Fat cat and tiny dog

  I don't know how I got talked into this.  I have always been a cat person, ever since I was a little girl.  I remember the first cat that was "mine"; an orange and white tabby kitten that I got from a friend at school.  I had somehow managed to convince my parents to let me get the kitten. This probably had to do with 1) the kitten was free 2) my aunt who lived next door agreed to keep it at her house and 3) I was going to beg for a kitten until I got one anyway. I remember my father driving me back from my friend's house with the clean little furry kitten sitting in my lap.  The only other animals my family had were smelly outdoor dogs that tried to jump on you if you came near them. At this age I had already decided, cats were obviously the superior species.  They clean themselves, require very little attention, not much effort has to go in training them to use a litter box, and they're soft and purr when you pet them.
  So, what was I thinking when I agreed to let my husband buy a puppy?  Probably the only thing I was thinking was that the puppy looked cute and that it would be my husband's animal so it would mostly be his responsibility.  Unfortunately for me, things didn't work out quite like that.  Our new puppy is cute, I'll give him that, and he is a purebred West Highland White Terrier so I thought that would somehow validate my assertion that I know animals. From the first day we brought the puppy, who we named Indy, home I noticed some things that I wasn't too happy about.  First and foremost the dog smelled again within 24 hours after having his first bath...not good.  I had no intention of having my house smell like a kennel, or a farm. Secondly, although I was prepared to have to house train the puppy, I hadn't thought about the number of times per day that a young puppy urinates and defecates.  If an hour goes by where he hasn't relieved himself, then he must have been asleep that whole time. Young puppies also chew things....anything; to include shoes, furniture, and people. So, I knew we had our work cut out for us.  I say "us" because at that point I still envisioned a joint venture between my husband and I.  That vision has since crash landed amongst early morning rises to take the puppy out of his crate to relieve himself and numerous mishaps ending in me cleaning up dog waste product.

  We have had Indy for a week and a half now and I've learned a thing or two about caring for a puppy.  The first thing I learned is that if you are the one who cares for the puppy when he first pees in his crate and wallows in it, then you will be the person that continues to care for him. I also learned that Indy was easier to house train than I had thought.  So far I have trained him to use the training pad in an area set aside for him in the apartment whenever he needs to go to the bathroom.  I went this route as opposed to taking him outside right away because my husband, who claims to be a pseudo expert on training puppies, claimed the puppy was too young to take out and that we should wait until he is a little older and leash trained.  I'm beginning to doubt that logic, simply because I must now retrain the puppy to go in a different spot...outside.  But, Indy has taken well to crate training and there are very few 'accidents' on my carpet, which I'm very thankful for.  Perhaps it's my caring nature or my feminine instincts that cause me to spend a great deal of time caring for my husband's puppy, or perhaps it's my logical side that realizes that if I don't get up to do it, then no one will. As a result, Indy prefers my company over that of my husband.  The most important thing I've learned is that he who cares for the puppy, claims the puppy.  So, sorry hubby, the dog is mine.  
  Now the main difficulties I face as the caretaker of a new puppy mostly involve keeping him and the cat separated.  My cat is a six year old Domestic Shorthair orange and white Tabby named Jay that I adopted from a shelter four years ago.  Jay has been a low maintenance sort of animal, with my biggest headache being the large amount of hair he sheds and having to clean out his litter-box regularly.  Jay's had interactions with other cats and dogs in the past and seems to adjust pretty well, so I wasn't too concerned.  And, if Indy and Jay did get in a fight, I'd be more worried for the puppy.  Indy is only 6 pounds, and Jay weighs in at 15 pounds (we may soon officially rename him Fat Jay). After an initial few days of Jay avoiding Indy, curiosity overcame my cat and he made first contact with the strange puppy that had invaded his domain.  Now they get in play-fights continuously, with the cat usually getting fed up after a while and running away or jumping onto the highest thing in sight. This sounds cute, but really it isn't.  Their encounters are loud and often result in something getting knocked over.  But, I suppose I can't complain, it could be a lot worse. But having Indy has definitely changed my viewpoint of dogs.  They still are a lot of hard work, but when trained properly they aren't half bad.  Too bad I can't crate train my cat.