[NowWhat]

Hello. I have a 70 pound, 17 month old Lab/American Bulldog. What does this have to do with cats, you ask? I am getting to it. :)
Last night, a little cat may have tried to adopt us. We have had cats before - One died of cancer when she was 9 (my baby), and the other died when he was 19 from heart and kidney failure.
After the last one died, we said no more. Well this little girl that came around last night - she looked just like my baby. She was so friendly and all the things that make you fall in love. I told my daughter that if she continued to come around that we would talk to her Daddy. (I did give her food and water)

Now for the question...

How do you introduce a cat into a dog's house? I don't want the dog to eat her. When we had the other 2, we brought a puppy home and they dealt with it. We have done this twice. So, I don't know how to do the opposite. Any suggestions?

I have to say - I hope she comes back, I have fallen in love.

[tickle]

I don't think you have to worry, you already know cats/dogs are compatible. If the cat is young enough, then it will be easier for the dog and cat to adjust. I wouldn't try to introduce the cat to the dog, but let it happen naturally within the house. The cat may hide, the dog may get its shirt in a not and be a tad jealous, but everything should work out, but not instantly, as you can imagine.

[NowWhat]

I know. I am just afraid that he would go on the attack. I know when the rolls were reversed - our cats did. I will never forget when our last dog came to me looking all sad - because he had a claw sticking out of his nose.
At the end of their lives - the cats and dog got along. Now with the new dog and the cat that just died - they never got to a point where they really liked each other. The cat was old and the puppy, well he was a puppy and wanted to play (rough) all the time.

Now, he sees a cat in the yard and barks his head off. I just don't know what to expect if we were to bring this cat in the house.

P.S. I still haven't see her this morning. I really hopes she comes back.

[bushg]

I too had cats first and then introduced the dogs to our houshehold. I would put the kitten in a carrier to keep it safe ( just in case of a attack) and let them get used to each other that way. Also I would keep them separated in differents rooms when I could not watch out for bad behavior, until they got used to each other. My dog trainer that I had with a previous( dog was anti cat) encouraged me to not allow the dog to even acknowledge the cat. Look at the cat, sniff him etc. I had to let my cat sit next to the dog and take his treats first. And the cat and dog were never allowed in the home together unattended. My dog was a hunting type dog and he thought the cat was his prey... not good. But if you have established yourself as alpha this may not be an issue for you and your dog. Plus my dog was severely abused from previous owners as a puppy. The dogs that we have now accept our cat as part of their world. They are not best friends but they co exist, and yes they will bark at my cats if they are on the outside of the fence, just like they are strange cats... but once they get next to them nothing happens so I would not be so worried about the barking. Good luck

[froggy7]

Hi! I've been introducing a dog into an established cat household, and I will second the advice about keeping them separate when you aren't there to supervise. Also, you may want to keep your dog leashed while you are there to supervise, so that you can keep him under control and correct any inappropriate behaviour immediately. And finally, the group that I adopted my dog from gave me a turn-out muzzle, which provided a lot of psychological relief for me. She's a greyhound, and thus you are never quite sure how they are going to react to small animals until you put them together. I don't know if that kind of muzzle will work with your dog, but you might want to think about it. It's essentially a plastic basket that fits over the muzzle, with enough room that the dog can eat and drink with it on. Greyhounds grow up with them, so it's not a big issue. You may do fine with just the leash and supervision.

[NowWhat]

Any time he sees a cat - he barks his head off AND he is wagging his tail. Is that a good sign? :)

The cat hasn't come back yet :( So... this may not come into play - unless I cave and go adopt one from the shelter. (There is a reason I stay away from the shelters - my car can only fit so many)

[bushg]

According to the wag... how he wags can mean different things. You can go to a website and they will tell you or show you the differents wag and what they mean. Or maybe labman know's... I had a trainer that gave me some info on the wags and I have lost it... but it is good to know. esp. if you have a energetic dog or high prey dog. Lol or see one wagging at you. p.s. cat's wag have differents meaning's, to my old tom taught me that

[NowWhat]

Yeah, I know. I had to tell my daughter that. SHe couldn't figure out why it meant that the cat was annoyed. What he didn't like her holding him down?

[tickle]

Whatever happened to properly training a dog and the old saying goes, 'you don't do your dog any favours by not training it properly' or something like that. I come from a long line of hound dog owers. My grandfather had Blue Ticks and this was back in the late eighteen hundreds when you took your dogs on a train with you and headed up north in the season and hunted. He had cats too. Everyone got along. We had cats at home and dogs all the time and everyone got along. What's with finding out how many wags of a dogs tail means what.

My dog wags her tail when she is happy. When she isn't, she doesn't wag.

There is a doggy day care in town where people leave their dogs for an eight hour shift when they are at work. This day care has a waiting list. Whatever happened to training your dog properly and leaving your dog in the house (as long as you could get home at least some part of the day), but I know for sure my Taffy is okay, the house is comfortable, she has plenty of water.

I am ranting.

Anyway. The dog either likes the cat or he/she doesn't like the cat. My Dog likes ats so I don't have a problem.

As for the greyhound, yes I know a lot about them. I had a wonderful Borzoi (russina wolfhound) for part of my life and he loved cats right from the start.



Peace

[bushg]

tickle lol I paid $50.00 an hour for a trainer lol I guess he had too tail me something, but it is true they have different wags for different feelings. I believe that dogs that get a lot of space to run have a different temperament than dogs that are in fences and locked up in house's all day.(hearing and not be able to see what is going on). So tickle watch Taffy's tail :) peace