Introducing a large dog to my horde

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22brix - 21 Mar 2008 05:57 GMT

Anbody have any suggestions for successfully introducing my cats to a large
(operative word being large!) dog? In a weak moment I offered to take care
of a friend's dog while she is selling her house and moving. It may be a
fairly long time (ie several months). I have had dogs and cats together
before but the dogs were either puppies or in one case a small dog that were
more intimidated by the cats than anything. This dog (Nala) is probably 80
lbs., a mixed mutt. She's elderly and so isn't very lively anymore. She
also has not been around cats much. She is very sweet and responsive but
she could do very real damage to a cat. My cats have been around several
dogs but Kellie just ignored them and Boku (a Boston Terrier we took care of
for awhile) was very very respectful of them.

Any suggestions for making the introductions any easier?

Bonnie

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mc - 21 Mar 2008 06:07 GMT

I believe it depends a great deal on the cats and the dogs, actually.

The cats absolutely must be given places to escape, preferably within
the main areas of the home, particularily if you are not familiar with
how the dog and cats will respond to one another.

Dogs and cats can be best friends, but the intro's will be up to you.

Some cats and dogs never seem to adjust, but I think that has a whole
lot to do with the introduction process...

So give them lots of time and respect for their comfort levels.

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Yowie - 21 Mar 2008 22:03 GMT

> Anbody have any suggestions for successfully introducing my cats to a
> large (operative word being large!) dog? In a weak moment I offered
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Kellie just ignored them and Boku (a Boston Terrier we took care of
> for awhile) was very very respectful of them.

Have a practice at giving the dog a few commands. Sit, stay and lie down are
the ones I have in mind.

The main danger to cats is if the dog sees the cats as something to chase,
ie, prey.

Like anything else related to dogs, introduce smells first. Take some
cat-marked stuff to the dog to have a thorough sniff before you bring the
dog inthe hosue. Ditto with dog marked stuff for the cats to sniff. This way
they arn't 'strangers'. Observe carefully how they react. Curious is good,
excited or fearful not so good. Reassure them calmly.

When introducing hte dog for the first time, DONT do it in the favourite
place of the cats. Do it in 'neutral' teritory. Have the dog on the leash,
and sitting down or even better, lying down, before a cat enters comes near.
Be prepared for hissing. thats OK. Do not allow bapping or worse - suirt
water and have an 'escape' for both the dog and cat. Praise the dog alot if
the dog is well behaved aorund the cats.

Keep the dog away from the litterbox and the cat food, odds are the dog will
snack from both sources, neither which is good for a dog.

Generally, I'd keep a big dog outside and the cats inside so there's not
alot of interaction.

The dog will eventually figure out its pretty low in the pecking order. The
cats will continue their status as members of the Superior Species :-)

Good Luck

Yowie

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22brix - 21 Mar 2008 22:45 GMT

> Have a practice at giving the dog a few commands. Sit, stay and lie down
> are the ones I have in mind.
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>
> Yowie

Thanks for your response! You've made some great suggestions! Yes I know
all about kittie crunches (ie catbox issues!)! Our dearly loved RB Kellie
dog was master (mistress) of finding ways to sneak into the cat boxes--all
the boxes are covered (mainly because of her) and facing the wall with an
approximately cat-sized entry. We took care of a little Boston Terrier who
would just climb into the boxes and have at it and you couldn't even see the
little varmint! Sigh. Nala is too big to hide in one but we'll have to
see. I have one baby gate and am planning to get another so the cats (who
all can jump just fine) can get out of the way in a hurry--the gate should
at least slow Nala down. Nala is close to 14 years old and has some serious
health issues, including a solid, inoperable tumor in her chest so she might
not be around very long. I plan on feeding the cats and dog separately and
not have food down where it becomes an issue. I already feed my clowder
separately anyway.

This dog, Nala has been very well trained by my friend and is very
responsive but she is big! She's also part pit-bull. She has not shown any
signs of any kind of prey drive or any dog aggression--she got along great
with Kellie the few times they were around each other. She has been around
some of my cats a little several years ago--she was quite interested in them
but very obedient and responsive to my friend. I'm just not sure she's
going to be as responsive to me! The two cats I am most concerned about
are the two female kitties: Sophie is very prickly and probably will
approach Nala with blood in her eye and bap her across the nose just to let
her know who's boss. Linden is just the opposite--she is very timid, shy
and retiring--I don't want her to be totally miserable. Clover actually
likes dogs better than other cats and the other two, Hailey and Gollum will
be scared initially and cautious but are both very adaptable. Nala is an
indoor dog so I think it would be very hard for her to adjust at this late
stage.

