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Hive, it’s high time that I ’fess up about something. Mr. Yorkie and I have been married for close to two months now. While I’ve been making decent progress (for a procrastinator) with migrating my belongings from Mama Y’s home to Mr. Y’sour place, there’s an important little something — er, someone — that I’ve not yet brought with me. I’m embarrassed to say that Bella, my six-year-old Yorkie, is still living at my mom’s house.
Bella, my 10 lb. little monster
There are two large, rather furry reasons for my hesitation to move her in.
Their names are Tess and Berkeley, and they’re the kitties that Mr. Y adopted from animal services almost two years ago. In addition to the five pound or so advantage that each of them has over Bella, they’re both physically bigger and stronger than she is, and they sport intimidating pairs of claws.
Bella is in no way a frail little pooch. In fact, she’s rather feisty, extremely brave, and (I’m convinced) believes she’s as big as a Boxer. Still, I can’t help but worry about how she’d fare on Tess and Berks’ turf. They aren’t mean cats. They’re actually pretty friendly (to humans). The thing is, they’ve never been around a dog before. So, yeah.
Even as a kitten, Berkeley’s claws could do some damage
While most newlyweds get the “When are you having babies?” question, our friends and relatives have been asking us, “So, how is Bella getting along with the cats?” All I can do is flash a nervous smile and admit that they’ve yet to meet. I usually throw in an excuse like, “I was waiting until after the house was tented” (that happened while we were on the honeymoon) or “I’d like to do it when I can be home with them” (then, um yeah, just about any weekend). The truth is I’m scared.
I know that in the three years of our relationship, there have been plenty of opportunities for me to introduce the little critters. It’s actually something that I’d always intended to do, but just never got around to.
Tess is currently the “boss” of the house
So now, here I am, missing Bella like crazy and visiting her a couple of times a week. It breaks my heart to see how excited she gets when she hears me pull into Mama Yorkie’s driveway… and then again when she scurries after me as I head toward the door to leave. I know that I need to just buckle down and do something about it.
I’ve read a few articles on how to introduce a new pet to established ones, like only allowing them to sniff each other out from under a closed door for the first few days. I’m just wondering what might work best for them, considering that they’re a little older and set in their ways. Of course I anticipate hissing, arched backs and even some barking. I just pray that’s the worst of it.
Do you have experiences with integrating the furry members of your family? What strategies would you suggest? I’d like to move Bella in before too much more time passes. Do you think it’s better to do gradually, like in a series of 10-minute visits? Or is this something to just get over with, like ripping off a Band-Aid?
We got a yorkie when I was younger after already having two cats. I was really young, so I don’t know what techniques they used, but I think something about them being similar in size kept the fights off, and the cats just kind of kept to themselves. Good Luck! Keep us updated!
We rescued a young kitten about 2 months ago…. we were worried that our (totally spoiled thinks he’s really our child) puppy would either be too frightening for the traumatized cat or would be very jealous and sad about sharing attention. He took right to her following her making sure she didn’t get into things. She holds her own and actually did swat at him a few times… but now they cuddle and play and share lap time. I definately suggest being there and maybe both of you being there.
awww, bella is adorable!!! good luck with introducing her to the cats!
Aww I’m so sorry…I can only imagine being away from your fur baby! The best advice I heard was that when you first introduce them, have a large towel on hand. That way, if they get into a fight, you can throw the towel over them - which will confuse them and hopefully stop the fight for a second - and grab one of them away.
But I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that you never have to use the towel method…I know they will all eventually get along well. How can they not, when their mommy and daddy are so in love?
You should take one toy or bed from Bella and bring it to your house, and one from Tess and Berkeley and bring it to your mom’s house, so they can start to get used to each other’s scents. Then, when you do introduce them, just do so for very short periods of time - maybe keep the cats in one part of your house and Bella in another, and have them together for a few minutes every hour or so. Then gradually increase that.
One of my kitties got run over when I was in college and I had to get another cat to keep my girl company and I had to introduce them sloooowly. However, after all of that, they became the best of friends, so I have confidence that your babies will all get along too!
