Hi--

Please move this if it's in the wrong section. I am trying to introduce a new member into our family of two humans and four indoor cats. The new dog is Ling-ling, who's about 35 pounds and about 10 months old. She is used to living with another dog (her sister), but not with cats. We brought her over the other day and she chased the cats (we stopped her, of course). Any tips on acclimating Ling-ling to the cats and the cats to her? I'm going to try crate training, I think. If she doesn't adjust--and they don't--we can't adopt her, and we really want to!

Help!

Cheers,
Robyn

I wish you the best of luck and lots of patience

We successfully introduced an energetic spaniel puppy to our home where our aging cat has been used to ruling the roost for thirteen years. The advice I followed, which seems to have worked, was to leave them work it out between themselves, each learning to respect the other's space. In practical terms this meant not intervening when the pup tried stealing from the cat's food bowl, leaving them to sort out their arguments (pup teased the cat, cat retaliated by showing pup what claws are used for), leaving one muscle in on the other's territory, etc. We weren't cruel, however, and gave the cat lots of time to be on his own in the house too, in the early weeks. Pup was initially confined to the garage, and little by little let stay for longer periods in the rest of the house while we were there. Nowadays (6 months on) the two sleep together in the garage, and each still loves eating from the other's bowl!

With four cats, however, I suspect this may be slightly more difficult with one.

I hope you can find a way to make it work.

I have asked crisw to have a look at this, she is an expert on dogs.

Santana's advice is good.

In addition-
If the dog isn't already part of your household introduce her gradually. Let them get used to each other.

Create "safe zones" for your cats. Block off some areas of your house with baby gates or the like so the dog cannot get in but the cats can. The cats should always have somewhere they can retreat to if the dog is a pest.

Reward the dog for calm behavior around the cats.

Feed the cats in an elevated place so the dog cannot get into their food.

Don't leave the cats and the dog alone together; crate or otherwise confine the dog when you are gone.

Hope this helps!

When we introduced our puppy to the older cat, the cat soon showed the puppy the rules of the household. The only real problem we found was the dog eating the cat's food, and getting into her litter box and eating the contents (yuck, but very doglike, unfortunately). We just gated off some sections of the house so the cat's things were out of bounds for the dog, and it went very painlessly.

Actually, I've even done it this way when introducing an older, quite big (springer spaniel) dog to a house full of cats - cats are good at defending their territory unless the dog is very aggressive.

Hi there, our dog is 4 now and the cat is 13. It has taken 4 years to get them in the same room! They seem happy enough now but I must admit I wouldnt trust the dog on her own with him. It has a lot to do with how strong a prey drive your dog has and how bolshy your cats are:-) What breed of dog is it that you are getting? Have you looked up how well that breed interacts with smaller animals? That's always helpful. For 4 years the cat had upstairs and the dog downstairs and never the twain would meet! Now the cat has decided he doesn't give a monkeys and will go wherever he wants. The dog just wants to play really but she's so much bigger and the cat cant cope. I hope all your animals get on wonderfully but take it slow.

haha ive got so many images after reading these posts. I dont know-never had a cat, was just curious

Thanks all! We got the dog and she's fabulous. I followed most of the advice I received and it all worked great. There are still some antipathies between individual cats and the dog, but mostly things are good. Our new dog is named Holly. She's very friendly and cute. The cats are coping OK and get more relaxed with her every day.

Cheers,
Robyn