Introduce cats and dogs gradually to avoid fights, study finds

The key to stopping your pets from fighting like cats and dogs may lie in how you first introduce them, research suggests.

People who plan to bring a new puppy home with their cat should think about allowing them to get used to each other slowly, according to Canine Belief's findings.

“The advice is to do it very gradually,” Dr Rachel Casey, a veterinarian and animal behaviourist, told the PA Media news agency.

“In a best world, what you would want to do is have the cat in a situation where it can escape, it can get out of the way, so maybe a high place where the cat can go so it doesn't feel threatened. for the puppy.”

Casey, who is also director of strategy and transformation at Canine Belief, added: “And what you really have to teach the puppy is to be calm in the presence of the cat.”

As part of its Era Pup research, Canine Belief is looking at the interaction between dogs and cats. The study found that factors such as the speed of introduction and the age of the puppy can influence its behavior towards domestic felines.

The research found that around a fifth (20.1%) of pet owners introduce their new puppy to their existing cats immediately, and 18.9% do so in less than two hours. However, gradual introductions between puppies and kittens significantly increased the likelihood that they would get along.

According to the findings, puppies who are introduced to cats for more than a day (especially those under 12 weeks old) are calmer and friendlier, which can help form a more harmonious relationship.

Casey said the vast majority of dogs displayed “undesirable” behavior when first introduced to a cat, including being aggressive or playing with the cat when it didn't want to play. Less than 10% of the puppies the cats met were calm and relaxed.

The Era Pup study is the largest of its kind in the UK, with more than 9,500 puppies already enrolled, including 4,500 puppies where there is dog-cat interaction.

The project is a cohort study, in which participating dogs are followed throughout their lives. Era Pup said this model allowed them to investigate how early life events or environments, as well as genetics, influence the development of conditions and shape behavior as dogs age.

The findings will be presented at New Scientist Stay 2024, taking place at London's ExCeL this weekend.