Question:
hi!-
I have read numerous articles online about having dogs and cats in the same household but I was looking more for first-hand experience....

I recently moved in with my fiancee into a new house. She has two puppies (female 2years, male 9 mos) and i have two cats (male 5 years, female 3 years). Things started very rough for the cats based just on the fact they had lived in the same place for 3 years. I placed them in the attic and let them adjust for a while before introducing them to the dogs. (During the 1st weekend my male cat clawed his way through the 3rd floor attic screen window and JUMPED OUT! Fortunately he was ok.

For the last two months I have been taking the dogs into the attic to spend 15-20 minutes a day with the cats. The cats, to put it mildly, do not like the dogs. They are scared, but its also that they just don't appear to like them. They will meow at them, hiss at them, and swat them with their paws (their front paws are de-clawed). Anyway, its been 2 months now and the dogs have not lost interest in the cats (especially the older dog, Djinji), while the cats have no interest in coming out of the attic through the cat door I installed. Djinji will spend hours sitting infront of the attic door and putting her head through the cat door, sometimes barking.

Anyway, should I continue on this track...or should I be doing something different at this point?

Answer:
Hi InvictusVeritas,

I have two indoor dogs (9 and 6) and three indoor cats (13, 3 1/2 and 3 1/2). I think so far you have done all the right things.

The only thing I would suggest now, is don't bring the dogs into the cats "new safe space" any more. This might be hard on your cats. Can you put a gate at the attic door and let the cats venture out on their own and be able to retreat if scared? Maybe the gate so they can see if the dog is peeking at them? They might like to know they can get away. Maybe they well venture down at night, when the rest of the house is asleep?

Mine got along well, but the newest additions inside the house were tiny babies when we brought them in, so the dogs just got used to them running around and being kittens.

Don't force more meetings, they will make peace or at least learn to live with each other, but my older cats (I had another older female at the time) had to deal with the babies in their own time, and I suspect your cats need to do that with the dogs. Don't expect them to be buddies, but don't be surprised if they do. Just be careful that the dogs can't corner them somewhere, or they may find out what a paw (since they don't have claws) on the nose feels like, not altogether a bad thing I wish my cats had popped my dogs a time or two.

Good luck.
Diane

Answer:
You didn't mention what breed the dogs are. Cats and dogs CAN be wonderful together. It's harder if they are all adults and not previously with other dogs or cats before now.

Answer:
Well I have been on both sides of that as my cats are all feral and been introduced at different times.. as well my basset hound was introduced to my cats.. they have all gotten along well.. but by all means afford them a safe place to escape to.. and let them choose when to explore the new place.. it will take time.. patience will also be required..

Nutmeg

Answer:
I have 2 cats (5 and 5) and a dog (7 months) and they still do not get along. Things were not good at the beginning but Spencer was only a pup so the cats weren't as intimidated. Now, we have gotten to the point that the only problem is when Spencer wants to PLAY with the cats. He is pretty rough and gets on their backs but they just pretty much run away. 5 minutes later, the could be sleeping in the same room together. Things do get better. Definitely try the gate thing, cats need to have a place that they feel safe in and the kitty door may be intimidating to them. Don't force it, let them do it on their own terms.

Answer:
When I brought my dog (1 years at the time) home for the first time, my cats (6 and 10) had no idea what to think. My female cat was very wary of this dog and extremely mad at me (attitude!). My male cat bonded with the dog right away and that night I caught him rubbing up against my dog - the dog didn't appreciate that too much, but he tolerates the cats knowing that he's not allowed to chase them. I personally didn't confine the dog or the cats - I just let them go wherever. The cats already knew where to go to be safe and the dog knows where to go to not get in the way of the "cat with attitude (female)". It's been about a year now and my male cat couldn't care less about the dog and my female has come along way. She doesn't like the dog, but she hasn't hissed at him for awhile now and she'll even come up to him and sniff him, if he stays incredibly still and doesn't look directly at her.

My advice is let the cats go free in the house to get used to it. Maybe keep the dogs confined to a certain area for a couple of days. This way, the cats will be able to find and know where to hide when they want to get away from the dogs. Also, try to have a room only for the cats and no dogs allowed, so they'll have their own safe haven. Good luck.

Answer:
thanks for the responses so far...

i can add some more info now that was touched on in posts.....

the two dogs are portugeuse water dogs.....the younger male (Django) is about 65 lbs at 9mos....the older female (Djinji) is about 45 lbs at 2 years.

Actually the cats have come come out of the attic -especially at nightwhen the dogs are in the bedroom with us and no contact can occur b/w them...i have come down in the morning and have seen the older male cat (Benny) in the basement. (The attic and basement doors both have cat doors for access in and out.) When the dogs are around (and the cats know it) the cats will not come out in the open.....the cats have been caught out in the open on a few occasions - when this happens the dogs chase them.....the cats definately don't like that and is probably the number one thing that scares them. I don't think there is any violent intent by the dogs though - just instinct/curiosity. When I bring the dogs up to the attic though no chasing goes on. The older dog just sits there and STARES at them...doesn't bark, doesn't chase....just sits there and stares...sometimes she is shaking while doing this! Anyway, when she is not doing this she seems intent on just trying to sniff the cats butts.

