My boyfriend and I adopted a six-month-old male pit bull four months ago. I had assumed the puppy and our 5-year-old female cat would just figure out how to get along. After it became apparent that my "hands off" approach wasn't working, we took the following steps.

We prevented our cat from hiding by creating a "home" for her on top of the refrigerator. This is not particularly hygienic, but I wanted her in a location that would be safe. I also wanted to keep her involved in our day to day activities.

After we taught the puppy to sit and lay down, I would hold the cat and then walk around the room where the puppy was present. My boyfriend insured that the puppy stayed laying down. We did this numerous times.

Eventually, I was able to sit on a chair with the cat purring on my lap and the puppy laying on the floor a few feet away. My boyfriend was present and able to correct the puppy or re-divert his attention. Whenever the cat "freaked" I would just let her go. We did not permit the puppy to chase after her. Again, we did this numerous times.

From this point, we had the puppy lay down as he observed the cat on the kitchen floor. We were able to get the cat on the floor by luring her w/ cheese. The puppy was also occupied w/ cheese. We started at a distance of about 20-feet and incrementally let the distance between them decrease. Once they were so consumed w/ eating cheese that when the puppy licked the cheese from under the cat's mouth, she didn't immediately take a swipe at him...she looked up at him, looked back down to where the cheese has just been, looked back up at him again, (I think that this is when she figured out that he stole it), and THEN the cat's claws came out and she scratched his nose.

On occasion, we'd put the cat, her food, water, and litter box inside the puppy's crate. The puppy remained outside the crate. He was allowed to investigate the crate, and its contents. If he became excited, he was instructed to lay down.

Once in a while, we'd put the cat into her hard-plastic kitty-carrier and then place the carrier on the floor. Again, the puppy was allowed to investigate. But if he became excited, he had to lay down.

Currently, the cat is exploring the other rooms beyond the kitchen. We allow the puppy to approach her as long as he does it slowly. Neither chasing nor barking is allowed.

FERGIE My dog kills cats. She has 3 ½ years and is bred Chow Chow is very territorial, lives on the second and third floor of my house but also has access to the first floor (the house of my cousins). My cousins house on the first floor breed cats and dogs and when it falls on the first floor, grab the cats and the press with their teeth when they do not move the leaves (the tree). What can I do??? I love my dog, but I have many problems with my cousins.

I have an 9-month-old shar pei puppy, Winston, and he acts similarly towards our 3 cats. In addition, he can hear them on the other side of the door (they tend to stay in the garage now) and will go to the door and sniff and whine. We also recently got a new cat who stayed in a separate room for about a month while I introduced him to the other cats and the puppy so now Winston is constantly checking that room for the orange kitty, especially when he comes in from outside, as he seems to think we bring the cats out to play when he goes out to his pen area. I know he wants to play with them and I have had some success working with him on a leash with the new kitty in the room--he at least learned "quiet" doing that! But off the leash and no matter his energy level, he just wants "at" the cats. The new kitty isn't phased by Winston's antics much and seems to enjoy just watching him, but the older cats want nothing to do with the dog. Any further ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

i got a new dog for my kids for Christmas, and it was never around cats. i have three cats that really hate this dog, and our dog always trys to get one of my cats, not sure if its because my cat looks like another dog but i was wondering if there was any suggestions you may be able to throw my way. i really don't want to have to get ride of my dog cause it won't get along with the other animals..please help us

My dog is about a year and a half old now and has been living with our cats for a while. They are outdoor cats so they try to stay out of his way most of the time, though I would rather they feel just as at home as he does.

The problem is, whenever any of us try to pay attention to one of the cats, the dog seems to get jealous! He pushes them with his nose and tries to step on them. If we correct him he will stop but he appears to think it is a game. He is a lot bigger then them (a retriever-chow mix) and while they don't appear to be getting hurt, they are getting very stressed out. If they are walking past him he will also chase after them, and this gets worse when they are outside.

Please tell me how I would correct this behavior!

I have the same problem. I got a rescue Pomeranian last April who is a year and a half old. He and my male cat age 6 do not get along. I have to keep them separated with baby gates or it is complete pandemonium! The Pom looks for the cat until he finds him, corners him and will bark at him for hours! The cat is twice as big as the dog and has his claws, so I don't believe that the cat is in any danger, but I wish they would just get along!
Francie

P.S. the Pom gets lots of exercise, but is still hyper. You know how Poms are...