I have a cat and my boyfriend has a dog. We need to introduce the two and see if they can get along. My place is owned by my cat and I just happen to have the pleasure of paying the bills for her, so this could be quite tricky. The dog and boyfriend would be coming to stay with me. She has claws and has met dogs before. She didn't attack but she has had some standoffs.

The dog is a 5 year old Akita Shepard and he's not been around cats before. He is a good dog, but he comes from a rescue program about 4 years ago. They said that he wasn't acclimated to cats at that time.

I think I want to propose a muzzle for the dog until it's certain that he's not going to attack my cat. But I think we probably need to make the muzzle part of his world before we bring him to meet the cat. My brother's dog once attacked a cat and killed it so I'm very weary of just allowing a "see how it goes" approach. I would be devastated if anything happened to either animal. I am a little paranoid.

Other issues - my cat worships me and she reacted very badly when I got another cat. She got overly possessive of me. I had to give the other cat to my parents because it just got too hard with the two cats not eating, trying to possess me, etc.

I do realize that it might not work but I'd like to have the best plan possible to avoid problems.

I've proposed that we make sure the dog is run extensively before the first introduction. And that we keep him on a lead. And that we have the dog not stay for a long period the first time.

Any other advice or suggestions?
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04-16-07, 03:31 PM
kittypal
Ami...I scanned a few sites and this one looked good...I would have copied and pasted but there are sub-links on it...I don't know much about the Akita breed and this site said a lot depends on the breed of dog. Good luck...I hope it goes well.
Cats & Dogs

04-16-07, 04:02 PM
babthrower
This story is not parallel to your situation but it does show some principles.

My son and his girlfriend had a beautiful Kodiak cat about a year old Sort of like KELSHA here .

They both worked so they decided to get a companion kitten. I read a book by a cat psychologist on how to introduce them. The advice was that a person other than one of the new owners should casually come in, then put the new cat on the floor and then everyone just ignore them, not even watch them.

This worked excellently well. The kitten walked right up to Kody and swatted him with his tiny paw. Kody blinked, then began following the curious kitten everywhere. They soon were inseparable.

The secret there was not to trigger a jealous response in the host animal by placing any importance whatsoever on the new arrival.

It occurred to me that attempts to over-control the dog might get all parties very uptight. This of course would encourage aggression and hostility in the animals.

My daughter's dog was a Pit Bull and it's the law in Vancouver that they must be muzzled outdoors. The dog soon got to accept it (although my daughter had rigged a quick-release strap in case her dog was attacked!) so you could start using a muzzle ASAP so the dog doesn't associate the muzzle with the cats. That would be A BAD THING.

04-16-07, 04:07 PM
juanruiz
Coincidentally, my daughter just got a shepherd mix from a shelter and introduced him to her four cats. Two of them took to him right a way. The Alpha female got used to him in a few days. The fourth is still hiding under the bed, but may come out soon. Point is, it doesn't always have to be a traumatic experience.

04-16-07, 04:10 PM
MrsS
In this case, I would start by not introducing the critters themselves but their scents... put a blanket or pillow or something that the cat hangs out on at the dog's place and bring something that smells like the dog onto the cat's turf... encourage them to get familiar with each others smells by lavishing attention and/or treats on them on the blanket with the new smell.
I think that acclimating the Akita to a muzzle before he meets the feline is a good idea... we don't want him associating the muzzle with the cat.

If you wear him out and introduce him in a state of happy exhaustion, try rubbing a little butter, bacon fat or catnip on his neck and/or between his ears... if you can get the cat to groom him while he is conked out, you're halfway home.
Good luck!

04-16-07, 06:06 PM
kittypal
LOL @ the bacon fat...I like it! Smile

Great advice with the letting them get used to the scent of wach other..I also agree it doesn't have to be tramatic...I think sometimes the animals pick up on our anxiety and react to that...The first day or two will probably be tense but they may end up good friends. Keep us posted please...I would love to know what happens.

04-17-07, 03:10 PM
Koz
There is some good advice offered here and I am no expert, but I did have two adult male cats when I brought my dog home for the first time about ten years ago.

Ami, when you say your cat is possessive of you and reacted badly when you brought another cat into the picture is your cat an alpha cat? What about the dog, is he an alpha dog? One of my cats (who always thought he was a dog by the way Roll Eyes ) was an alpha; the other one was quite submissive. From what you say your's sounds like one too.

When I introduced them (with the dog on a tight leash) the one cat headed for the hills while the alpha cat stood his ground. I did not know at the time that my dog was an alpha too, but the cat’s dominance won out. After some intense stares, hunched backs and hissing they got along great. The submissive cat was always leery of the dog but the other one was not, he actually took great joy in “rubbing his nose in it”.

