[JasonBond]

I'm going to be moving in with my BF soon. He is bringing his 1 yr old cat- Helena, and his American Eskimo Dog- Serenity (5yrs old). Both are spayed and healthy. Helena's used to being an indoor-outdoor cat at her leisure due to a dog door. I don't permit felines to be outdoor at all and my BF agrees with me. I will be bringing (all spayed/neutered) four cats ages 6, 4, 1.5, and 1 years. As well as two dogs that my cats snuggle, Moonpie (8yrs old), and Carlos (12yrs old) and an 8 year old rabbit.

We aren't sure yet if we are going to rent or purchase a home as we have the finances for either one. Most cost efficient long-term is a very gray area due to the number of animals (a total of 5 cats, 3 dogs, and a rabbit). Pet fees for renting is going to be outrageous, but if we purchase a home we'll still have property tax and insurance that we wouldn't have renting.

Other than finances we also need to figure out how to best get the animals all acclimated at the same time in a new environment to all.. I'm thinking of possibly hiring a behaviorist that's familiar with both cats and dogs as I've not had to acclimate this many animals at one time. We will have to

1 . introduce my 4 cats to a new environment.
2. introduce my 2 dogs to a new environment (one is 100% blind)
3. introduce his cat and dog to a new environment
4. teach his cat and dog to accept the rabbit and not hunt him
5. teach my cats and his cat to get along
6. teach my cats and his dog to get along
7. teach my dogs and his cat to get along
8. teach my dogs and his dog to get along

Advice/suggestions on any of the above is most definitely welcome!

 

[catloverami]

Whew! This type of situation is waay beyond my area of expertise....I think a behaviorist would be a good place to start. You certainly don't want anyone to get off on the wrong track. The fact that it's a new place for all of the animals is a plus as I see as they will all have to get used to a new territory. Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.

You might think about creating a wall of boxes as individual cubby holes.....the cats could use the higher ones and the rabbits the lower ones.
Check this out:

 

[JasonBond]

I love this idea. With the 4 cat towers I have right now I'm already going to have to wash them really well and bring them in AFTER the cats are introduced because mine have territorial claims over them. The box tower/tunnels are inexpensive too. I showed my BF the video and he's going to make it or something similar when we move.

I'll definitely hire a behaviorist. I know of a DVM who specializes in feline behavior and will see if she'll at least give us advice (she's like 50$ per animal for 30 minutes plus the cost of travel and she's 2 hours from us). She's really good at her job though.