MOTHER KNOWS BEST

 

Dear Mom,

   Our youngest daughter is desperate to have a cat. We have a Wheaten, of course, and think we can manage both, but we need some insight on how to get started.

Thanks, Catty

 

Dear Catty,

    Mom thinks sharing your lives with animals is great. But remember Wheatens are terriers and terriers were historically bred to kill little things. That means a rat or even a cat may be at risk in your home. It may take one visit and it’s love at first sight or it may take weeks of introducing them little by little to each other.

     First have the cat in a carrier. Place the cat in the far corner of the room and come in with the dog on leash. Do some rewarding of the dog for good behavior and keep them at a good distance from each other for the first visit. Next, keeping the cat in the carrier, bring the dog a bit closer. Continue rewarding and distracting, if necessary, the dog. Decrease the distance and keep repeating the process. Repeat until the dog and cat are comfortable in close proximity. You can harness the cat at this point if they are acting polite to each other. Return to the original distance and then release the cat from the crate while the dog is still restrained. Continue distracting and treating the dog while the cat roams the room until the dog shows no evidence of arousal in the cat’s presence. Supervising carefully you can only take the dog off leash when you are confident of good behavior. Until they prove to be safe in each other’s site it is best to maintain the Berlin Wall and keep them separate from each other.

Good luck and have fun. Many Wheatens live happily with cats and they all benefit from our love.