Socializing takes time. It helps if you have quiet reunions with friends
often. Loud parties tend to scare most cats.
As for the dog, give them time. They will learn to deal with the dog one
way or another. :)
Bear in mind that cats are individuals, with unique personalities. Most
of our cats are very outgoing, but we know lots of people with very shy
cats.

Do you cats have claws? What breed of dog?
   I'm no expert , but this is how we did it with our 3 year old dog and 8
week old kitten.
   When we brought the cat home we kept him isolated in our bedroom for
about a week or two allowing him out when the dog was tied out , on walks
etc. My wife watches TV in bed everynight and I spent alot of time in the
room during the day so it's not like the cat was abandoned or anything.
   For the first couple of days all I did was rub an old towel all over the
cat and allow the dog to sniff it. Then vice versa , rub the towel over the
dog and let the cat sleep on it.
   I would advise some basic obediance training for the dog first off.
Anyway on day three I brought my dog into the bedroom ON LEASH and gave him
a down stay. This activity about 15 minutes the first day was gradually
increased over the next week to having the dog in the room all evening.ON
LEASH!
   The dog must be taught to view the cat as an object not prey. A firm
"LEAVE IT" of "OFF" and a correction with the leash  if the dog get's too
rambuncious, balanced with a warm good boy and a special treat when the dog
has a positive interaction.
   My cat took to the dog right away and shows no fear at all . It's
actually pretty funny to watch a 5 lb cat intimidate a 100lb dog.
   I realize our situation is reversed. I have a fairly well trained adult
dog and a kitten you have the opposite. I think with people the cats will
make their own peace when they are ready.
Good luck!

lure them out with catnip and and get them all trusting. Hit both in base of
skull with hammer. Then skin them, strangle the neighbor's cat with their
skin and then make a lovely kitty flambe and invite the neighbors. Then do
the same thing to their dog.

my cats aren't fans of company either, but then again, we don't get a whole
heck of a lot of it.  My sister's cat is very friendly and social because
she has small children and they constantly have other people in the house.

Make sure the cats have a safe place they can hide from the dog and company.
A baby gate in front of a room that is off limits to the dog, and a tall cat
tree that he can't reach them on are good starts.  Realize it from their
perspective, and you'll have an easier time of getting them to accept what
is going on

Eventually the cats will choose to be present when you have guests (or
not). Unless the guests have come over to visit your cats instead of
you, I don't see the problem.

It might take them a week or so to get used to the puppy, if that
doesn't happen soon, you should make sure that their food/water/latrine
areas aren't easily accessible by the canine. Bear in mind that 8 month
old cats can do alot more damage to a 3 month old puppy than vice versa.

Hissing and growling is the cat talking (well, cursing, actually), why
would you stop it? You don't speak cat so shouldn't be offended. If the
cat's hiding under the couch growling at your guests then put the cat in
another room before guests arrive.

Yes, the gender of unneutered cats makes a difference in temperament
aspects, but the differences tend to balance out from your point of view.

Please keep us posted on how they're getting along.

pat

Hi Geoff,

Sabrina used to be very skittish of anyone that came over, and she
would run and hideunder the bed when she heard strange voices in the
house.  

A little over a year ago I took in a stray dog and we kept her.
Chloe is a Lab/Pit mix, and was about a year old when we got her.
Talk about a bull in a china shop, hyper puppy.   She is very social,
friendly, but doesn't realize her strength and size, especially
compared to a cat (although Sabrina is a 18lb cat).

Sabrina took to hiding under the bed.   We took to keeping the bedroom
door closed, moved the litter pan and cat door to that side of the
house, had her food and water available, and she took over the Master
bedroom suite area as her domain and we kept the door closed.  

The 2 animals got to know each other by sniffing under the door.
Over the course of a few months we started opening the door and giving
the two some supervised visits to let the dog get near the cat.

It took about 3 months before Sabrina would begin to venture into the
house.   We always let Chloe know that, under no circumstances, is she
allowed to mess with Sabrina.    On the few occasions that Chloe has
gotten close, Sabrina has opened a can of whoopass on her and let
Chloe know that she doesn't like her.

Its now been about 1 yr and 4  months since we introduced the cat and
dog to each other.    Sabrina has full reign of the house, and will
even go sit in Chloe's crate or on Chloe's dog be, to let her know
that she is still boss.   When we have cereal, Sabrina always gets
first licks at the leftover milk in the bowl and Chloe gets sloppy
seconds.

We occasionally find the 2 animals sleeping about 1ft from each other.
Sabrina on watch to make sure that this big oaf of a dog doesn't get
too close.   Although I've caught her sniffing Chloe on occasion.

Also, in the past yr of having the dog in the house, when people
visit, Sabrina comes out and visits with them.    We recently had my
inlaws stay for 2 weeks, and even the first day they arrived, Sabrina
came out to greet them and say Hi.   She is much more social.

For what its worth, We adopted Sabrina 4.5yrs ago when she was 4yrs
old.   She is now 8.5yrs old.   In the past year, she's gotten much
more social with strangers and visitors, much more tolerant of the
dog.   She's also had her front right leg amputated due to cancer and
still gets aroudn well and is much more social, all around.    I'm
sure it was a combonation of the amputation and the dog that brought
this about.

Cats are all different.  What works for one cat won't work for another.  We
have a 5 month old kitten.  He loves visitors and he loves children.  We
didn't have to teach him or socialise him in any way it was just the way she
was.  My old cat was very nervous around strangers for many years and just
disappeared.  However as she got older she was far more relaxed and would
frequently come out when we had visitors.

Give your cats time and don't expect what they're not willing to give.
Noisy visitors and loud parties will probably upset your cats more than
quiet gentle visitors.  As for the dog, they'll probably get used to each
other, sometimes hissing is all that is required to put puppie in it's place
so it doesn't push the boundaries and then afterwards things will probably
get better.

I have two cats myself.  They are 4 and 5 years old.  The 5 year old doesn't
care who comes over, she'll go right over to them, sniff and decide if she
wants to stick around or not.  The 4 year old cowers under the bed.  Or she
would if the movers hadn't lost the bed frame.  She has other spots tho.
She hides from my husband even.  I often joke that she's a right wing
feminist. My suggestion is to give them some time, because have you ever
tried to hunt for two cats that small under a bed? Unless you fit under it,
it's impossible.  Take it from me.

Well it was smart to get the dog while they were still young.  We tried a
dog when our cats were a little older and they did the same thing, quivered,
hissed and swiped at the sucker.  The hissing will stop I believe.  It just
takes time for them to get used to everything. The dog, the environment.
Don't push them, let them do it themselves.
One question? How big is the dog?  I found with our cats if it's a big dog
it makes the situation worse because our cats felt like they might be lunch.
If we end up with another dog it'll definately be one smaller than the cats
or about the same size.

Hope that helps :)

- Leigh

I have *many* cats - only two will investigate company, the rest hide.  In
fact I was having new windows installed this week, they're done, all cats
but one present and accounted for.  He hid himself well, climbed up inside
the backrest of the couch, thankfully he got himself back out too.

Elmo had to investigate everything they were doing.  Even decided to take a
walk on the roof since there wasn't a window where it was supposed to be.
Thankfully he came in when I asked him what did he think he was doing.  Tia
helped supervise.  Other cats were all buried somewhere.