Introducing Dogs And Cats

If you own a dog or a cat and are thinking to add a cat or a dog, respectively, to the family, you should give some thought to their first encounter. Allowing a loose cat and an unrestrained dog to have their first meeting in an open room, you are most probably set for failure. You should carefully plan this instead, by taking all the necessary precautions.

It doesn’t matter which one of the two kinds is your new member, the first time your current and your new pet meet is a crucial step of the process. First, you should consider the animal’s personalities and perhaps make your choice of pet according to their prior exposure to the opposite species. In any case, follow these four tips to maximize your chances for success:

Step 1: Choose the first meeting location wisely

If you are getting a new dog, avoid taking your cat to the shelter or any other facility that hosts many animals to meet him, for safety and health reasons. Opt to hold the introductions at home instead.

Similarly, if you are getting a new cat, don’t take your dog to the shelter, because exposing him to all the cats may cause stress to the animals. Moreover, his reaction there does not necessarily indicate how he will fare at home. What you could do, instead, is to ask the shelter’s staff if there are any cats available with prior dog experience, that can meet your dog under supervised conditions.

Step 2: Keep the animals separated

For the first few days, don’t let both animals loose at the same time, but free and confine them separately and periodically, so as to they get adequate time to get used to each other’s scent.

Step 3: Introduce them on a leash

When the time comes to have both pets in the same room, make sure you have a secure leash on the dog.

Step 4: Let them interact without supervision

The final step is to allow them to spend time together without supervision, provided they have interacted with each other under close supervision for enough time, e.g., a month, and you are sure they will not attack one another.