Introducing A Dog To Cats

I have a 2 and a half year old Siamese who is my baby. She follows me everywhere and always sleeps with me. A few days ago I got a dog, and have been keeping the dog in my room with me since she likes to chase cats I want to slowly introduce them. I’ve been trying to find my cat so I can give her attention and show her I still love her, but she’s been hiding in the boiler room and runs away from me. I’m afraid she might feel rejected and I’m heartbroken. Is there any way I could get her to be friends with my new dog?

Before introducing the two, I would work on dog training especially with a dog known to chase cats. The dog needs to consistently obey “ sit”, “stay” and “leave it” commands regardless of how excited he is before you can trust him enough to make an introduction. Then you want to do some scent exchange and seeing one another through some kind of a barrier before any face to face meeting. When you are ready for face to face make sure that cat has multiple places to immediately get away from the dog and use commands to have the dog sitting or laying down when they meet.

JLR92 said:

since she likes to chase cats

Click to expand...

I am wondering why you got this dog?

As mentioned, the dog needs serious training that is going to take longer than just a few days.

Are you willing to, and are going to, do this before risking the safety of your cat?

I don't want to be negative on this Jlr92 - but some dogs just don't get along with cats - I had a Border Collie that was a known cat-killer. He was primarily an outside dog but when we let him in we put the cat in the bedroom and I kept my eye on him.

When we moved from Denver area to Atlanta I gave the dog (Bandit} to a friend of mine who had a ranch around Pueblo. I talked to him a few months later and asked how Bandit was doing. H said the dog is great at helping with herding cattle and is generally okay indoors - but he kept finding headless cats in the barn.

The dog is 20 pounds and super sweet. She’s only 8 months old so she’s still a puppy. She isn’t barking or growling at my cats. She just wants to play. So my cats aren’t at risk of getting hurt.

Hello and welcome to TCS. Here's a few TCS articles on Introducing Cats to Dogs that might be helpful.

Introducing Cats To Dogs
How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog
Caring For Cats And Dogs
Best And Worst Dog Breeds To Live With Cats

Dave Brownlee said:

I don't want to be negative on this Jlr92 - but some dogs just don't get along with cats - I had a Border Collie that was a known cat-killer. He was primarily an outside dog but when we let him in we put the cat in the bedroom and I kept my eye on him.

When we moved from Denver area to Atlanta I gave the dog (Bandit} to a friend of mine who had a ranch around Pueblo. I talked to him a few months later and asked how Bandit was doing. H said the dog is great at helping with herding cattle and is generally okay indoors - but he kept finding headless cats in the barn.

Click to expand...

The dog is only 20 pounds and is incredibly sweet. She’s only 8 months old so she’s still a puppy. Also she wags her tail like crazy when she sees my cats and doesn’t bark or growl. She doesn’t want to attack them, she just wants to play.

Furballsmom said:

I am wondering why you got this dog?

As mentioned, the dog needs serious training that is going to take longer than just a few days.

Are you willing to, and are going to, do this before risking the safety of your cat?

Click to expand...

The dog is only 20 pounds and is 8 months old. She’s incredibly sweet. She doesn’t bark or growl at my cats. Her tail wags like crazy when she sees them. She wants to play with them and be friends. So my cat isn’t at risk of getting hurt.

Oh I see, playing rather than a dog that's a cat killer, whew!

While a playful puppy sounds much better than a cat-chaser, I still think you're going to have your hands full for a while. My dad recently got a lab puppy and when I tried bringing my adult dog over, the puppy continuously harassed my dog. Not aggressive, like yours, but wanted to play. But my dog is about cat-size and the puppy is about 30lbs+ and could still hurt my dog just by bouncing around like he does, so just because your puppy isn't aggressive, don't believe she can't hurt your cat.

And forget about them being friends. If your expectations are that high then you won't get anywhere. My insecure cat stayed in my room for the first few weeks or so when I got my dog. I hardly saw her at all except at night and I had the same fears. What if she hates the dog forever? What if she never lays on my lap again because the dog is always right by me? It was pointless. I wouldn't say any of my cats are friends with my dog, but one of them is totally fine with her and occasionally tries to play. The other two basically pretend she's not there. My insecure cat will walk right over her to get to me. Even lays on her sometimes. It took time. A lot of time. But it happened.

You're braver than I am, taking on a puppy when you already have a cat. It can work, but it'll take a lot of time and effort. Puppies alone are difficult. For one, I'd never allow the puppy to be around the cat without supervision. If I were in your shoes, I'd have the puppy tied to me constantly or otherwise locked up and keep the cat locked up for play and training sessions with the dog. Don't let the puppy even get the chance to chase the cat because it's self-rewarding and every time the puppy does it, the harder it'll be to stop it.

And, of course, you'll need to work on some commands with the dog. Leave it will be very important and it isn't necessarily easy to teach. Take the puppy out. Play with her. Train her. Interact with her. Physical exercise is important, but so is mental. Look up brain games for dogs. Throw some food out in the grass for her to find. Get a long line and work on recall. I recently spent a month working on recall with my dog and it not only improved her overall recall, but also increased her focus and willingness to listen to me even in distracting environments.

