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Old March 11th, 2004, 09:38 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,287
Yup! Since I foster cats (16 in the last 1 1/2 yrs) I've had plenty of experience introducing them to my dog.

Feral tomcats, nursing mothers, kittens, senior cats, etc...!

Since the cat and dog are both calm and laid back, it should go well if done right!

Here's what I do:

Put the cat in a room with all his stuff, close the door and leave him there for 2 - 3 days, until he knows that is HIS territory. Leave a blanket or something the dog lies on in there with him.

Then, you can put a baby gate on the door of the room and start leaving it open when someone is home. Raise it just high enough for the cat to get under, but not the dog. Knowing he has a "safe haven" will make the cat much more secure and brave.

Let him come out in his own time. He will probably make a few short forays out before coming out for good. Let him take all the time he needs. Do not allow the dog to approach the cat when he first comes out.

Very important - never ever try and rush to introduce dog and cat, or force the cat to meet the dog. He must decide on his own that the dog is no threat and then he should be o.k.

This is how I always do it, and have had no problem so far. My dog is also very laid back and does not chase cats, so they learned to trust her and got over their fear - and many were cats who had never been near a dog, or even seen one in their lives.
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