Do you have a friend or relative that would let you use their place to introduce everybody? It may help if everyone’s in neutral territory when they first meet. You may also want to try bringing over some of Bella’s toys and bedding. Leave it laying around different rooms in the house so the cats can get used to her smell being there. Likewise, take some of the cats’ stuff over to Bella so they won’t be a completely unfamiliar scent to her.
I’ve never had to make a cat and dog merge households, but we did adopt a couple of rats because we had one that lost her cagemate. After a few weeks, just when I was getting frustrated at the thought of having to keep two of them in separate cages (meaning I’d have to clean two separate cages!), they started getting along, playing, and sleeping in a big comfy rat pile.
I’m sure it will turn out fine! We foster litters of kittens and often small groups of older kitties and we’ve never had a problem with them getting along with our dog — and we’ve had A LOT of cats in here! Plus, Duncan is almost 6, so he’s an old-timer, too. The advice to introduce them slowly is good. We usually hold the dog while the cats get the chance to sniff around and form an opinion and then if you’re still nervous, just make sure Bella is locked in a separate room when you leave the house for awhile. I’m sure they’ll get along great and you’ll be much happier having Bella around. The thing is, even if by chance Bella does get a swat on the nose, it’ll probably just surprise her and I would be shocked if it ever happened again.
Good luck!
P.S. We want to get a yorkie after the wedding 
aw, sorry to hear your fur baby hasn’t moved in yet! When you introduce them, just be sure there is a leash on Bella so she can’t chase after the cats. This is something that will most likely just take some time. If there are rooms where you can set up baby gates, those work well because the cats can go back and forth when they feel like it, but if Bella is irritating them, they can always just go to the other side and Bella can’t follow. Maybe make sure Bella is stowed away in a room when someone can’t be home to keep an eye on things. We’ve had a cat who hated dogs, so she just kept to another part of the house away from them.
Awww can you try to bring her over to visit with the cats for an hour or two once or twice a week? It’ll work out-it just takes time and patience.
Aww!!
I have had experience with this same situation. RR has a 15 year old cat, Dollie and she is the BOSS of the house. We had trouble introducing ME to the house because of her, so you could imagine how scared I was to introduce Tinkerbell, my mini-long haired weenie dog.
When I say trouble introducing me, I should bring up the example of the pretty fauxquet I made for my wedding has been destroyed. I was extremely upset and we’re now using real flowers for our wedding. She’s just very territorial over her man. (Uh, yeah!) Since then she’s got used to me and likes me almost as much as RR, but I’m still sore over my flowers!
Anywho so when introducing Tink to the mix I brought her over on a day visit to see how they would interact. Tink was curious about Dollie, so she would sniff at her, but Dollie wouldn’t stand for it and hissed at her, so Tink was like, “Okay, whatev… we don’t have to be friends.” and minds her own beeswax. From time to time Tink will get playful and forget that Dollie isn’t too keen on her, and tries to play but Dollie bats at her and then Tink remembers and moves on.
Recently though I’ll catch Dollie sneaking up on Tink trying to play, and when she sees I noticed she is like, “I don’t know what you are talking about, I wasn’t trying to play with HER!” But I know that deep down in her territorial little kitty heart she is starting to love Tink just like me.
The moral of the story is, you just have to put them together and see. Even if they don’t get along at first, they will get used to each other, and dogs are smart, so if the cat is mean to her, she’ll play on her side of the room and keep to herself and her mama and probably wont think much of it at all. OR, they could get along GREAT and all of this would have been a faint memory before you know it.
We are still struggling to get our 3 dogs (2 labs and a beagle!!) used to my poor little 7 pound kitty!
