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We just adopted Emma, a 5 yr old domestic longhair/Maine Coonish cat from the shelter, and we have a 14+ yr old chow/terrier mix , who lived with our last cat ( now passed away) for many years...The cat is getting curious, and we've been trying to get them together slowly, but Bear the Dog has this pounce instinct. She doesn't want to hurt the cat, but does want to chase and surprise her.
Any suggestions on how to get her to curb this urge?
I have a very insane new puppy who really loves my two older cats but they don't always share the same feelings! I encourage them to hiss and swat at him, it's their protection and he needs to learn to leave them alone. They were very unhappy for a couple weeks but gradually they got closer and closer. Usually when Jacoby sleeps the two cats will sneak up and sniff him. Kahli thinks she is a dog so took a pretty immediate liking to him, Lilah on the other hand wants NOTHING to do with Jacoby. What I would do is make sure you little guy has his own place, with food, water, bed and toys that ONLY he can go without the dog. We put a cat door to our garage and now they have a safe place away from the dog. Eventually they will get used to each other and might not want to cuddle but will manage. He's probably trying to figure out what happen to his wonderful life as the only animal !!
Glad you are making progress!
It *can* work. In my experience, the younger the animal, the more easy it is for a bond to form. And as has been mentioned before, patience.
Good advice, but I would disagree with holding them up next to each other. We did this with my old GSD puppy and our cat, the cat got so scared he scratched the dog (this all happened very fast) and forever after the dog HATED the cat, and would want to chase him. So I wouldn't recommend that method, especially if the cat is scared.
If you can get the dog to do a down-stay, then bring the cat into the room and let him approach the dog on his own. My cat was initially scared of my dog (who couldn't care less about her) but curiosity got the better of her eventually and she would come up to sniff the dog when the dog was sleeping. Now they will lay on the same bed, but still at opposite ends. And it's only been about 2 weeks for us.
I think getting the dog to calm down is the initial thing, then the cat will naturally want to investigate. He's probably unsettled enough being in a new environment.
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This works everytime. Have each pet sniff each others butt. Our cat was first in the home. She always thought it was her home! Anyways, by smelling each others scent, it's an introduction. You would have the pet you have first sniff the newcomer for at least thirty seconds, or as much as they can tolerate. And then repeat with the newcomer for 30 sec. Switch bedding material daily. Now all three sleep together on the huge pet bed, the sofa!
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