I just started dating someone and he has 2 cats and I have 2 dogs. We would like to introduce them and eventually have them living together. I've read your discussions on introducing dogs and cats, but they never mention how to handle multiple dogs and cats that are all adults. My dogs are 11 (pitbull mix male) and 4 (St. Bernard mix male) and his cats are 8 and 3 and both males. My dogs have never been around cats and his cats haven't been around dogs much. I will be bringing my dogs to his house. I'm just afraid his cats will leave and always hide or never come back if they get too scared. Should I introduce everyone together? Should I put my dogs on a leash or fence them away from the cats at first? Any suggestions would be extremely helpful and appreciated.

When my daughter lost her cat-friendly apartment, guess who 'inherited' her 2 cats?!! These cats had NEVER been outside and NEVER seen a dog, much less lived with one.

I had 3 Shih Tzus and 5 other cats. They were also not used to other cats.

What I did was (1) put daughter's cats in her old bedroom with their food, water, litterbox, etc. There was much sniffing going on underneath the door, and when I would go in/out to pet & play with them. Of course I brought their smell out with me.

(2) after about 4 days, I put a baby gate across the door. The dogs couldn't jump it and the cats felt 'safe' in 'their' room. The other cats of course could have jumped it, but I never saw them if they did. Again, much sniffing, growling, hissing, etc.

(3) eventually daughter's cats ventured out, first when the dogs were outside. If they got 'scared' they ran back to 'their' room. Then I started letting the dogs in, starting with the oldest, calmest one. Now all my dogs have been raised with cats, but they WILL chase them if the cats run.

Through this whole time, I was still feeding/watering daughter's cats in 'their' room. As soon as they were eating *sometimes* from the communal feeder in the utility room and drinking from same, I removed the food/water bowls from the room. Thereby MAKING them go out for food/water.

Over about 3 weeks, everyone gradually assimilated. It's been 18 months, and now you would never know daughter's cats from the ones I've had many years!

Me, personally would take the dogs to the cats' territory. That way the dogs would already feel a little 'off balance' and not quite as likely to 'defend' their territory. But that's just my idea.

Basically make it safe for the cats to explore, have a safe place only they can get to, and have a squirt bottle of water handy for dogs chasing cats! (The reverse I don't think happens very often!) And take as long as the cats need!!

 Quote:

I got a one year old kitty from the pound (who had never been around a dog before, much less two Rotts!) when my male was 2. He wanted to eat her as any driven dog would. I kept them separated for one month before allowing any contact and then on a leash for another month. My female had grown up with cats, so she was never an issue...

Quinn was crated while the kitty was out in the house (she was limited to a couple of rooms for a while and slowly allowed more freedom, she was also kept in a single room while Quinn was out) and he would go off in the crate, barking and snarling. We corrected him for it and eventually he chilled out and just stared at her while she walked around. He was not taken out until the staring was just a glance instead of a “Just come a little closer…” look.

When he was more relaxed (4-6 weeks) I took him out and had him tethered to me. I would correct a hard stare, but by now he was used to her presence. After a couple of weeks of that, he was fine while supervised and off leash. Another month and fine unsupervised. He will even let her come into his crate.

If you take the right steps, and as much time as needed, they can become friends; or at least understand that kitties are not food. There may be a rare dog that cannot be safe around a family cat (and by that I mean the cat that he has become conditioned to, Quinn will still chase any other cat that runs from him&hellip and a dog that has had the satisfaction of catching and, God forbid, killing a cat may fall into that category.

This was a post from about a year ago that I made in response to another members question.

In your case, I would set up crates for both dogs an just allow they and the cats to become used to each other. Barking, snarling and growling are not allowed and whining is to be discouraged.

Give it as much time as is needed, and go very slowly and one dog at a time. Don't rush things just to see if it will work or to see where you are; you may end up setting yourself back even further than from where you started.

Bring your dogs to his home after a very vigorous workout on their behalf. If they are tired, they will be less likely to go looking for trouble.

And I should add that while it took two months to get my two comfortable with each other, Quinn had a drag line on him at all times for the first six months if they were out together. Also, she had a get away in each room, either under something he couldn't fit into, or up high where he could neither reach or knock over.

Just started dating and already want to live together? Just kidding, I've done that a bunch of times....

Cats do not like to be moved. If they are always indoors its easier. If they are indoor outdoor thats harder. When the cat is already acclimated to his housemates I make them stay indoors for no less then 5 days to establish were the food is. Usually by then they are slamming cabinet doors at 2am, raking the carpet, and making life miserable. Don't feed them outside. They need to come into eat.

