help as I don't have cat. Usually when introducing another dog, you let them meet in the back yard and get to know one another before going in the house. Obviously this will not work with cats. Hopefully someone who has both will chime in soon. Good luck with this and I hope it works out.

Frenchie Grrrl · Apr 23, 2018

I think a slow introduction is key. They probably need to start off for a week or two where they are in the same house, but not in the same room, then move on slowly from there.

Tgirl · Apr 23, 2018

Maybe confine the dog to a few rooms with a baby gate so the cats can get away but the dog can see them. Maybe the new will wear off and the cats will become more brave and not run. Also the dog will get used to seeing them. When they run it's hard for a dog to resist. I don't know I haven't had this problem before really. My daughter's dog that recently passed used to try to chase cats if one came from next door while she was in the yard. She would immediately stop when we told her to though. When we got a cat that always fought us to get outside I was worried they would end up out at the same time (she never bothered cats in the house) but when that happened she ran up to the cat, cat looked at her like she was crazy and she never chased her again. I hope it works out. I feel like it probably will once the new wears off.

Alice Kable · Apr 24, 2018

A lot depends on the cat! We had a Manx cat, Stubbs, we got her when she was a baby and we had 2 old dogs who had always had cats. They got along fine. By the time the 2 old guys died and we got new pups Stubbs had no fear of them and she taught them how to treat a cat. She lived to be 17 or 18 and trained 5 Bulldogs! Our next cat was a very meek rescue, but Ruggles and Mack had trained in cat manners under Stubbs. Mack passed and we got Buster. He chased the cat if she ran but all he'd do is pin her and get up and walk away. Eventually, the cat learned not to run.

I think it is smart of you to move in to a house that is new to all of you. As soon as the cats and dog all figure out that they all belong there they will get along. Maybe get one of those climbing posts with places for the cats to sleep and get away from the dog!

remuspups · Apr 30, 2018

I have a 14 yr old cat, Pippin, and got a Frenchie puppy, Remus, last year. I researched this heavily and carefully introduced them. Basically I gave Pippin free reign of the house because it was his first, and restricted Remus. I allowed Pippin to approach him but if either of them got feisty I would separate them. Def give the cats escape routes and high places to hang out that your pup cannot reach. I tried to use my body as block more than words to kind of break their fixation on each other. Now Remus is 9 mos. and he likes to engage with Pippin, but has a REALLY healthy respect for Pips. Pippin likes to chase Remus around and Remus comes back for more. They aren't best friends or anything but they are cohabitating. Took Pippin a long time to hang out with us on the couch again but he is back claiming his space with us and allowing Remus to be there. I know my response is about a week late (I just joined today) but I hope it is helpful.