(At the time) The dog was not allowed on the couch or bed, but the cat was, and was also very possessive of me. Whenever I sat on the couch the cat would hop up and sit next to me while the dog laid by my feet. Sometimes the cat would just lean over and swat (claws in) the dog as he was sleeping. He seemed to enjoy this game a lot Big Grin .

It was funny every time all three lined up at the door to go in or out. I would open the door, enter or exit (I refuse to be beta animal in my home, so I always go first Wink ) I would hold the door and the grey cat and the dog would just stare at the white and black cat and wait for him to be the first four legged animal through the door. If for some reason the dog tried to go first he would get smacked across the nose. (the grey cat was never so bold) He learned quickly and I used to laugh out loud when the white cat would just sit there making them wait. (Licking his paws taking his sweet time) He also made me wait (Standing there holding the door open) by doing this, but I guess he was just displaying his dominance.

If I remember correctly my white and black cat looked a lot like your cat, and yes I do remember your cat’s name. I won’t say it or my cat’s name as it is a key piece to my passwords to this day and I don’t know if yours is or not.

I would go with the muzzle and a tight leash since you don’t know how the dog (and cat) will react initially. Bab’s suggestion to get the dog used to the muzzle first is very important. You don’t want the dog to associate the cat, or going to your place with it.

I don’t know the layout of your place, but even if they seem to get along ok do not leave the two alone until you are absolutely sure they will be fine together. That might take a while. I used to leave the dog on the ground floor (plenty of room as the main floor is basically almost ½ the size of the house) I did not want to disrupt the cats “turf” too much. Don’t put your cat into a small room either, that will just tick him / her off.

My situation worked out very well and the dog would protect my cats all the time. They were indoor – outdoor cats and the dog would chase other cats off my property, jumping over my cats in the process sometimes. He never harmed other cats, but chased anything that runs.

I wish you the best of luck with the acclimation process and just remember it won’t happen overnight.

(P.S. sorry about the long ramble but as you (and JR) probably know things I can go on, and on, and on Roll Eyes )

04-17-07, 03:20 PM
juanruiz

quote:
(P.S. sorry about the long ramble but as you (and JR) probably know things I can go on, and on, and on



S'ok. I have been faulted on occasion for the opposite.

04-17-07, 04:45 PM
aminator2002
Thanks for the responses everyone. This is very helpful.

I think my cat is submissive but she's possessive. She wants to sit on me when anyone is near me. She wants to get in between me and books or me and the computer. She wants to be the focus but I don't think she's the alpha and I think that's why there is a bit of a problem with her and other animals. I had two submissive cats and neither would put the other in its place. My cat isn't the type to assert herself but she will get very upset with the intrusion on her life. Other things that make me think she's submissive - she comes when I call her and obeys me unlike other cats I've had. I clearly represent some type of
authority figure to her. She doesn't do what my cats in the past have done - walk around meowing for food when she wants food. She is very passive about it all.

When I dog sat for my friends, she would not seek out trouble with the dog and generally stayed hidden, but when the two met up around the house there would be hissing and claw bearing.

The thing I'm most worried about is that my cat will run, the dog will chase and the dog will get carried away if he catches her. I have seen this happen with the other dog and not only did I get worried that the dog would catch the cat, I was a little freaked that major damage to furniture almost occurred.

What happened with my brother's dog was that the cat ran, and the dog's instincts just kicked in. That dog had a locking type jaw so there was no getting the cat free once the dog had it. It was a situation that I don't think would happen with this Akita because of the jaw type and also just mental health of the dog is better.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll let you know what we decide to do... it might be weeks before we try this out. I'll talk to BF about the muzzle idea and see what he thinks.

04-17-07, 07:24 PM
babthrower
My daughter would put the muzzle on the pit bull but not wrap it around the dog's muzzle. The dog was very vain, and had several nice studded collars and little wearable blankets too so didn't mind having an object on her face. Admiring words of praise didn't hurt either. Then, when they went outdoors, my daughter would not fasten the muzzle until they were at the door. And of course unfasten it as soon as they got indoors again. So that way she minimized the dog's annoyance, even made a bit of a game of the muzzle. Everything was very calm and laid back.

04-22-07, 10:25 PM
KaelSaxen

quote:
Originally posted by MrsS:
In this case, I would start by not introducing the critters themselves but their scents... put a blanket or pillow or something that the cat hangs out on at the dog's place and bring something that smells like the dog onto the cat's turf... encourage them to get familiar with each others smells by lavishing attention and/or treats on them on the blanket with the new smell.
I think that acclimating the Akita to a muzzle before he meets the feline is a good idea... we don't want him associating the muzzle with the cat.

If you wear him out and introduce him in a state of happy exhaustion, try rubbing a little butter, bacon fat or catnip on his neck and/or between his ears... if you can get the cat to groom him while he is conked out, you're halfway home.
Good luck!



The only other thing I can think of to add to this is maybe you feed your boyfriend's dog at his place, and you let him try to feed your cat, even if it's krunchies, a few times.

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