dog and cat cohabitation

First of all, the work plan may be slightly different if your dog is the first to arrive or if your cat was already occupying the premises before your dog arrived. Do not hesitate to call on a canine (and feline, why not) behavior professional to help you find a personalized and adapted work plan.

Get your dog and cat used to it as soon as possible

For all species (canine and feline), habituation from an early age is the key to healthy and respectful cohabitation.

I am not a cat specialist, on the other hand, for the dog, know that it will be very important to accustom him from his 3 weeks, and this until he's 3 months to many different and varied stimuli, as the cat could be. Indeed, during this period, the puppy will generate a maximum of "data" to store in his hard disk and then rely on it during his life. All experiences must, therefore, be positive.

If a puppy is around cats from an early age, he will consider them a familiar species. Nevertheless, it will not be impossible for a dog, even if he is used to cats in the house very early on, to want to chase some of them outdoors (a dog is still a dog, let us tell ourselves).

Meetings must, therefore, be as regular, positive and controlled as possible. However, one factor that always remains very variable for meetings to go well is the cat's attitude. Unfortunately, it is very complicated to model and anticipate the character and behavior of a cat... It will, therefore, remain a variable data that no one can really predict.

Secure meetings: the muzzle

We will discuss all the safety rules in the next section, but I think it is important to make a very specific point about the almost mandatory use of the muzzle during the first meetings.

Indeed, wearing the muzzle will be both soothing for you (you will be more serene during the meeting and you will not send bad signals to your animals) but it will especially be more reassuring for your cat!

You can't really anticipate and predict 100% of a dog's reaction to a cat. It would be a real shame to risk anything when a simple muzzle can prevent any incident!

However, be careful to get your dog positively accustomed to the muzzle before even starting the meeting with the cat. And to get your dog positively accustomed to the muzzle, here are some tips:


Present the muzzle to your dog and every time he sniffs it and approaches it, gives him a treat.
Then, take a treat that you keep in your hand while putting the muzzle on your dog, as soon as it is on his snout: give him the treat.
At first, you don't have to tie it up, the important thing is that your dog understands that this object brings him something positive.
The habituation sessions should not be too long but they should be offered very regularly.
Then, when your dog agrees to wear his muzzle, combine that with something very positive: a walk, a game session, etc.
Never see the muzzle as an object of torture (unless it is a simple thick ribbon tightened on the dog's snout, there we agree it is abusive). The muzzle has many advantages if it is well experienced by the dog, and I see two main ones:

Getting your dog used to the muzzle allows you to offer him intra- or inter-specific meetings without the risk of injury/bites.

Getting your dog used to the muzzle helps to make the veterinarian (or even you) feel safe during various handling operations, especially when a dog is injured or in pain somewhere.

The slip-ups not to make for an effective living together.

Try not to indicate partiality regardless of whether it is enticing to spoil the newcomer, dependably be reasonable in touches and desserts, converse with both without having any kind of effect.

Try not to force contact on them, particularly if the feline does not appear to be ready: pointing at him from the earliest starting point may aggravate their connections later on! Be mindful so as not to give your canine a chance to pursue the feline, it will terrify the last mentioned and the way that he flees will energize the pooch significantly more.

On the off chance that you don't intercede by reproving him, he won't lose his chasing reflex and can begin again whenever, particularly in your nonappearance which can cause harm... Keep in mind that the feline is a regional creature: don't give your canine a chance to get to his held things, for example, his litter box, toys or his preferred seat. Additionally, the feline ought not to eat from the canine's bowl or welcome itself into its container.


Cohabitation cat dog: respect the safety rules for everyone
Regardless of the order of arrival of one or the other, regardless of their age, character or past, it is essential to put in place safety rules for the benefit of all:

1- During the first days/first weeks, leave the dog and cat in different rooms to familiarize themselves with the smells and space in general.

2 - During meetings, always give the cat the opportunity to escape or to move up.

3 - do not leave your cat and dog alone, always be present to control and manage any overflows (we will see later on the orders your dog will need to know).

4- Always place your cat's food and water bowls high so that there is no conflict and your cat can feed and drink in peace.

5- never want to force contact between a dog and a cat! Be patient and don't expect your animals to become the best friends in the world. Of course, this can happen, but nothing is certain.