a puppy and a cat cuddling

The Best Way to Introduce a Dog to a Cat

ByHolly Anne Dustin

Last Updated on May 29, 2021 by Holly Anne Dustin

How to Successfully Introduce a Dog to a Cat

The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that 44% of US pet owners have multiple pet home and most include both cats and dogs. The biggest problem reported is owners that wish their animals got along better. It is possible to introduce a dog to a cat and blend your furry family members into a harmonious whole.

The biggest issues arise when a dog is too playful, and the cat is too fearful, or the dog has a predatory chase drive. It is possible for cats and dogs to live together but it depends on the humans to make it work.

Problems seem to arise when people introduce a dog or cat into the other animal’s space. They need to do the work necessary to make it successful instead of just focusing on what they, the humans, want.

Know Your Animals

First, before you blend a family, you need to know your animals. A herding dog or squirrel chasing, prey driven dog may not be the best choice to live with a cat. Remember when you start, you are aiming for tolerance not friendship. You should expect the process to take at least 2-3 weeks. It can take years for a cat to develop a trusting relationship with a dog.

In the “natural world” cats would be prey for dogs. Watch for the predatory fixation: is the dog oriented to the cat, stalking or chasing?  Don’t let him get to that point.

The American Humane Society suggests that a dog that becomes aggressive in the presence of a calm, still, cat, or utterly loses her ability to concentrate on anything else, probably can never live peacefully with a cat.

Remember that any combination of a dog and a cat can be great, or could be a big failure. Every animal is an individual. Even if a dog has lived with successfully lived with cats before introducing him to a new cat may not be successful. Puppies and kittens that grow up together have the best chance of getting along as adults.

The Best Way to Introduce a Dog to a Cat 1

Choosing the Best Dog for Your Cat

If you already have an adult dog and want to add a feline friend to the family, consider a adopting a kitten instead of an adult cat. A kitten is less likely to have the innate fear of dogs. First impressions are important with cats. You want to keep things as stress free as possible for your cat if you want to blend your animal family successfully.

If you have cats and you want to get a dog, it is best to get a dog that lived with cats before. You want to think about your feline family members before introducing a puppy. It is probably not the time to get a puppy if your cats are shy or elderly. A confident, well-socialized, lazy cat will probably adapt given proper introductions, space, and time to adjust to the new family member.

White dog in the grass

Make sure your dog is well socialized and trained.  You have no chance of introducing your dog and cat successfully with an untrained dog. He needs to know and be reliably be able to sit, stay, down, recall/come. Teach him “look at that”. Have him look at the cat and then look at you for a treat. Reward him for not paying attention to the cat. If you are trying to introduce a dog without a known cat history, it’s useful to train him to a muzzle for the first attempts.

You don’t want to introduce multiple dogs to a cat. Alone each dog might be fine, but together they can form a pack and kill the cat.

Prepare Properly for the Introduction

Your cat will need high places to get away from the dog and litter boxes in a dog free area.  If the dog ambushes the cat in the box, she may stop using it. Figure out how you will feed them separately. Dog food is not nutritionally sound for cats and cat food is too rich for dogs.

The cat needs a place in every room where she can get up away from the dog and exit the room without being chased. Gates with built-in cat doors are great for separating the animals until they are ready to be together on their own. Keep the dog behind a gate until the cat is comfortable. Crate training your dog can be helpful.

Separate Them for Success

When you bring a dog into a house with a resident cat, separate the cat into a space of her own with all she needs. Let the dog explore the house so he can “meet” the cat by her scent only. Then take the dog out for a nice walk and let the cat out to explore the scent of the new family member. Keep them separate. Put the dog’s crate in a room the cat doesn’t go in.

Practice scent swapping, just as you do when you introduce cats.  The cat’s scent is concentrated in her cheeks and forehead so rub a cloth there and then leave the cloth where the dog can explore it. Take another clean cloth and rub the dog’s “arm pits” and flanks to scent a cloth to leave with the cat. See how the animals react to each other’s scent.

Never force the process. If they avoid the cloth, it is a hint to go slower. if they are curious or neutral you can move on to letting them see each other through a glass barrier (let the cat see the dog in the yard when he goes out for example) and explore each other’s “turf” in turns.

How does the dog react when he re-enters a room after the cat has spent time there? Is he hunting the cat? Does he not notice? Notice and not care? Focus intently but will respond to you instead of the cat?

Face Time

At that point you can move to a face-to-face introduction. Keep the dog on a short lead, then a long lead, and then off lead only when both animals are relaxed. If your dog is crate trained, you can start this process with him in his crate first before trying on the leash.

angry tabby and white cat
Eyes, ears, whiskers and mouth all indicate Kitty is not happy

Don’t rush off leash; even after the animals have met face-to-face you might need to keep the dog on a leash attached to your belt for a week or more. Never leave them unsupervised at this early stage. Put the dog in his crate where the cat doesn’t go. The cat will normally hiss or run.  Never allow the dog to chase the cat.

Be Their Translator

Don’t just let them “sort it out.” Dog and cat communication is different.  Play signals by either animal can be misread by the other. Remember, a dog can kill a cat even if they are only playing.  All it takes is one good shake by the dog and the cat’s neck is broken.

Know your pet’s communication styles and body language. Read your cat’s eyes, ears, and tail. Is her fur all fluffed up? Look at your dog. Is he fixated on the cat? Is he stiffened up, staring or barking? For more on the differences between dog and cat behavior check out this article.

Don’t assume that because they are okay together in one setting, they will be in another. ‘Cat testing’ a dog in the shelter might not show how he reacts to the cat at his home or inside vs outside.

Kittens and Dogs

If you are bringing home a new kitten to a well-behaved, non-reactive, non prey driven dog it might be possible to put the carrier down and let the dog sniff it before setting the kitty up in her own space. Don’t do it with an adult cat, or a dog that has no cat experience.

Be extra careful when you introduce a dog into a family with a kitten. Kittens adapt quickly, but are easily injured or killed by an energetic or predatory dog.

Stay Committed to your Fur Family

Should you find that the animals you are trying to blend are not a good match don’t turf your cat to the curb because it doesn’t get along with the dog. The newcomer should be the one re-homed or returned. If it is a matter of humans moving in together with two preexisting pets, it might require compromise and strategic use of gates and installing screen doors.

The humans need to respect the bonds they have built and keep the commitment to their animals, knowing moving them together causes stress and can cause behavior problems by either animal. Consulting your vet and getting a referral to a trainer, and a qualified behaviorist would be the next step.

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