If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I am obsessed with my kitty cat Mimosa. I rescued her a year and a half ago when she was six weeks old and she has been my bestie gal pal ever since. She sits on the counter and chats with me while I get ready in the morning. She poses for approximately 10,000 pictures a week, she humors me when I put her in pajamas, and does not humor me at all when I try to take her on a walk. She’s the best.
So when we decided to adopt Molly, the first thing I had to consider was how Mimo would take it. She kind of rules the roost around here and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable and safe. Molly is a Golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix which are both dogs with sweet temperaments. That was step one. Plus she is a puppy so she wasn’t stuck in her ways. The rest I had to be sensitive on. Molly and Mimo aren’t quite in the cuddling while they sleep phase yet, but Molly has lived here about two months and they do get along. So today, I’m sharing how I introduced them and the steps I took to get the acclimated.
Introductions
When I introduced them, I made sure I held Mimo the whole time high above Molly. Mimo is my girl so she felt safer in my arms where she could just sniff Molly from above for a while. Then I sat down in a chair and still had Mimo in my lap so that she would watch Molly run around and smell everything in the house and just observe.
When I introduced them, I made sure I held Mimo the whole time high above Molly. Mimo is my girl so she felt safer in my arms where she could just sniff Molly from above for a while. Then I sat down in a chair and still had Mimo in my lap so that she would watch Molly run around and smell everything in the house and just observe.
Separate but equal
Mimo has plenty of places to maintain her high ground in my apartment and this is important so she feels like she has somewhere to go if she needs to escape. Being a shelter dog, Molly was terrified of Mimo in the beginning because she had never met a cat, so this really worked out. Mimo has her kitty cat palace, the counter, the cabinets, the mantle, the bar, etc. She spends most of her time on these things anyway it has been a pretty easy transition. Also I definitely separate their food.
Mimo has plenty of places to maintain her high ground in my apartment and this is important so she feels like she has somewhere to go if she needs to escape. Being a shelter dog, Molly was terrified of Mimo in the beginning because she had never met a cat, so this really worked out. Mimo has her kitty cat palace, the counter, the cabinets, the mantle, the bar, etc. She spends most of her time on these things anyway it has been a pretty easy transition. Also I definitely separate their food.
Maintaining Quality Time
It’s similar to bringing a new baby into the house when you already have a child. You have to find the perfect balance to make sure both babies know you love them. For example, Molly doesn’t sleep in the bed at night. She sleeps in her huge crate that she loves, allowing Mimo to have uninterrupted cuddle time. Even when I walk in the door after work and Molly jumps all over me, I have to make her sit down for a second so I can give Mimo ample pets too. They are both my babies.
It’s similar to bringing a new baby into the house when you already have a child. You have to find the perfect balance to make sure both babies know you love them. For example, Molly doesn’t sleep in the bed at night. She sleeps in her huge crate that she loves, allowing Mimo to have uninterrupted cuddle time. Even when I walk in the door after work and Molly jumps all over me, I have to make her sit down for a second so I can give Mimo ample pets too. They are both my babies.
Mimicking Good Habits
If I don’t want Molly to do something, I don’t let Mimo do it either. For example, when Molly first came into the house Mimo used to “boop” her. Molly picked up on that and started “booping” her back. Molly weighs 35 pounds so her “boop” is a little different. I have to make sure that both of them are safe so nobody was allowed to “boop” anyone.
Do you have more than one pet? How did you convince them to get along?
When I was living at home, we had Cooper our weim and then when he was a year or two we got a golden retriever puppy and he was a little apprehensive at first, but now, they're best friends. Mostly because he just gives up and doesn't want to fight with her, because he's a pushover! Ha.
I watched a show about cat behavior a year or so ago and they talked all about how "vertical space" was SO important for cats. Looks like you're doing all the right things 🙂
I was really nervous when we brought Ted home as a little kitten when we already had a 70 lb puppy running around. Luckily it was love at first sight with those two, and they do even cuddle! I think the key for my pets is that they were both still so young that they kind of grew up together. Ted as a kitten even tried to nurse on Gunner (the dog) and he just went along with it as a kind big brother! It sounds like you did everything just right for getting your babies acclimated to each other. Glad it worked out for them both, as sometimes you hear those stories of how people just can't get their pets to get along.
I knew when I brought home a puppy, Penelope and Lily (my cast) were going to strongly protest, and they did. Penelope has been with me for 8 years since I rescued her and we have a very strong bond like you and Mimo do. I rescued Lily when Penelope was 3, and while it took some time, they are best buds and inseparable now. I have no such hopes for either of them and Sophie, the pup. Sophie wants to be their best friends, but Penelope wants nothing to do with her. Lily just ignores her, but Penelope actively avoids here. They do however get along in the sense that I don't have to worry about any of them hurting each other. Penelope and Lily just keep away. Sophie seemed so sad they didn't want to be her buddies that we crazily rescued a third kitten last months. We are in a bigger house now and figured we have the room. We hoped if a kitten grew up with Sophie he would bond with her, and thank goodness we were right. He is unphased by her and they play all the time. He also gets alone fine with the girl cats so the gamble paid off. I have been lucky with non-aggressive fur babies that can coexist peacefully.
i have 3 cats, and we got them each a year apart, so we had 1 for a year, then we got another, then another year later we got our last. the second was super submissive so my older got used to her fairly quickly. but our last has really messed with the balance because she does not take shit from the oldest, and they still fight a bit and the youngest is over a year old now. it's like 90% harmony, 10% i will cut you. my husband and I love dogs, but we travel and stuff and don't want to get a dog till we can be there for it, if that makes sense. i don't even know if we will get one because i don't know how my cats will take it!
I love the booping. I can totally see that happening. It's great that Molly and Mimo get along so well. Unfortunately, Starla has a EXTREMELY high prey drive so she can't get along with any creature smaller than someone her own size. Even small dogs like chihuahuas, she sometimes thinks theyre squirrels or something to chase. I wish it were different (especially because my mom has two cats and we love to visit) but unless Cesar Milan comes to help us, I don't think this habit will be broken.
Hawkeye is so tolerant. My roommate's cat boops her and she's just like, eh whatever. We didn't really let them get acclimated, but they have their own human and their own rooms, so they don't seem to care too much about each other. They DO help each other get food – they like the same duck treats. The cat will push the off the counter, the dog rips the bag open, they feast together. I had to put those under lock and key, little stinkers.
Such a sweet post. True story, my best friend growing up had a dog and when she got a kitten it used to try to nurse from the dog. They looked alike and got along great. Totally possible!