One of the reasons I have become more concerned lately is because of the hot weather lately and b/c their 'safe place' is in the attic. I guess I am just being to anxious about the process...

Answer:
I've had cats and dogs for the last 15 years, and have successfully introduced all my cats - even adult ferals - to my dogs.

For the last two months I have been taking the dogs into the attic to spend 15-20 minutes a day with the cats.
Agree 100% with dmc123. NEVER do this. My cats all learned to get along with my dogs because the cats had a "safe place" that they knew they could retreat to and that the dog would never come in. This is what gives them the confidence and courage to start coming out. Taking a dog in there is an invasion of their territory and they will feel that they are not safe anywhere.

Never let the dogs chase the cats. Until the dogs learn to leave the cats alone, you need to leash them when the cats come out, so you can control and correct them. Praise and give them treats when they pay attention to you and ignore the cats.

I put a chain on the door of the cats' room so it opens just wide enough to let the cats in. This arrangement works very well.

Since it will be intolerably hot in your attic, could you do this on the basement door?

You cannot ever force introductions. Cats can ONLY do things when they are ready to.

Answer:
We had our first Rottweiler pup (Damien) and a kitten (Yoda) both near the same age. (8-10 weeks) There wasn't a problem introducing them, they were curious of each other.

They were best friends their entire lives and helped other pets we had, show there was no reason to fear the cat or the dog when they were all introduced. We did have a "safe" spot for the new pet to go to when they were overwhelmed and needed to get away.

When they would be playing and the kitten would nearly crawl inside the Dogs mouth and come out dog slimed. They would do this out in the front lawn and an Elderly Lady yelled at us that Damien was "eating the cat".

They were such good buddies that when Yoda died Damien was so heartbroken he left us a few months later.

Answer:
I only found this forum recently, so was going to post almost this exact situation. The responses here are helpful, so was wondering how it was going with you. Does the dog still sit at the door staring? We brought a new puppy (5 months) into a household with an older dog (11 years) who gets along with our 3 year old cat. When I say "get along", I mean, they live in the same house peacefully, sniff at each other as they pass in the hall etc. We wouldn't be on a calendar or anything. The new dog does what your dogs do... instantly chase. In fact, the dog, when let in to the house races around for about 5 minutes trying to find the cat, poking her head through cat doors, etc. When she's satisfied the cat is behind a cat door, she calms down, but is always in "waiting" mode. She's a puppy and I'm hoping will grow out of it. I kind of wish the cat would be more like yours and make an effort to get out of the way, but he does the opposite. He will "show up" when he knows the dogs got let in and tries to be as visible as possible. He doesn't like the dog chasing him it seems, as he hisses and growls when the dog gets close, but also stops in the middle of the room to do that, rather than taking refuge. I think the cat likes the reaction in a warped sort of way. He has plenty of places to go (we have a big house with three cat doors to safe "cat places"). I think the cat wants the situation to be like it is with the other dog (frankly so do I). I figure as much exposure to each other is best, and let them get it out of their system. I'm like you, I want to know if I'm doing all the right things. I have safe places for the cats, I want to praise the dog if she is calm in the cat's presence (but this never happens), I have tried "leave it" and the water bottle, but because she is soooo consumed with the cat, it's ineffective. (and she's a puppy and has an attention span of one). She knows some basic commands, but only without distractions at this point as we're still in training. This distraction is the most challenging. Maybe I just need to be patient, so was wondering if anything has improved for you.

Answer:
it's WW3 in my house too. 2 cats, 1 puppy. Tucker (puppy) is learning LEAVE IT, so I'm just continuing to teach it, be patient, and praise like crazy when he does listen. The cats though... the young one, Lulu, is a lover, not a fighter. so she takes the abuse from the pup, and sits there with a crabby look as she gets covered in puppy drool. The older one will scream, hiss, spit, and swing her paws (declawed).

I do the same thing, provide them with a safe spot (the 2nd floor), and let them interact with the pup when they're ready. (it's hot on our 2nd floor too, I put extra bowls of water for them up there, and leave fans on, windows open, etc...)

I'm hoping eventually they will realize no one is leaving, and they'll get used to it.

I find dinner time is the worst though. I have to feed them seperately or we end up with food & fur flying around the kitchen.

Answer:
It sounds like while trying very hard to have them all get along you have made the dogs very interested in the cats. If you had just brought them in, given them a safe place to retreat and left it alone. You would have had them interested in the beginning but would have calmed very quickly. You can still do this.
It is the same if everytime the dogs went near the cats you stopped them or reacted in some way. They would start to think that they get attention everytime they go near them and that there is a reason they should be interested. As long as they are safe, ignore the situation. They will either get along or they will learn to avoid each other. But in the end all should be well.

Answer:
when we introduced our dog to the new cat, we just let the new cat be himself and get to know the place and controlled the dog on a leash until the cat was ok with her.
Now they are best friends!
Mind you it is a Chihuahua, not a PWD.

Answer: