Ridgebacks

Question
Hi,

We are getting a puppy in 2 weeks tima and we have 2 bengal cats, I am very clued up on pet behaviour but I am worried about the cat dog situation. This particular household has bred Ridgebacks for 25 years around cats, am I worrying unnecesarily as I cannot be nervous when they all meet. Help. Thank-you.
Laura

Answer
The best advice I can give you to ensure peace between your dogs and cats is to make sure your cats have claws and don't interfere unless it looks like one of them is pinned. Adult cats can usually hold their own against dogs and they will decide what the relationship will be. Assuming your cats do have claws, they will let the dog chase them if they feel like it, or they will teach the dog to stay away no matter what. Between my whole extended family of animals that get together there are 3 cats, Fidget, Lucy and Charlie and five dogs. Fidget never runs, never cuddles but sometimes rubs up against the dogs. Lucy always runs, but she also hides and then pounces on the dogs to get them to chase her. Charlie sometimes runs, and sometimes cuddles. But they call the shots, because they have claws, and they're faster, smarter and can get into places dogs cannot. Yes, they may trash your house for the first few weeks while they are sorting things out, and you may need to apply ointment to the occasional bloody nose, but in the end peace will prevail.