We’ve always been a family of both cats and dogs. We’ve gone through having full grown dogs meet kittens, and full grown cat’s meeting puppies (thought never a full grown cat meeting a full grown dog) I guess the most important thing would be to give the animals time to adjust to one another, and try not to interfere as much as possible. For the first few days it does seem to help to not allow much more interaction than sniffing under a door, but after that, the animals pick up on your familiarity with your pet. Try to keep from getting nervous when they’re around each other and it will help them mellow out to. And be happy if some little altercations do take place. If your Yorkie wants to smell one of your cats or gets a little frisky and gets a nick on her nose, she’ll be less likely to do it again. And if one of the cats decides to tangle with your dog and has to deal with yorkie yelps right in it’s ear, they’ll eventually back off too. Boundaries will be put in place, and eventually piece will reign over the land. 
(ps- at present there are 3 dogs and 2 cats at home. They all find a place on the floor and crash within 2 feet of each other) Good luck! And just take the plunge!
I think you should go ahead and take the plunge! Bringing your dog over for short visits will just agitate all of the pets and it will be confusing for them. I like your idea of maybe keeping Bella in one room at first (for a day or two) so she has a chance to get used to the new house and to the smell of the cats. Good luck!
If you’re going to be nervous you may want to have Mr. Yorkie do the introductions. I don’t have much experience with small animals, but with ours we make sure to go one at a time, such as Bella meets Tess, they hang out until they’re no longer giving the other their undivided attention then Tess gets moved and you do the same with Berkley. That way they’ll be less inclined to gang up. Has Bella been around cats before?
To be honest, after a brief intro I would just let them all have free reign of the house and make sure each one had a place they could escape to. They’ll get the new pecking order figured out soon enough and it sounds like they’d be evenly matched enough that one of them’s not going to get beat down.
I would definitely not use the bandaid approach. Animals don’t evaluate things in that way, they just respond instinctively. I would start with gradual introductions that include the least potential for surprise/trauma as possible.
Also it is possible that the cats won’t do anything, even if they COULD do something. We took our dog to visit friends with cats, and their cats would take a little swipe here and there, but no damage, and my dog didn’t even notice.
As a cat owner, I swear by claw cutting. My cats are not de-clawed, but I make it a point to trim their claws once a week. Just a little snip to take the “point” off. I recommend doing this so, if there is any scrapping going on, there will be little damage. Honestly though, I think they will be fine. Cats are more intimidated by other cats than they are of dogs. I agree with everyone else, make short introductions first. Then, just take the plunge!
We had our cat about 1 yr before we got our two pit bulls. They were puppies so they grew up with her and she is probably the only cat that they will not chase or go crazy after. We did a lot of monitoring as they started growing. Now, they play with her just as they do each other. Its a little scary sometimes bc they can actually put her whole head in their mouth. However, she does let them know when enough is enough or if she is not in the mood by hissing or swatting. Like above, no damage is ever done. My guess is your yorkie will know. My dogs instantly back away if she swats. I would suggest the gradual introduction. When ever we have FMIL dog what we’ve had to do is put one in their crate and let them sniff and get acclimated to each other first. We started by actually putting FMIL dog in the crate first so our dogs would not feel threatened about another animal inhabiting their home.
I’ve been through this, but with my very big dog, also named Bella, and my now-husband’s two cats. We brought her over to his house for short stretches on weekends so that they could sniff and get used to each other. I would recommend letting them sniff through a door or pet fence, then moving up to having them in the same room with the dog on a leash (my Bella has cat chasing issues so this part lasted a while for us). Good luck!
Bella is so adorable! And oh my, Berkley’s claws scare even me! Sorry I have no advice. I’m purely a dog person! Let us know how it goes!
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Mrs. Yorkie, Miami Age and Occupation: 30, Graduate Admissions Coordinator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 41, Asst. Professor Engagement Date: July 3, 2008 Wedding Date: June 2009 Venue: Red Fish Grill About Me: I’m an East Coast girl with a crafty streak who loves traveling, photography and being outdoors (barefoot, if possible). When I do have to wear shoes, I prefer Mizunos, and have worn out a few pairs running marathons. I have a thing for chai, crossword puzzles, Apples to Apples, The Office and my real-life Yorkie, Bella. My West Coast transplant, Mr. Yorkie, roots for the Buckeyes, loves baseball, and climbs mountains for fun. We’re planning a fun little seaside wedding filled with handmade details and vintage charm. I can hardly wait!
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