How to introduce new dog to resident (and once stray) cat?

Your cat will teach the newbie everything he needs to know. Bring the dog in with little fan fare and let them sort out their relationship. My big ole belligerent kitty taught all my dogs to have some respect for her royal highness.

Make sure that the cat has an area that the dog cannot access, a safe place to get away from any unwanted contact. Then introduce them slowly – do not force any interaction. Indeed, if you can get the dog to ignore the cat, that will give him time to adjust to the idea of having another animal in the house. The more time that passes without anything that the cat may perceive as an aggressive action (even if it’s merely making eye contact), the more chance that the cat’s stress level will drop. Hopefully, he’ll not only be calm around the dog, he’ll even eventually express curiosity about it and make overtures toward the dog.

Since you have not yet chosen the dog, this can also factor in.

Hopefully you’re going to adopt a dog and many shelters have a testing procedure for gauging a dogs attitude towards cats.

Some have even been raised with cats so it’s no big deal to them. You can specify this to the shelter or rescue group folks who can guide your selection to the least problematic dogs.

What Syz mentioned is VERY important. You can install a baby gate to the “cat’s room” since she can easily hop over it while the dog can’t.

The other important thing would be to keep them totally separated ( with a firmly closed door between them) whenever you are at work or elsewhere. I would do this for several months at least. Better safe than sorry.

As long as you don’t try to rush or force the process, they should be able to work things out.

Just be sure to give your established cat a little extra praise and attention so she doesn’t feel as if she’s been replaced by this interloper.

If she associates his presence with treats and extra attention for her, it will help the process.

After all, she was there first (that’s how she sees it :) and the new doggie will be happy to get whatever attention you give him. Just don’t go so overboard with the new pet that the old one feels displaced.

If you get a dog who is not aggressive or a breed with a very strong prey drive, things should work out ok in time.

One of the best groups for testing compatibility with cats is those who rescue former racing greyhounds. These dogs make lovely pets because the aggression has been bred out of them by necessity ( can’t have dogs trying to fight instead of race) and as long as they don’t see your cat similar to the rabbit lure they chase, it’s cool.

But folks who rescue these dogs want the adoption to work so they screen them carefully for cat compatibility.

I’m sure you can find a group in your area. Everyone I’ve ever spoken to who has adopted one has been delighted with them. They make great couch potatoes and are wonderful with kids.

It will definitely be dependent on the dog you take home – - the breed, the age and how the dog was raised. Choosing a dog that’s well acquainted with people and other animals would be the ideal thing. You should be more concerned about the cat which you describe as defensive towards other animals. Make sure that the cat can get adjusted quickly with the new situation. One suggestion I have is to frequently get the two animals together under timid or quiet situations. Try not to enagage both of them into a playful state as the dog may appear threatening to the cat when there’s too much energy and enthusiasm present.

I’m introducing a new one yr. old cat to my 14 yr. old cat.

Day 2 with brief exposure.

Let the new cat out to explore while my guy is sitting with me, they had their first nose to nose moment tonight and my guy promptly spit in her face and swatted her. She is super easy going and just walked away no aggression at all.

Keep the dog confined and only give brief contact the first few weeks.

My new cat is in her own room and has already made the association it’s her room after only a day and a half. She runs back to her room when she feels insecure or is done exploring.

It takes time, I’d give it at least 4–6 weeks to see how it all settles down, and, make no mistake about it, your cat will be pissed off for awhile. My cat would drop dead if I brought home a dog, another cat is as far as I’d go with him. lol

We have three dogs and a cat, and they get along really well.
I think whenever you introduce a new animal into a household with other pets, it’s best to do it in stages.
So for example, when we introduced the puppies into our household (with an already pair of dog and cat) we first kept them in the garden. That way, they did all the barking, got used to the smell of each other, could see each other through the glass, and so on.

Agree with @syz and others that it’s important that each animal has a ‘safe space’ that they can retreat to. The cats usually take to the top of the bookshelves, etc.

Then, what’s important is that you are present in the same room as much as possible as the both of them. I’m not sure how to say this, but basically you need to establish yourself as the alpha animal; and you indicate that it is ok for these two young’uns to co-exist. Establishing yourself as alpha is something that you should be doing anyway in setting boundaries for your pets. Check out Cesar Milan’s website – he has some good advice about dog training in general. You can also search him on youtube – it’s great fun to watch.

as some people mentioned above and what I would like to make clear is that the CAT is the one I am worried about. The dog I am looking at if very shy and timid and gets along well with other animals, but I just want to make sure Henry (my cat) will be able to cope with a dog in the same household!

@goose756

Yes, it’s the cat that is the throne holder and needs his turf to remain in his control first as things ease into adjustment with dog. My introduction of my new cat is going pretty well, she is a girl and I thought my guy would do best with a younger female ( true for a lot of male humans too, lol )

But..a dog is, well, a DOG…so kinda a double whammy for kitty, not only something new in his space, but an alien to boot! haha

P.S. I love you name ‘goose’..I have pet geese so am partial. haha

Yes, you’re absolutely right in your concern for your cat.

The new dog will be happy with whatever level of attention or privilege he gets since he has nothing to compare it to (other than maybe a shelter cage) so he’ll be ok once he learns to respect kitty and her claws :)

Is your cat used to sleeping with you at night? That should still be her perogative without doggie interference for a good long while.

If she prefers it, that should also be her safe room.

You may also need to move the litterbox to be certain that she can use it without doggie interference. Cats are very sensitive about being disturbed while doing their business. A snoopy dog is NOT WELCOME.

If you want to prevent inappropriate elimination problems from kitty, make sure that the litterbox is accessible to her only and safe from interference.

Since cats can jump and get into many areas a dog can’t, it just requires the human to do some strategic planning.

Let the cat take things at her own pace. Don’t try to rush things along and it should work out ok.