Black Lab Vs. Grey Tabby moving-in-together adventure.
March 21, 2016 1:35 PM Subscribe
My partner and I are moving across the country in a few months. We will be sharing a house and we both have beloved asshole pets we really really want to keep. I have a seven year old indoor/outdoor grey tabby and she has a 7 year old black labrador. I feel like it would be a big help to get them acquainted before the move, but I am not sure how to proceed. The time is drawing nearer and I need some help with this. Details (and picture link) on the flap!
These dopes.
Morphy the Cat: Indoor/outdoor, cautious but confident outdoorsman, will protect his territory, stand ground with other cats and even dogs who come through the yard, shamelessly affectionate, lover of paper products.
Charlie the Dog: Energetic, sweet and enthusiastic, a little neurotic, masterfully finds ways to steal and eat ANY food that is not locked down, trained but a bit unpredictable, coexists non-violently with other dogs, but has been witnessed chasing cats by me once or twice in the front yard, responds fairly quickly when called off.
The master plan was to move Morphy the Cat into partner's house for the months before the move, and let him stake out the bedroom for territory and slowly introduce them. But a wrench was thrown into this plan when partner's roommate unexpectedly showed up with a SECOND dog (Leo the Dog).
So, here are the things I have thought of in no particular order, but I am feeling a little paralyzed with indecision and can't figure out where to start:
-Bring dog smelling things to cat's house and cat smelling things to dog's house
-Bring very car-and-travel amenable dog for visits to cat's house and let them experience eachother's presence in a very controlled way
-Bring car-hating cat to dog's house for visits in foreign territory, again letting them be in same building in controlled fashion
-Try to move the cat in even though there are two dogs, Leo and Charlie the Dogs?
-Moving the dog to cat's house is out because we pretty much prefer to live and spend our time
in the dog's house
Have you done this before? We will be arriving in the new city at (as yet unknown) new house ostensibly June 1st. I don't know how to begin this process and I am starting to get stressed out and worry that one or the other of us will have to give up our friend. I accept that they may just be incompatible, but I also am determined to at least try because if it DOES work we get to keep our pets. What do I do, please, brilliant, pet-loving internet people?
I will check frequently back here, so if you have need of more information please ask.
These dopes.
Morphy the Cat: Indoor/outdoor, cautious but confident outdoorsman, will protect his territory, stand ground with other cats and even dogs who come through the yard, shamelessly affectionate, lover of paper products.
Charlie the Dog: Energetic, sweet and enthusiastic, a little neurotic, masterfully finds ways to steal and eat ANY food that is not locked down, trained but a bit unpredictable, coexists non-violently with other dogs, but has been witnessed chasing cats by me once or twice in the front yard, responds fairly quickly when called off.
The master plan was to move Morphy the Cat into partner's house for the months before the move, and let him stake out the bedroom for territory and slowly introduce them. But a wrench was thrown into this plan when partner's roommate unexpectedly showed up with a SECOND dog (Leo the Dog).
So, here are the things I have thought of in no particular order, but I am feeling a little paralyzed with indecision and can't figure out where to start:
-Bring dog smelling things to cat's house and cat smelling things to dog's house
-Bring very car-and-travel amenable dog for visits to cat's house and let them experience eachother's presence in a very controlled way
-Bring car-hating cat to dog's house for visits in foreign territory, again letting them be in same building in controlled fashion
-Try to move the cat in even though there are two dogs, Leo and Charlie the Dogs?
-Moving the dog to cat's house is out because we pretty much prefer to live and spend our time
in the dog's house
Have you done this before? We will be arriving in the new city at (as yet unknown) new house ostensibly June 1st. I don't know how to begin this process and I am starting to get stressed out and worry that one or the other of us will have to give up our friend. I accept that they may just be incompatible, but I also am determined to at least try because if it DOES work we get to keep our pets. What do I do, please, brilliant, pet-loving internet people?
I will check frequently back here, so if you have need of more information please ask.
No reason for pessimism.
