[James]

Hey folks. I have a question re: dogs and cats living together.

My appartment lease is up this December. Jan 1, a friend of mine is loosing his roommate, and will be looking for a new one. The offer he made me is very tempting. There is just one little problem.

He has a dog, I have a cat. Apparently, his dog likes cats and doesn't have any issues. Chloe (my cat) is a different story altogether.

She is terrified of dogs. As an example, my x once took Chloe to the vet for her shots, and entered the dog door. There was only one dog in there, it just sat up briefly, looked at Chloe, and resumed whatever it was doing. Nothing more.

Chloe however, jumped out of my X's arms, climbed her way to the top of her head, and perched herself there...digging her claws into my x's scalp. Mortified.

Is there anyway to break her of this? Would moving in with my friend be to hard on Chloe? Would she eventually learn to live in harmony? How long might that take? <insert a thousand other questions here>

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

--cheers

 

[AngelZoo]

What I would suggest, is to not bring Chloe anywhere, unless she is properly contained, for the safty of herself and all other pets and humans around her.

Spend sometime inviting the new room mate and her dog over, let Chloe chill out in your bedroom with no confentation with the dog. After the room mate leaves, let Chloe back out to explore the new smells.
Try doing this a couple times.
Also try leaving a couple unwashed (worn) t-shirts which have the dog's and it's owners scent on it, and let Chloe use that as a bed if she wants. It can help her get used to the 2 new smells and even associate that smell with something that is safe and comfortable.

Eventually they should meet, on the cats terrirtory *your home* sometime before you move, but do not force Chloe near the dog, close all doors to bedrooms and bathrooms etc, so that she can not simply run and hide far away from the dog when he/she comes over.
If she wants to hide under a couch that is fine, it will give her a chance to watch the dog, see it's movements, and eventually come to the conclution if this new animal is a threat to her or not. You can also help by playing with the dog, petting him and feeding him some treats in the same room as the cat every time you have the guests over *which should be often*.
Ideally, in time the cat will not feel the need to hide under something like a couch, and might chill out on a chair somewhere, once again watching the dog, and eventually go about her normal business walking around or playing, once she is satisfied that this dog will not hurt her.

Now this is the bare minum information on this, take it slow, and do not force anything. And not everything will yeild positive results for every pet.

If you decide to move in with this potential room mate, make sure you introduce your cat to it's new home the same way you would as if you were just first bringing him/her to your house.
Let Chloe hang out in one room *preferably your bedroom with food/water/litter box* so she can still be happy being around you, when she is comfortable with that, open the door, and let her roam the rest of the house on her own free time (do this when the dog is not home). When she gets comfortable with that, once again try to let her get used to the dog being around, leave them both out to roam together, but supervised of course.

Good luck!

 

[adymarie]

Maybe bring something that smells like the dog over for her to get accustomed to his smell. What kind of dog is it?

 

[James]

Maybe bring something that smells like the dog over for her to get accustomed to his smell. What kind of dog is it?

Some kinda mutt. Wish I knew really. Mid size I think.

Thanks for the replies all. It's appreciated

--cheers

 

[Jeanie]

I think this will be a long process. But if you can get Chloe to tolerate being in the same room with the dog, she will soon teach him to stay away. She'll scratch his nose, poor thing. I'd have to be pretty certain before I made the move---very certain.

 

[oscar&emmy]

I have a puppy and a kitty right now. I think they're starting to play together!

Oscar - the pup- is 7 months old and Emmy, the kitty- is 5 months old, so they're adjusting quickly.

The key for me is that Emmy has lots of spots to go where Oscar can't bother her. And Oscar is slowly learning not to chase the cat.

But it's so much fun! good luck, if you try ....

 

[AngelZoo]

Jeanie:

LOL, awww too true, you just discribed my kitties in a nut shell.

 

[Jeanie]

They're such little furry bullies! It's funny to watch an 8 pound cat keeping an oversized, 90 lb. collie in its place. He's used to cats as friends, but my two approach, sniff noses, and won't allow any more contact. Poor little doggie! (He's not fat. He's two inches taller than the collie standard, 28 inches at the shoulder.) He's so sweet, too.