I really would like this to work but the cats are my top priority. Nala's
owner considers her to be unadoptable due to age and health problems and was
actually considering euthanasia--before that happens I'd like to see if we
can keep her.

Keeping my fingers crossed!
Bonnie

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Marina - 22 Mar 2008 05:24 GMT

> I really would like this to work but the cats are my top priority. Nala's
> owner considers her to be unadoptable due to age and health problems and was
> actually considering euthanasia--before that happens I'd like to see if we
> can keep her.

I don't have any experience with d*gs, so no advice, but we will be
purring for everything to go well with the intro. Thank you for trying
to help Nala.

Signature

Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

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leopardusweidii@yahoo.co.uk - 22 Mar 2008 08:52 GMT

The two cats I am most concerned about

> are the two female kitties: Sophie is very prickly and probably will
> approach Nala with blood in her eye and bap her across the nose just to let
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> indoor dog so I think it would be very hard for her to adjust at this late
> stage.///

When I introduced both my dogs (Bonnie and Cara) and also looked after
my brothers large 80lb labrador for several months, I introduced
everyone the same way. The dogs were confined to the kitchen with baby
gates, the cats had free run of where ever they wanted. What I would
suggest is that you take a bar out of the baby gate so a cat can get
through, but a dog can't. The reason for this, is that none of my cats
have *ever* jumped a baby gate and they needed a quick escape route.

For the first few months, litter boxes and food were kept upstairs
away from the dogs. It's only now in the last few months that I have
started feeding the cats in front of the dog, and they get fed first.

My nervous cats are still wary of Cara, but they have learned a quick
hiss and she backs off, and that she won't hurt them - but that's
pretty much because they know that they have rights over territory.

Helen M

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hopitus - 22 Mar 2008 08:18 GMT

> Anbody have any suggestions for successfully introducing my cats to a large
> (operative word being large!) dog? In a weak moment I offered to take care
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Bonnie

Well, I hope this to be helpful in some way for you but trying to make
a long story
short, I would err on the side of caution as they say, especially if
the pets must
be left alone by the hoomins for any length of time. Like maybe you
could keep
Nala separated from the cats in another part of where you live,
inside. Ditto the
food and water bowls, separated. Maybe you could let them all get
together with
you right there with them all once in awhile.
Reason I advise the above; I had a male Akita who weighed in in his
prime years
at about 130#...when he first came to us, I remember my vet told me
when I asked
how he would get along with the 5 cats, none of whom were young, 'He
will be just
fine as long as he is the newcomer'' - dog was 3 months old then and
barely bigger
than the largest of the cats - vet continued, 'It is when you are
introducing a grown
dog to your cats that trouble may develop. But in your case, those old
cats will
soon let him know who's running things in your place'.I never forgot
this advice.
Only a couple of those cats are still with me today....the Akita lived
a long life
for a large dog and went to RB in 10/2001 at age 12.
The cats did indeed inform him who ruled the roost, and he and my
only
pedigreed cat, Oliver,a red Oriental Shorthair, formed an affectionate
bond.
Oliver would sleep between the dog's big paws; he died at age 15 and
the Akita
followed him to RB six months later....the other cats only tolerated
the dog.

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22brix - 23 Mar 2008 00:26 GMT

> Anbody have any suggestions for successfully introducing my cats to a
> large (operative word being large!) dog? In a weak moment I offered to
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Bonnie

Well, Nala arrived yesterday with her person She has been delightfully
wonderful so far. Hailey is already unconcerned around Nala--a little too
unconcerned I think! Nala is curious about the cats--what most of the cats
think about her is unprintable! Hailey and Nala have exchanged nose sniffs,
Nala gently wagging her tail the entire time. Several times since while
petting Nala, Hailey has insinuated himself between us for several pets,
purring away. Nala is partially blind, hard of hearing, has wonky hips and
has a difficult time getting up. She moves quite slowly most of the time.
She absolutely loves people and looks like a devil dog.

As I said, Hailey isn't phased by her at all, Gollum and Linden are
appropriately puffed up and big eyed when they see her, although Linden was
more worried about my friend than Nala and chose to dash past the dog
instead of a new person--silly cat. Clover is playing hard to get but not
overly upset. Sophie has bapped Nala on the nose once and has used some
incredibly foul language, telling her where to go and how to get there post
haste. I am not forcing any intros, the scaredy cats are in our bedroom and
Hailey is either sitting on the arm of my chair (well within reach of Nala)
or lying on the headrest. I am feeding everybody separately and am trying
to reduce any resource guarding or conflict opportunities,

I am cautiously optimistic that this might actually work. I am going to be
watching her very closely but so far she seems very mellow and although
interested in the cats not overly so.

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments--greatly appreciated!

Bonnie

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