Introducing cats & dogs

[jessm]

Hi

I've got an 11 year old cat who I've had from being a kitten. I currently dog-walk for a lovely lady through The Cinnamon Trust. We've had a lot of discussions about what might happen to her dog if anything happens to her, and we are both keen for me to have him.

 

Next week, the owner has got an appointment and might be out for several hours, so she's suggested bringing the dog to my house to start the introductions.

 

He's a very friendly dog and when we've encountered a cat on our walks, he just wants to have a sniff and be friends (he's like that with humans and dogs as well!). My cat hasn't had any contact with dogs before.

 

Any advice?! I really want this to work out for lots of reasons!

Thanks!

[midgecat]

Some useful advice here: http://www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/how-guides/how-introduce-new-cat-or-kitten-resident-dog

[katkin]

Hi, we introduced our old moggies to our first dog back in 2001 and had a range of responses - fortunately for us, our lot were mostly elderly cats who were reluctant to go outside much anymore so they did not vote with their paws and leave us en masse. When we introduced Jesse in 2010 we'd got housecats and no cat flap and the resident cats were by then fairly dog savvy anyway so they accepted the new doberbeast without question.

 

When we introduced puppy dobermann Ailsa in 2001, it was a real culture shock for the cats, but as said, they were practically house cats by then and it was the start of winter, so thankfully none decided to move out in a sulk. To make the integration smoother, we gradually introduced Ailsa to our cats and kept her on a long line indoors the first few times she met any of the cats, so that the cats could move freely and could get away if they felt threatened or overwhelmed. We rewarded Ailsa for good behaviour and also rewarded the cats for not running away.

 

We installed dog gates (still have them!) so that our cats could swiftly make an exit without being chased and we gave the cats their own distinct feeding area(s) away from the greedy dobermutt. Things soon calmed down and the cats accepted Ailsa on the whole- although our very scaredy cat NuNu moved upstairs and was always scared of Ailsa just because she was a dog ... NuNu is now an old lady herself and although she still isnt keen on dogs, she has come round to the idea of living with one. If you take it step by step and try to make sure your cat won't move outside, it should go well. Try the careful intros and take it from there.

[jessm]

Thanks Midgecat & Katkin - some good advice there. Luckily my cat is very much a housecat too - she does go outside (usually to follow me into the garden or for the odd 10 minutes now and then), so hopefully she won't do a runner. I definitely like the idea of a gate - that would give her somewhere to escape to should the need arise.