Will my male cat kill my tiny new puppy even if they get along well?

It doesn't matter if you get a male or female puppy. I have a mix of both sexes for my cats and dogs, and they get along well. It's most important to slowly introduce them to each other, and I can give you a method for this below. Introducing a new puppy to a cat/kitten: Introducing them should be done slowly. When you first bring your puppy home, I would keep them in rooms separated by a door. This way, they can get used to the smells and sounds of each other without contact. Make sure your kitten has a litter box, food, and water in their room. You can also place a blanket with the puppy's smell in the kitten's room, and a blanket with the kitten's smell in the puppy's room. I would also consider get a Feliway for your kitten and a DAP for your puppy. These are pheromone diffusers that help with anxiety and should also help ease the transition. Once both pets seem relaxed with the current situation, swap rooms placing the kitten in the puppy's room and vice versa. You can do this switch several times over the course of the introductions. Once they are both comfortable with the smells of each other, it's time for them to meet face to face. I would introduce the puppy on a leash to the kitten while he is in a cat carrier or on the other side of a baby gate. Reward the puppy for being calm and quiet near the kitten. Once they seem comfortable with each other, the baby gate can be taken away. Make sure your kitten has a cat tree where he can escape from the puppy as needed, and don't allow the puppy to chase the kitten.

There is never a guarantee that your cat will accept a new puppy, but the fact that he tolerates your neighbor's dog makes me optimistic that it would work out. Introducing a new pet into the household can be tricky and be sure that your cat still has a safe and quiet space away from the puppy. For example, give your cat the roam of he whole house, but prevent the puppy from going upstairs with a low baby gate. Try to keep your cat's routine as normal as possible and do not leave the two pets together without supervision for several weeks to months depending on how they interact. Better to get a puppy now when your cat is middle aged than when he is older and less amenable to change! :-)

If your puppy is young, you will have to monitor their play sessions until you feel confident that your cat is not going to get injured. Usually, cats will warn dogs when the play is getting too rough for comfort, but this can take time for both animals to figure out. Check out this great behavior website for tips on introducing new pets to one another safely: dog stardaily.com. Good luck!

In many cases puppies and cats will learn to tolerate peacefully each others behaviors but it is unlikely the cats will want to actually play with him. There are often teething troubles and it may result in the puppy getting scratched until he learns to keep his distance, which if in the eye can create painful ulcers but if you don't want to keep them permanently segregated I suggest you work on clicker training the puppy to help redirecting his behavior and use a child gate or other escape barrier to allow the cats to leave the room but keep the puppy in so they can avoid him if necessary

Yes, it will likely take time, considering the cat's routines have been shaken up by the new puppy! Expect a few weeks to even months before things return to "normal". That said, making sure your cats have a place where they can relax without the puppy present (high perches, closed off rooms, etc) and can get to their food, litter, etc without the puppy is best for helping them to settle in. Make sure yo reward your puppy (and cats) for calm behavior. If someone gets too worked up or excited, taking a break with everyone in separate rooms until calmed down, and then trying again after can help teach your puppy that they get to have fun when quiet and calm, but that fun stops when everyone is too excited. This article may also help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-introduce-a-dog-to-a-cat/

Unfortunately it is impossible for us to know if this is a type of play behavior or if this is related to prey drive since we cannot observe the behavior. Certainly an adult cat can seriously wound or even kill a nine week old kitten. I recommend to keep them separated until you are sure they get along and the kitten is bigger. You may do some research about cat behavior. You will need to look at the position of the head, mouth, ears, spine and how the fur is laying. That will give you a better idea of your adult cats intentions. You should also make sure to spend at least 30 minutes a day exercising the adult cat. This will help to make it more tired and less likely to exhibit bad behavior. Best of luck.

I have never heard of one cat killing another over mating issues, so you shouldn't need to worry about this :) However, I'm sure it is annoying for your female cat to have him constantly trying to mount her, and this can certainly lead to developing aggression issues between the cats over time. I would try to get your male kitty neutered as soon as possible, to help prevent this from continuing to happen. In the meantime, if he won't leave her alone, you may need to keep them separated until after he is neutered.