About two weeks before we picked up my puppy, my older of my two cats sadly passed away. I would say my younger cat (Momo) never got along super well with him but they tolerated each other’s presence at time. Really it just seemed like my older cat had very poor cat-to-cat social skills. Momo is very close with me and enjoys being in our family’s presence. Anyway, fast forward to now and we’ve had my 11wk old dachshund for 3 weeks. She’s a good girl and is doing well and does not bark at the cat. We have her gated off in the kitchen so that Momo still has her run of the rest of the house. Momo made herself scarce the first few days my puppy was home but now she is back to comfortably hanging around the house near the kitchen and watches the puppy. So she seems curious? However, any time they’ve had the opportunity to get close, Momo will hiss or growl at her and stalk off, which will prompt my puppy to try and chase after her. Momo doesnt stay away long and will come back to stare or hang out but obviously no cat likes being chased!!

I’m worried Momo will never get along with the puppy. Momo is a largeeee cat and my puppy is a mini dachshund so I think she’ll always be bigger than the dog which is good but I want them to be able to be around each other peacefully. I wish my older cat was still with us as he grew up with our large family dog and they had a peaceful existence (he was a hunting breed as well but never exhibited prey drive towards the cat) and maybe that would have made Momo feel more secure. I’ve made sure to still spend time with her doing the things she loves but I can’t help but feel bad…