I don't think it's absolutely necessary to keep them separate like you would with cat-to-cat introductions. When I brought my dog in, I just made sure the cats had cat trees to get on and didn't let the dog in my room so the cats had a safe area. They were allowed to come and go as they pleased. Of course, having a puppy you'll have to be more careful, but keeping the dog tied to you or in a crate can work. Seeing the cat, but not being able to chase the cat will eventually help the dog loose the drive to chase. My dog was raised with cats, so it wasn't a problem, but she did have a prey drive when it came to small animals outside. That's since faded with exposure alone. She gets a bit excited if they run out of nowhere, but doesn't even try to chase anymore. It's best to avoid the reaction though. My dog is dog reactive, so I'm working on getting her dog neutral. Your dog needs to be cat neutral. If I see a dog in the distance, I let my dog see it. Then I call Stella to me and have her look at me before she reacts to the dog. Then she gets a reward. You can do the same with your dog, so she learns to ignore the cat.

Good luck. I'm still trying to wrap my head around having a puppy (and one that's going to be going in the teen phase no less! ) in the house with a cat. If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to help in any way I can. I haven't been in your exact position, but I do have three cats and an adult dog, I've worked with a lab puppy, and I've dealt with puppy to adult dog intros.

If your dog isn't a sight hound, you have a good chance particular at her age. Until things work out, you have to watch them when they are together. There are articles about introducing cats and dogs on this site.

Here is one - How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog


Even though she wants to play you need to train her to the point that when you call her name, or stop, or her name stop, she turns to you immediately. Treats are very helpful.

Remember until your cat realizes that when she hisses the dog backs off, which will happen the first time she smacks the dog she is going to be afraid of him.

In case you quit reading I'm putting this here because it's important -

Do not stop them fighting with your bare hands. Have a blanket/large towel to hand all them time to throw over them. This confuses them and usually stops the fight. Odds are your cat is the one who will hurt you if you use your hands to stop the fight.

If your cat's pupils are almost completely dilated DO NOT TOUCH HER. Wait until her pupils are normal size before you touch her.


Here is every chance that the cat will explain to the dog that she doesn't like being chased. This means your dog will get a muzzle full of claws. It will bleed. Your dog may shake her head which will scatter blood around her. She will probably scream. She is not badly hurt, unless the cat gets her in the eye. If she has a longish nose, the cat probably won't hit her eye. If the dog is keeping one eye shut, take her to the vet. He/she can fix that.

After the above discussion between your puppy and the cat things will work out. The puppy will stop trying to play with the cat. The puppy will respect hissing as a signal to back off. After awhile they may even become cuddle buddies.

I've had dogs and cats together and have one of each trying to get used to each other now. Patience is the key. And read the article.

Another important thing. Even when your cat and dog are getting along fine inside, your dog will probably chase her if they go outside together. As near as I can tell, there's something about outdoors that just makes them chase anything that moves, even their best buds.

Puppy needs to be in obedience classes so that it can learn self control and basic commands. Mainly cats just want their space from dogs. Don't aim for friendship, aim for existing in the same space. This video is an example of what is possible (my 10 month old puppy, watching the cats play):


Note that this is an extremely high drive herding dog that has been trained not to chase the cats.

NewYork1303 said:

Puppy needs to be in obedience classes so that it can learn self control and basic commands. Mainly cats just want their space from dogs.

Click to expand...

I agree completely.

Whether a puppy or adult dog, they both need obedience classes not only to coexist with a cat(s) but for household manners as well. One of the cardinal rules with introducing a new dog to a cat is to have the dog on a leash. If the dog is behaving you can drop the least but do not take it off the dog. That way you can pick the leash up immediately and give a correction.

We had a German Shepherd with two cats and taught him to respect the cats' boundaries. One of the cats could have cared less about our dog, i.e. she was bold, spunky and quite feisty but never lashed out at him. The other cat was more timid and although kept a wide berth coexisted fine. We made sure he had an escape route and his own safe place.

I wish you the best of luck acclimating the pup to her new home. Give it time, be patient and, most of all, follow through by being consistent.

I think you should look up and watch every episode of cat versus dog .... it has a dog trainer and cat trainer (Jackson Galaxy) training cat’s and dogs to get along.

Until then I would lock the dog out of the bedroom (hey why should your cat have to give up such a high value territory?!?) I would also work on training your puppy (place or bed is a good command for the puppy to learn besides leave it & sit & stay.) Lastly I would catify your home with shelves and cat trees .... and train the puppy to never ever enter the cat’s room .. ... so your cat has a safe room and your cat has a safe/stress free place to use the litter box.

My siamese mix/punk jr is still a ‘baby’ at 6 months old but he is super attached to me. I could not imagine locking him out while I slepted, even though he disturbs my sleep sometimes! I would also suggest crate training your puppy now. Eventually hopefully you can have your dog sleep with you and your cat.... but I would not trust a uncrated dog with my cat while I slepted until I was sure without a shadow of a doubt, 100% sure the dog would never ever chase the cat!

It takes seconds for the puppy to loose control and seriously injure/kill your beloved cat!!!

You need to figure out whether or not your cat will go up. If he won't cat trees won't help. Our cat won't go up, she'll barely go to the top of the chest of drawers and I've made steps for her.

If your cat won't go up, make cat houses from sturdy cardboard boxes. Each must have an entrance and an exit at the opposite end. You can get the boxes from a liquor store or Amazon. Make the openings big enough for the cat. Once the puppy sticks his head in one with the cat in it, the cat will -1- realize she can escape out the back door -2- claim her territory which will settle things between them and puppy will avoid her.

GET A COVERED LITTER BOX. or put the cat's litter box on a table -- a sturdy card table will do -- so the puppy can't reach it. Cats, generally, don't like for puppies to play in their litter. It makes them feel vulnerable as prey animals. Puppy will also eat the cat poop and that does puppy breath no good at all.