My two cats and I will be moving to a house with two dogs. How do I introduce my two cats?

I have two cats. Miss Kitty is 7 years old and Lily is 2 years old. Miss Kitty was ferrel when I brought her home and it has taken many years to gain her trust. She is now a loving kitty, but she is definately an alpha, and she is the queen of her domain. Lily is a sweetheart, but timid. I will be moving in with my fiance soon and he has two australian shepards. Molly is 9 years old and Dexter is 7 years old. They are very well trained and behaved(for the most part, other than stealing a loaf of bread from time to time). Molly is very much the alpha and has an interest in chasing cats. Dexter just cares about his ball, so I%26#039;m not too worried about him. My cats have only known my condo and the hallway and soon they will have a big house and access to the outside world, through a doggy door. I am concerned about how this is going to play out. Has anyone dealt with this kind of situation? Any suggestions on how to handle the merging of pets?

My two cats and I will be moving to a house with two dogs. How do I introduce my two cats?
Many cats and dogs live happily together.Cats and dogs have a different psychology and body language, but some people believe that dog-to-cat introductions are often easier than cat-to-cat. Dogs are pack animals and will take their cue from your boyfriend as the Alpha figure, in how to treat your cats. So if you handle the introductions slowly and carefully, they will accept your cats as members of the family pack. Cats on the other hand are more concerned about territory than their place in the pecking order. So long as they feel in control of territory, they won%26#039;t care if the dogs consider them the lowest ranking members of the family pack. Animals rely much more heavily on their sense of smell than we do, so it%26#039;s important to confine the cats to a separate room initially, so that the dogs get to %26quot;meet%26quot; them by smell before you attempt any face to face introductions. The web articles below have lots of advice on introducing cats and dogs.





http://www.messybeast.com/first-impressi...


http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?ac...





Once you begin allowing them in the same room together, make sure that there are high places such as shelves or bookcases where the cats can sit in safety and view the dogs until they feel more comfortable around them. Also make sure that if they have a litter tray, that it%26#039;s somewhere safe so that they cannot be %26quot;ambushed%26quot; by the dogs whilst using it. Remember to reward all the animals for good behaviour, as this will help them be more sociable with each other.





Good luck.
Reply:I have added 3 cats to new dogs, or even new dogs to existing cats, at first the cats hissed and hated the dog, but after a while they were friends, they played together and slept together. Don%26#039;t force your cats, don%26#039;t even pick them up and bring them to the dogs, just let them all get closer as time goes on, it shouldn%26#039;t take long. they are goin to realize that the dogs aren%26#039;t goin away, and they are gonna want to watch for a while, and then they will want to get to know them, hopefully.
Reply:As for the merging of the four pets, the usual reccommended solution is to bring the cats into the house and keep them in a seperate room for a period of time, so that the animals can get used to each others%26#039; smells through the closed door (eliminating the threat of fear or aggression).





Feed them on either side of the door, so that they associate the smell of the other animal to good things, like treats or food. It might sound like you want them to eat the cats, but trust me ;)





Slowly start feeding them with the doors open, but not too close since the dogs might become aggressive over food.





Allow them to come to each other - there%26#039;s nothing worse than bringing one animal up to another; it%26#039;ll just make them feel out of control and afraid.





If they don%26#039;t get along in the end, since they%26#039;re all mature animals, so be it, but this is the best way to encourage positive behaviour towards each other.





If the dogs start chasing the cats, be very firm in your discipline - discourage it from the start however you normally discourage bad behaviour (either with command words or physical dominance *NOT ABUSE OR PUNISHMENT* just standing between them and the cats and making eye contact.) You want to make sure the dog knows you are a defendor of the cats, and he has to go through you.





Best of luck! Don%26#039;t forget to get the cats vaccinated %26amp; collared before they can go outside alone.
Reply:I agree with Montreal. I would bring the dogs to visit the cats in their turf if possible. Or the cats could visit briefly a few times with the dogs gone or on leashes at first contact so the cats are more secure. They each need separate space/territory at first. Don%26#039;t force or rush them.
Reply:I had two dogs then three cats ...it took a while but they worked it out themselves...one of the cats hated the dogs , so she just avoided them but the others eventually all slept in a big ball together took around 3 weeks...plus a lot of hissing and growling....
Reply:welli have 4 cats and 2 dogs and a parrot. i got the bird then 3 cats then a dog then another cat then another dog, i really didnt do much just brought them home and let them get to know eachother, i do have a small dog a westie and a medium do that is super sweet but the all get along super well the all sleep on the bed with me so i think just let them roam around and watch them at first to make sure the dogs dont bug them too much and let the dogs know how it is they have to be with the cats if that makes any sence. Also i wouldnt let them go outside if they have always been indoor cats, they arent gonna know how to come back or take care of themselves. trust me. not all cats are like that but i prefer to kepp all my cats indoors.



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