Last time I talked about dogs and dogs, and cats and cats.  This time, the subject will be merging households with dogs and cats coming together for the first time.  We recently went through this experience when we adopted a kitten, Jesse, into our household which already had a dog, Millie.

     By nature, dogs are hunters.  If a small animal runs from them, they may chase.  When introducing a dog to a new cat, keep the dog on leash.  It might be a good idea to have someone hold the cat or there may be batted and scratched nose.

     Your cat will usually hiss at first.  When we first introduced our dog, Millie, to the new kitten, Jesse, there was some hissing.  Millie was interested in this new creature and Jesse made sure the giant dog kept its distance.  Within a couple of weeks, they were sleeping on the same bed. 

     Some pets will never be best friends and curl up with each other.  Don't push pets to be anything other than tolerant of each other.

     Jesse and Millie are making progress.  As the picture shows, they are starting to share the bed. We wonder if they will someday curl up with each other.

We recently adopted a four month old kitten Jesse. It's easier than it sounds.  We already have a greyhound at home.  Fortunately, our greyhound, Millie, is cat-safe and proved it when visiting some friends.  She ignored their three cats.

Introducing the kitten to our home is similar to newly married couples combining households that both include pets.  This can be stressful time.  Because the pets can pick up on human fears, remain calm and in control while introducing new pets to each other.

Introducing two new dogs to each other is best done on neutral territory such as a dog park.  They can run around and enjoy each other's company before having to live together.

With cats, try keeping them in separate rooms at first.  They can sniff each other's paws under the door.  When they finally get to meet each other, keep the meetings short and supervised.  Even if your cats don't become life long friends, they generally figure out how to peacefully co-exist.

Introducing cats to dogs is a little trickier.  I'll cover that in a future post.

So far, Jesse and Millie are getting along well.  Like most greyhounds, Millie naps all day.  Like most kittens, Jesse runs around like a tornado.