introducing a dog & cat without any complications

[dizziblonde]

It depends on the dog and cat if you can actually do it. I've got two dogs, one an ex-racing greyhound that live with the tripod here, but the hound came from a kennel that had cats around, and her response in cat testing was to lick the testing cat - plus the cat is very very um... assertive as well - I still wouldn't trust them 100% together and I make sure I'm around to supervise, but that's a dog bred and trained to chase a small furry racing lure that manages to live with a cat fairly happily.

It's not something you can introduce quickly either - we had about a month of the cat having the spare room as her domain and the dog having the downstairs, with lots and lots of brief introduction periods - first the cat in the carrier, dog muzzled and on-lead with lots of treats when they ignored each other and taking her out of the room when she showed too much interest, then the cat carrier open and the dog on lead and muzzled, and gradually removing the lead, then replacing the lead and removing the muzzle before we got to where we are now where the pair of them get on OK.

If you've got a cat that's a bolter it's much harder - it's easier if you've got one who'll stand their ground and administer a quick swipe of the paws if a dog nose gets too close for comfort - if you've got a runner - it becomes a nice furry thing that the dog might want to chase and a fun fun game!

We still have issues - the cat food is boxed in with a combination of a storage crate coffee table and broken baby gate, with two loo rolls threaded on string to make a cat sized gap for her to get in and out to get her food but the dogs can't.... cat poo can be a fun, fresh, protein filled snack food to some dogs so litter trays are a factor (again we've managed to create a gap the cat can get in and out of but the dog can't as easily) - we had one incident where the cat went to have a poo, the dog stuck her nose in to inspect the new snack and the cat didn't appreciate a dog-nose scrutiny while she was powdering her nose, so belted the dog one, dog tried to pull her head out of the covered tray, tray got slightly stuck so we had a hound's head in the litter tray running backwards across the living room with an increasingly irrate cat still inside on the loo! That taught her the lesson faster than we could ever do though!

Both ours now fully accept the rule of their feline overlord to the extent that one will not ever ever ever sit on the sofa the cat likes, even if she's not there - the hound will share sofas with the cat more willingly! If I had dogs with stronger prey drive (it's a mystery to me how the grey ever won races with hers being non-existent most of the time) or a less dog-savvy cat (and she lost a leg before I got her because of a dog attack so it's amazing she's as confident as she is) then I wouldn't risk it and I did have to wait months to get a cat-workable greyhound.

[Liz]

We have introduced 3 Border Collie Puppies in the last 4 years Sky who is 4, Sunny who is nearly 3 and most recently Puppy Mistral now aged 23 weeks

We have always had crates fort he dogs and will shut the doors on them if they are mithering the cats, I also keep the puppies on a short lead so I have control of them in the first couple of months so the cats can have a look but the dog can't get near them

All 3 are very cat savy due to our ferals and each has a favourite friend as is shown in my avatar

The baby gate is to keep the dogs seperate from the cats as the dogs can't get through the bars but the cats can, we have one on the diningroom in to the lounge so the sogs can have the lounge and conservatory when we are out and the cats have the rest of the house and it does work, also the dogs won't tend to jump a baby gate, we did have 2 on at one point as Mist was a skinny BC and could jump but after 6 weeks removed the upper gate and he now doesn't bother

Careful introductions must be done so the cat knows where its home is and it is in charge, thats how it works in our house the cats are in charge and the dogs are the cats pets

[Ambi]

I think you need to be very wary here. My brother has a staffy x & given half a chance would kill one of our cats. Some dogs, likemy brothers have high prey drive & if the prey runs, so
much the better, the dog will chase & that causes more excitement & thrill to the dog. If you decide to go ahead, do it on a trial basis to see if it works out first. No matter how you look at it, your cat will be taking a back seat @ some dont like that. You will also need to watch the dogs eyes, if cornered the cat will fight back & sometimes  go for the vunerable area - the eyes

Ask if you can bring the dog for a visit say an hour or two & see how it goes, you could do Daily visits to your home for a week or so & try & gauge from that how things might be

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Hmmmmmmmmmm I am confused or have I read this wrong, how come the cat didnt jump over the baby gate?

My one year old kitten climbs up a 6ft barrier and gets  over.

[Rachel(Rachette)]

Hey..thanks for the advice. I think that the dogs have never really been around cats so i don't know the answer to that & we live in a flat so theres no upstairs for Snooch to go to, however she does spend most of her day in the loft!?! I personally don't want a dog until we can afford to move into a house but the OH is desperate & we do have a beach as a garden so there is plenty of room for running around.I think i may need to speak with the owners before i make a decision..oh what to do!!!??!!! thanks again for the advice & i will defo use it should i decide to take 1

[LilyandGary]

I`ve introduced lots of foster cats to my dogs, and foster dogs to my cats.

I found for me, the best way is put a baby gate across the door of the spare bedroom. Cat, litter tray, food etc go in there with door shut. After a day or so I open the door BUT close the gate so the cat and dog can see each other. The cat feels safe, and can eat and toilet in peace, and the dog cannot get to it. Keeping yourself calm is also good as any anxiety is passed on to the animals.

It often takes a while for all to settle down, and some cats take to it sooner than others. However, I have managed this lots of times without too many problems. The last dog I fostered had never lived with a cat in 10 years and although she was very interested in the kittens we did cope here well.

You can also put a gate across the bottom of the stairs if you want to stop the dog climbing the stairs. Keeping the dog on the lead if the cat is around is also a good idea. This can be combined with some training for the dog, using a high-reward food. Any good behaviour around the cat eg. calm, ignoring it, lying down quietly, is rewarded. Cat and being good = reward. This is what I do with puppies on foster.

If the dog is crate trained it is easier to manage whilst you are out. However, staffies can be noisy if not used to a crate from puppy.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[VoodooloopyLou]

hello, firstly are the staffods ok with with cats? you dont want to take one on and find out they hate cats! I already had a cat when i got my 1st dog, he is a collie, (i ave 12 now tho lol) and i got a crate all set up for the dog and let the cat go in there for  week before the dog came, this way it left the cat smells in the bed, when the dog arrived i removed the cat from the main rooms (put her upstairs) and let the dog do there normal snifffing about the house, gettin used to cat smells, i then put the dog in teh crate and let the cat out, the cat did the normal hissin at the dog but soon started to go near the dog, the dog seemed fine, i then removed the cat again and put the dog on a lead and sat him with me on the sofa, then let the cat in, the dog sniffed the cat, the cat hissed and clawed him a few times, when ever the dog became to much i removed the dog from the area. but please make sure this dog has no chase instinct or this will drive the cat to leave.
hope this help x

[Rachel(Rachette)]

Hey all....its getting more & more difficult to find ways to change my OH's mind to getting a dog..(its not that i don't like dogs, i'm just more of a cat person) & its come about now that a friends son has got 2 staffies & a 18 month old baby & because he's away in the navy his wife is finding it hard to cope..so now my OH wants at least 1 of them because he fears the next step for the poor dogs is to be put down (i suggested a lovely rescue centre close to home). If i cant manage to persuade him otherwise how do i introduce it to my cat who by the way rules the household without her feeling pushed out or threatened in anyway..my friend moved her boyfriend in & his dog..which lived mainly outdoors & her cat left home..which i don't want to happen