Please Help!!! Introducing a puppy to a cat household

[CheekyChow]

Hi everyone im new to the site and as of tomorrow night i will also hopefully be a new owner of a 13 week old female Chow. She'll be coming into a family already consisting of two cats and an ageing Cavalier King Charles Spaniel whos also a female. Most of the sites ive looked on whilst researching the breed have said the if introduced at an early age Chows can live harmoniously with cats and smaller dogs though some have also expressed caution as its instinctive for the Chow to chase and hunt smaller animals. What id like to know yet cant seem to find out is....Is 13weeks still young enough to introduce the Chow to the rest without too much trouble? and mainly, How do you go about introducing them in the first place and what do i do if the Chow insists on chasing the cats? All help is greatly appretiated.

[Victory]

Well, for the spaniel and the chow, have them meet on neutral ground first. Let them sniff, and check each other out; if your spaniel is a grump you could have problems. but if she's maternal things should go well. Remember your chow doesn't know how big or little she is, and will most likely take to the spaniel as her leader. The cats should be old enough to teach your chow to respect them. The puppy will be curious, but she's not old enough to actually be a danger to them, and yes she is young enough to learn that the cats are part of the familly and not to be chased as toys.

[bubbybear]

I have two cats with my two chows. I made sure that the cats had a place to get away from the dogs real quick. like a cat hole in the basement door.and the couch a few inches from the wall (big enough for the cat but not the pup) and telling them that it was their cat and not letting them chase the cats. My two cats now talk to them and rub up against each other. It takes time and patience. Phoenix has just recently not bothered with the cats with genle reminders.

[Tippsy'smom]

I've never had a problem with my chows and cats or small dogs. I set their boundaries and if they miss behaved, they were corrected. And everyone lives happily together now.

[annrosaire]

I too was very nervous bringing a chow puppy into my house that has a kitten. My chow was 7 weeks when I brought him home and the kitten was about 6 months old. We had them meet on neutral ground, but the kitten was not pleased with me or the new addition. Yes be sure the cats have a place to go to get away from the dog. My Bf and I also sat at a table with both of us holding one as they faced each other, to send the message that they were both safe and loved. Porkchop (my chow) actually ignored the kitten for the first month, even though the kitten would hiss and swat at him every time he was near. Porkchop tolerated the kitten's abuse until one day he just decided to play with him. Now, those too idiots chase each other around the house, fight for our attention in the morning, and the kitten cries every time I take the dog out because he's jealous he can't come along. Time and patience are all you need.

[Ursa's daddy]

If you have cats that are used to being with dogs, I would not expect a problem with a young chow. Both of my chows were raised with cats, and I never had a problem. Initially, I had a barrier to close off the back room from the dogs. This was just a piece of plywood about 16 inches tall that I put in the doorway. The cats could jump the barrier, and the dogs were told "NO" if they tried. It worked quite well. Also, the cats would jump on the furniture, which was off limits for the dogs, so I did not have a problem. I had a Siamese cat that would eat dog food out of the bowl with the dogs, and they did not mind, although they would not share food with each other. The chows alerted on a 4 week old kitten abandoned in the middle of the street in front of the house. I discovered it when I finally went outside to see why they were so excited. I brought the kitten in, and the dogs were very good with it, more of less raising it as if it was a very small dog. That cat sometimes sleeps beside my female to this day. I have 4 cats, and the cats are very territorial towards each other, but have no problem with the dogs. I have found chows and cats to be a non issue.

[Judy Fox]

We have an ll yr. can and he was 9 when we brought Matilda home. He had lived with chows since he was a baby kitten so there wasn't a problem there so we just made sure Matilda did not "mug" him. She was 8 weeks old and did try but a sharp "NO" and after a very short time she stopped.
I bet the cat will be well able to keep out of chow chow's way!
One pat on her nose from Harry soon calmed Matilda down anyway.