How do I prepare my big unsocialized dog for the introduction of a cat?

[mamajane]

My kids and I would really like to get a cat, but my dh is nervous about it because he's not sure the dog won't eat it:hunh. (He's had a cat-eating dog before.) I think it's a good sign that she's never seriously tried to catch and eat the squirrels in the back yard. I mean, she'll give them a chase, but she's not a hunter, yk? She did make me nervous once before when introduced to a kitten... Anyway, how do you safely introduce a new cat into a home with a dog who doesn't know cats? Is a grown cat or a kitten a better idea? I kind of figure the small house we're in right now would be a good place to do it since we could keep an eye on them.

Any advice? We don't want a kitty tragedy on our hands! But we'd really like a kitty...

[Johns_Gal]

I've seen it happen umpteen times out here, living rurally with one neighbor who feeds feral cats and the other his loose pitt and doxie. :( The cats who stand their ground and wallop the dog... well, dog has a sore paw for a few days. Kitty is no more, regardless of bravery.

Seriously, train the dog first. Teach him an impeccable "Stop" and a "Leave it." My old dog was a gem about those commands, but he *had* to be... our house was vacant for years, so people would intrude into our fenced yard. ACK. Here we come with our pitt/GSD mix and it would have meant real trouble if he wasn't obedient. I never left him unsupervised around small animals though, just as I wouldn't leave any dog alone with anything small and furry that I wanted to keep alive. :shifty He was good about my chickens, but late at night, if I left him outside, he would kill possums, and yes, once a feral cat. I am pretty sure the cat was what had been taking my baby chicks, but still, it was *awful* to clean that up, and that wasn't even my cat! And he had a good sized vet bill from his wounds from her fighting him, so yeah.

Between that and the neighbor dog, I've cleaned up enough kitties to think the dog/cat thing is a Really Bad Idea unless the dog is trained and very well supervised. :shifty :hug

[Amber]

When you say your dog is socialized do you mean that she hasn't been around cats much, or that she is not very well trained? Also, what breed is she?

I already had my cat when I adopted my dog both were adults. At the time my dog had no training and either lived on leash/tie down or the dog and cat were in separate rooms if the dog was off leash. It took about a month or so before I would let the dog off leash and allow the cat access to the same room.

Before getting a cat I would try to gauge how your dog will react. Do you have any friends who have cats that are used to dogs? The shelter I got my dog from had a resident cat who they let me introduce my dog to, Finnely was very excited at the sight of the cat, but not aggressive.

[MudPies]

we had an adult dog then got 2 kittens. we supervised them together for a while- then they learned to tolerate each other.:shrug3 and the dog was a lab/shepard mix and was 90 pounds. he would chase them from hid food if he was hungry, but wouldn't care if they ate some usually.

[Bonnie]

Two serious questions:
1. What breed(s) is your dog? Some types of breeds are more prone to cat/small critter issues than others, and no, it's not as simple as size or "aggression". Small terriers can be the *worst*.
2. Is kitty going to be strictly indoors, or indoor-outdoor? Our dog is a sight hound, bred and trained to race by chasing small furry things. :giggle She will *never* be safe with an outdoor animal. However, she knows that our indoor cats "don't count" and is perfectly fine with them.

[mamajane]

She's a Mastiff. She's really only ever been around our family, and no cats. The cat would be indoor/outdoor. Thanks for the responses so far!

[duckwithoneleg]

She's a Mastiff. She's really only ever been around our family, and no cats. The cat would be indoor/outdoor. Thanks for the responses so far!

OH a MASTIFF :hearts

[Bonnie]

Awww. Our two older kitties were actually fostered by a family with a mastiff. BIG pussycat, that one. :giggle

I *could* be concerned with an indoor-outdoor situation. No matter how many times you introduce a dog to a test kitty, everything *can* change when outside. As totally cool as our dog is with our cats inside, I have a sneaking hunch that she would completely forget she knows them if she saw one of them outside. :-/

Just food for thought.

But it should be noted that I have a *very* strong bias / soapbox thing about cats and indoorness. In the interest of full disclosure. ;)