Over the last 5 years we have brought in 5 dogs either from the shelter, dog sitting or a stray that had to spend the night. 2 last winter into our 4 dog home. Even with an outdoor run -30 was too cold for anyone. And our place is 900sq ft. Crates are the answer for everyone. Pick up all the toys and no food on the ground. Dont fuss over the cats with the dogs loose. Especially, do not have the cat in your arms or lap and allow the dog to approach.You'll bleed.

After a respectable time period and after everyone has calmed, allow the cats to walk around with the dogs on leash. You can teach a dog to leave the cat alone but probably not the other way. At some point the cat will explain to the dog how to behave. In most cases the worst that can happen is something gets broken.
In one case with us, after 3 months the the 3 yr old Lab/Rot/Mastiff mix recently neutered tried to throttle the 16 lb cat for the umteenth time. I consutled this site almost daily with this dog. The cat incdent combined with throttling the 60lb Lab was his last offense. Sometimes it does not work out. We've added two dogs since then without incident.
In the yard is another story. Make sure that cat has an excape route or place. Inside the cat food is raised on a Kitty Condo. Litter pans are really tasty to dogs. Devise a way that the cats can relieve themselves but the dogs cannot get to it. I put the litter pan in a closed box with a hole for the cat and turn it towards the wall. It works most of the time.
Really when it gets down to it, Cats Rule. Probably Ed can train a cat but we end up working around Buckwheat. We have a dog free area, the bedroom. He is up there if he is not outside killing something but he will lounge on arm of the sofa and take a swip at the dogs as they pass.
We never, never, never leave the dogs and cats alone loose in the house. Never.


http://www.alaskadognews.com

Cats chasing dogs. One morning I was getting ready for work and heard a racket in the yard outside of my bathroom window. Looked out the window, took a sip of coffee, to see Buckwheat, our 16 lb tabby RIDING a Westhighland Terrier into the front yard. I sprayed the coffee all over the screen. By the time I got to the front door the dog and cat were nowhere to be seen. Bucky came in a few moments later no worse for wear. We never saw that dog again. Depends on the cat I guess.

We had two adult cats (both 4 yrs old, brother and sister) when we brought our GSD female pup home, who was 8 weeks old. The pup was either in the kennel or supervised on a leash until she had some formal training around 6 months old. We bought a $65 dog gate from Walmart that had a cat door on the bottom, which we could open or close at any time. We separated two sides of the house with the gate: the dog side and the cat side.

The female cat finally started to warm to the dog and would come out to the dog side of the house when we were hanging out on that side with the dog. The boy cat, who is extremely shy, wanted nothing to do with the dog and always stays on the cat side of the house. Luckily the female was a very relaxed cat and would approach the dog as long as the dog wasn't being hyper. They learned to get along very well until about 6 weeks ago when the female cat disappeared one day. (She was allowed outdoors and we ultimately think coyotes nabbed her.)

Two weeks after the female disappeared, we ended up getting two more kittens, both sisters. We've been much more disciplined in the interaction between the kittens and the dog because they are so much smaller than the adult cats. Because the kittens have so much more energy than the adults, our dog (who is now 9 months old) is way more interested in them because her prey drive kicks in when she sees them run. She is not allowed to interact with the kittens at all unless they come up to her. We give her the command "no kitties" if she even tries to sniff them and she gets a prong correction if she makes any physical contact with them. She sometimes fixates on them as well, so we try to distract her with a toy or a treat when she does this. She is also not allowed to play with the kittens' toys (mainly because they are so much smaller and we don't want her swallowing them on accident).

Having owned 9 cats so far in my lifetime, I would recommend against introducing them all together. Get a dog gate and keep a dog free zone in your house for the cats (if you can) and let the cats make the first move in approaching the dogs. Better not to rush the cats into a meeting they don't want to have. (The first time my adult male cat got cornered by our dog, he ended up peeing on our bed because he was so traumatized. Ultimately we were the ones to pay the price--with a stinky bed--because we weren't supervising the dog close enough that day.) I think it's good that the dogs are coming to the cats and not vice versa. Moving for some cats can be traumatic and hopefully it will make for an easier adjustment because the cats are already in their home.

Lastly, make sure the dogs cannot gain any access to the cat litterbox. I've had dogs that loved to eat cat feces because they could taste the cat food in the feces.

PS - Also, training a "place" command (making the dogs go to and lie down on a dog bed or a rug) for the dogs is great for having cats around the house. Ed has a podcast on this on the site you can listen to on how to train the dogs to do this. When our dog gets a little too interested in the kittens and we're too tired to police her (or don't want to put her outside or in her crate) we just have her go to her place and make her lie down for a whil.e

It would be fun to find out what new experience Jennifer has with this meeting. I had a cat leave once in a snit and come back when the interloper left. The same cat pooped on my bed pillow when a friend and her 3 yr old came for a visit.
That's a cat.

Thank you so much for all the advice. As soon as I try it, I will definitely update everyone.