How To Introduce A Cat or Kitten To My Dog
Cats are routine creatures and very territorial. They hate change! So changing a cat’s home/enviroment can be a stressful experience especially for a kitten who is not only getting a new home but also leaving behind his mum and litter mates. It can be even more stressful when there are already pets living in your home.
There are things you can do to minimise the stress caused during this transition and when followed can create positive bonds between your pets allowing them to be friends forever. Rather than vicious enemies.
If you don’t have other pets please check out our other article with steps to transition into a home without pets.
Step One – Setup Basecamp
Before you bring your cat home, find a quiet, safe room ready for your cat. A spare room works well if you have it, if not any smaller room is okay as long as it’s quiet. Don’t choose a room that is your dog’s room or a room that they regularly use. Ensure that there are places it can hide so it feels safe. Put every thing in there that your new cat or kitten will need:
- Kitty litter tray
- Food and water bowl. Place their food and water bowl away from each other as cats don’t like their food and drink close to one another. Also, make sure their food and water are away from their litter tray.
- Their bed/blankets
- Scratchy post.
- Toys
Make sure none of your other animal’s items are in this room.
Step Two – Settling Your Kitten
Place your cat carrier, with the cat inside, in this room. Ensure that any items that came with your new cat or kitten (eg. blanket, soft toy etc) are still in the carrier as this will have a familiar scent and will help in alleviating stress and assisting you with a pleasant transition. Open the door to the carrier but do not force the cat to come out. Let him come out on his own. He will likely come out and explore a little and then race back in. This is normal behaviour. Do not let your dog see the new addition yet and vice versa. Doing so could cause so much stress and fear, it may hinder the bonding chances between your cat and your dog and make the whole process longer.
Step Three – Getting To Know The Hoomans
Calmly and quietly have different members of the family come into this room, allow the cat to come up to them and head back to their box when it needs. Don’t force or chase your cat, let them approach you. Having treats on hand or playing with your cat using a toy (never use your hands as a toy) is really good as it reinforces positive things with you and your family. Wand toys are a good choice of toy as it keeps hands well away while playing.
Step Four – Getting To Know The Competition
The goal of this step is to create positive feelings when they smell the scent of your dog. The way to do this is by swapping bedding/blankets. This allows them both to get used of the scent of the other before seeing/meeting. If you don’t have easily removable bedding get an old towel and rub it over your existing animal including under the chin neck to get their scent onto the blanket. As they are sniffing the other animals scent offer treats, or put the blanket underneath their food dish. That way, they associate something good (their food) with the other animal. You should do this with each animal in the house. This creates positive reinforcement that the new pet is a good thing. Do this until they no longer run away from the smell and seem comfortable with that towel or blanket being around.
Step Five – Have A Meal Together
As well as swapping blankets, have your new cat or kitten and your dog eat their meals on opposite sides of the door. This allows them to associate the smell of the cat/dog with something they love, food! Place your cat’s food close to the door but far enough away so as they are comfortable to eat. Each feeding, slowly bring their food closer to the door until both animals are comfortably eating on opposites of the door. Try not to let your dog whine, scratch or bark at the door as this can be very intimidating for your new cat.
Step Six – Love At First Sight (hopefully)
After your new cat and resident dog have been exposed to each other’s scents and have become comfortable eating on opposite sides of the door, you can move to the next step and have them see each other. It’s important to do this in a controlled setting. Have another family member or friend help you.
It’s best to attempt this step when your dog is at his calmest, after a long walk. If he is crate trained, place the dog in his crate and use treats, chews or a toy to distract him and keep him calm. If your dog is not crate trained, put your dog’s leash on and using treats, etc, have him either sit or lie down and stay.
Whilst distracting the dog with treats or toys. Bring your new cat into the room, in its box. Place your cat down on the opposite side of the room. If on a leash, do not let the dog approach the cat. Quietly sit down next to the cat. Do not force any interactions. Give your cat a lot of attention by playing, and giving treats while they are in the same room as your dog. Let the cat get used to the dog being there and vice versa. Give them both praise, cuddles and treats to reward calm behavior.
If your dog becomes highly excitable at any time during the introduction remove them from the room. Keep the meetings short and do it several times a day.
Continue doing this until both are tolerating each other’s presence without fear or aggression.
Step Seven – Let The Cat Out The Box
Once both your new cat and your dog are comfortable in the same room together, it’s time to let the cat out of the box. It’s good to have places in this room where your cat can escape too, ideally somewhere high like a platform or a multi-tiered cat scratching post. Cats feel safer if they can observe from an elevated position.
Keep your dog on a leash, by your side and again use treats etc to keep him calm and quiet. Let the cat explore, allowing it to approach the dog if it chooses to. Do not force interaction. They may hiss or growl but are unlikely to attack your dog if no interaction is forced.
Do this several times a day, until your dog is able to relax when the cat is exploring.
Step Eight – Patience Is Key!
You can take your dog off the lead when your dog can remain calm while your cat is in the room. Depending on the dog this could be days or weeks, the key is to take things slow and be patient. Harmony is possible!
Things to Remember
