Dogs and Cats. They don't always get along. But when they do, it can be a bond that most best friends would be jealous of. But how do we go about introducing them to each other, without scaring the daylights out of either party?
Create Dog-Free Zones that the Cat can access at all times.
This is especially important if the cat has never been around a dog. Dogs with a high pre-drive WILL chase an animal that runs; making sure the cat has a space where dog is not allowed, helps give them a safe place to run to--however, we are also teaching the cat not to run, but to be calm around the dog. And vise versa.
Building Cat Shelves that are too high for the dog, but the cat can easily access can help kitty feel safer than on the floor. This also gives you some great options as to where you keep the cat food--Dogs love it, but it is bad for them. Cat food contains too much Taurine; Good for Cats, but can cause ocular blindness in Dogs.
It is not fair to expect them to be immediate friends. If at all possible, take your Dog over to a house with cats, BEFORE you bring one home. Find a friend with cats who trust you not to drop your Dog's leash, and will allow your dog to sniff around the place. Bring lots of treats, and reward dog for acting appropriately. This also gives you a chance to see if having a kitty in their life is even a possibility.
Keep the pets separate at first.
Give kitty their own room. Keeping kitty in a private space, (where litter box, food and water are available) for a few weeks gives the pup a chance to get used to the smells, and sounds of the new pet, without putting kitty in danger. This also helps cats to relax in to their new surroundings; a stressed cat will sometimes urinate inappropriately, or refuse to eat.
Rotate who gets to explore the house.
After a few weeks, begin to allow kitty time to explore their new digs, while the dog is behind closed door, and in another room. Remember to give the dog something to do during this time; don't want them to think they are "in trouble" and cause a bigger issue. This gets everyone's smells intermingling; creating a "shared space" before they actually physically share space.
Teach Basic Commands.
If your pup is not already familiar with listening when you speak, use the time that kitty is installed in their own room, to start teaching important cues.
"Come," "Leave It," "No," and "Stay," are vital to giving kitty a sense of security. If your pup cannot do these things fairly reliably on leash, contact a professional, get into a class, or at the very least, order a copy of '101 Dog Tricks' by Kyra Sundance.
Convincing your dog that good things (namely Chicken, Cheese, Turkey Bacon, fun games/toys, etc) happen while this new smell --kitty-- is in their house, the more positively your dog will view this animal.
Us humans make The Biggest mistake when we see our pups getting tense around another animal. Be it another dog, a small human, or a cat: Our tendencies to say "Be Nice" in the most ominous tone possible, translates to your dog as emotional nervousness, and worry about Something. When we do this in front of the cat, (who the dog is already not sure of) and they hear us talking like that, they can sometimes interpret this as a need for them to 'control the situation.' This can result in your dog trying to 'take care of the interloper (kitty)' in ways we really don't want.
Keep it upbeat, but not crazy. Be calm and happy in your voice, if you can, as they are learning to be friends.
Use Your Leash!
I cannot stress this enough. Just as I have mentioned a dog should never approach another dog on a tight, tense leash, your dog should also never pull towards a cat. Keeping a leash on the dog when you graduate to letting them see each other, gives you a safety net to pull that dog out of there, should they lose their mind and decide to chase or attack this small animal.
Yes, the same advise goes for other small animals--Chickens, rabbits, other farm livestock...Following a controlled, positive approach can go a long way towards helping your dog be kind to little things. Granted, some dogs are living with SUCH a large prey-drive, that they may not be suited to living that kind of life, and may never be trustworthy around such things. In other cases, your dog may actually need a different approach to this, but if that is the case, I strongly recommend seeking the help of a trained professional Teacher.
When you have moved to allowing them to see each other, past just sniffing where the other one has been, set up a Baby-Gate or other physical barrier that the cat cannot just walk through (you may need to add screen, or modify a typical gate for this). Some folks have opted to replace or add a real screen door to kitty's room. This can work wonderfully, but be sure you have installed the metal 'scratch' blocker on the bottom portion, or you may have a dog that discovers he can just crash through it.
Treat it as a normal day in the life, use your treats, and Every time the cat pokes his head out of that room where the dog can see it, GET HAPPY. "OH look, there's our kitty! Here Rufus! Snack time for you! Can you Sit? Good Dog! How about Down...Good! Rufus, Come..." at this point, you are moving away from the 'I can see the cat' zone, and someone else is putting the cat back in the room.
If you are by yourself doing this, lead Rufus outdoors or into another room, or into his kennel, so you can safely put the cat away again.
Use "NO" and body block if your dog does not respond when the cat is within sight. This means your dog was not ready for the sight of the animal yet; go back to practice...get those cues for "Leave It" working for you and your dog.
Ideally, your dog should be able to look at the kitty, hear you say something like "Good boy, Rufus, see the kitty? Now, Rufus, Leave It" and Rufus should break the stare on the cat, and look to you for a reward. If he cannot, use your body as a block--Make sure you face Rufus when you do this, otherwise, he will get the idea that you are helping him bother the cat.
Repeat sessions daily, if possible.
Small, repeated sessions of rewarding dog for not acting like a maniac, but rather paying attention to you, will net you a dog who can relax about the little animal you brought into their life.
Only when you feel your dog is totally relaxed around the cat, and the cat is showing Zero signs of tension in the pups presence (kitties like treats too) should you trust them to be toolin' around the house without a leash on the dog.
Use the baby-gate for a while. Let the dog loose on the other side of the gate, and practice calling him/her away from the cat. Change sides of the gate so the dog can see that the cat is allowed in their space, and it is up to You who gets to go where...
Proceed with caution. If your dog seems to get Too elevated when the cat is present, talk to your vet about some short-term anxiety control medication (think daily Zoloft for dogs; not episodic tranquilization) and resolve yourself to the idea that it may be months, and sometimes years before your pup can live with a small animal like a feline. If this is the case, it may be in both animal's best interest to consider rehoming one of them. Living in danger, or constant anxiety or fear, is not ok.
Some dogs are just no OK with cats. Period.
Some cats are not OK with dogs. That's OK too. If this scenario is flipped, and it is the cat who is struggling with the dog, a lot of the same strategies can be used.
1. Use treats when the dog is around.
2. Give safe places to escape.
3. A handy water bottle to deter a kitty on the attack might be helpful. Please note, if your dog is a chaser, this may not be the smartest move....
If you have a super-mellow dog, and the cat is just bent on attacking it, put a leash on the cat. You may have to spend some time (weeks/months) getting the cat used to wearing a harness and lead, but this will allow you to control how things go.
4. Doing the smell-swap of putting the dog away and allowing the cat to get used to how kitty's environment smells with dog in it.
5. Make sure cat knows they have space the dog is not allowed.
6. Do not allow the cat to torment your pup while he/she is in the crate. Felines are creative, observant creatures--I've seen instances where the animosity between dog and can was not improving, because the cat would taunt the pup. Staying out of his reach when the dog was out of the crate, then kitty would sit and stare at the dog whenever he was in the crate. Further, the cat could reach in to the crate to "bop" the pup, but the pup could not reach him...Recipe for disaster. Lock the cat up if this is your kind of cat. Or use a squirt bottle on kitty to teach him/her to stay away from dog while it is in the crate.
Creating a peaceful, strong friendship between your dog and your kitty doesn't take too much work. But in the end, You are the Leader and the Ultimate Resource Provider for both of them...leverage your Happy and your ability to give Snacks, to show them they actually want to be friends.