You have just adopted a new cat or a new dog and you wish at all costs to succeed in creating harmony between your two companions?

It’s possible to get there! However, you will need to show patience in addition to preparing this meeting well in order to avoid a fiasco. Here’s how you go about it;

Before arriving at home:

• Offer as many heights as possible in each room of the house so that the cat can run away from the dog at all times. Make sure these heights are unreachable by the dog.
• Prioritize tall cat trees (1.5 to 2 meters).
• Put the cat’s food and water on a piece of furniture so as to make them inaccessible for the dog; the goal is to create a safe place where the cat will not be disturbed when he eats.
• Do the same thing for the cat’s resting place: plan a place where the dog cannot go up. Place the cat’s bed there (blanket or cushion). It must be a safe place where the dog cannot disturb the cat.
• Offer hiding places accessible only to the cat, so as to allow it to shelter from the dog if necessary.

Upon arrival at home:

• Avoid any direct contact between the animals.

• Never hold the cat in your arms or put it in a transport cage. The cat must be able to escape at all times if it is afraid of the dog.

• Even if the cat was in the house before the dog, it is preferable to isolate in a room with all its thing (litter, food, water, toys, treats).

– Let the cat get used to its isolation. Hide treats everywhere and play with it regularly.

– The dog and the cat can feel and touch each other’s paws under the door, but without more.

TIPS: A calm cat walks with its tail and head high. 

The introduction of  a new animal:

• Let the cat freely go out in the dog’s absence, having taken care to put treats everywhere in the house beforehand, especially in the places most frequented by the dog. A positive association must be created between the cat and the smell of the dog.

• Do 10-minutes sessions where the two animals will see each other from afar through a small opening, on either side of the door while giving them each their favorite food or treat.

• Day by day, reduce the distance between the food or treats given to each other. Observe how the dog and cat behave: if they continue to eat despite the shorter and shorter distance, it’s a good sign. If one of the two stops eating, the food bowls must be moved back to the previous distance while the animals get used to it again.

– It is possible to do similar sessions, but instead of the door as a security barrier, you can keep the dog on a leash.
– WARNING: never pull or give blows on the leash to try to call your dog to order, punish him or prevent him from barking. If your dog shows aggression towards the cat, punishing it could make the situation worse; instead, distract its attention and seperate the animals. Try to bring them together again a little later.
 – Opt for an approach based on a positive reinforcement. Reward your dog or cat with a recompense: toy, food, caresses, etc. It is about finding the one he prefers.

• When your pets eat close to each other, let your cat move freely around the house. Make sure the dog doesn’t overreact when the cat is playing near it. A dog may be calm in front of a calm cat, but some instinctive predation sequences can be triggered at the sight of a rapidly moving cat. Playing with the cat in the presence of the dog on a leash can allow you to do this verification.

Two types of problematic situations are to be monitored:

1. If, in the presence of the cat, the dog growls, great vigilance must be exercised: do not leave them alone without supervision and keep the dog on a leash. As soon as the dog show signs of calm in the presence of the cat, reward it (but never punish it when it growls). A consultation with a dog trainer can be useful in this context.

2. If the dog growls in the presence of the cat, and its body is stiff, and it remains completely focused on the cat even if it is offered tasty food, it is necessary to contact a dog trainer. This is an excessive reaction.

WHAT ABSOLUTELY AVOID: 

• Always leave the isolation room door open, so that the cat can take refuge there if necessary to rest or reassure itself.

• Never punish the grunts or barks between the animals. Both must know the distance to keep in each other’s presence.

• Always supervise the meetings:
– What is your dog’s history: has he ever had altercations with lesions with a cat or a smaller dog?
– Learn to recognize the signals your dog gives before an attack/bite.
– Have a soft object nearby, but rigid enough to separate the animals in case of a fight. Never use your hands or feet, you could get bitten.

• In case of a problem, isolate the animals and contact an animal behaviour specialist.

Reference: De main de maître – Cohabitation entre chiens et chats : Pour que le rêve devienne réalité!