Look at all the cute dog/cat videos on YouTube. Even if your pets fight or go crazy, the world won't end.
Your first two ideas sound pretty good. The last two not so much.
posted by JimN2TAW at 1:49 PM on March 21, 2016
Look at all the cute dog/cat videos on YouTube. Even if your pets fight or go crazy, the world won't end.
Your first two ideas sound pretty good. The last two not so much.
posted by JimN2TAW at 1:49 PM on March 21, 2016
We brought a four-year-old, cat tested dog into our cat-full house about four years ago. Kept the dog on a leash, kept the cats' claws trimmed, and supervised every second of interactions. Everyone is friends now and I think taking it really slowly was the key. Everyone had safe places to retreat to, and no one was allowed to strike out for any reason. That action would get the offender swept off to be alone, which is what I think they wanted anyway.
I would recommend that you call some fostering/shelter groups to see if you can get Charlie the dog cat-tested. That will give you a much better idea of what you're up against. If all goes well, you'll get the green light and this might be easier than you think. If you get the red light, though...well. Yeah. That'll suck.
I would also recommend that Charlie meets Morphy at Morphy's house and not the other way around because Morphy won't be living with the other dog and what happens if they get all pack-behaviory on the kitty? Keep Charlie on leash at all times he's near the cat. And you have to watch them like crazy for quite a while.
Don't give up hope yet. But I would never introduce a cat and dog living together if the dog wasn't cat tested first. YMMV.
posted by cooker girl at 2:28 PM on March 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
I would recommend that you call some fostering/shelter groups to see if you can get Charlie the dog cat-tested. That will give you a much better idea of what you're up against. If all goes well, you'll get the green light and this might be easier than you think. If you get the red light, though...well. Yeah. That'll suck.
I would also recommend that Charlie meets Morphy at Morphy's house and not the other way around because Morphy won't be living with the other dog and what happens if they get all pack-behaviory on the kitty? Keep Charlie on leash at all times he's near the cat. And you have to watch them like crazy for quite a while.
Don't give up hope yet. But I would never introduce a cat and dog living together if the dog wasn't cat tested first. YMMV.
posted by cooker girl at 2:28 PM on March 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
It might actually be better for the dog to move to a new place with a new cat and new rules.
When you do find a place to live, you need to plan it so the cat always has a place to escape (ideally upwards) and a truly dog-proofed place where the cat can choose to be, plus food and litter so the dog can't eat those. You'll probably need minimum one baby gate.
I had dogs and cats living together for 15 years with not much planning and dogs coming and going (fosters, mostly) and one cat who loved dogs to the point of irritating them. It worked out fine...right up until my current dogs, as relatively young adult dogs, killed the last two cats. (The dog-loving cat died of natural causes.) They ate through the door that kept the cats in the back of the house on their own, during a storm, while we were at work. Maybe maybe maybe if I'd had a table or dresser or something, but I know they pulled at least one of them out from under the bed or behind the dresser. I've had years to second-guess the setup, and I'm not sure anymore that there is a foolproof one.
It would probably be safest at first to put a basket muzzle on the dog when he's (supervised) around the cat, just to be absolutely sure that one fast snap isn't going to be the end of this experiment. You can get a bead on the level of the dog's interest that way and then plan your accommodations from there.
I do not think you will get any value out of pre-introducing them. You'd be better just segregating completely, with a "cat room" situation, for at least a week until both of them calm down from the move and then begin this process.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:29 PM on March 21, 2016
When you do find a place to live, you need to plan it so the cat always has a place to escape (ideally upwards) and a truly dog-proofed place where the cat can choose to be, plus food and litter so the dog can't eat those. You'll probably need minimum one baby gate.
I had dogs and cats living together for 15 years with not much planning and dogs coming and going (fosters, mostly) and one cat who loved dogs to the point of irritating them. It worked out fine...right up until my current dogs, as relatively young adult dogs, killed the last two cats. (The dog-loving cat died of natural causes.) They ate through the door that kept the cats in the back of the house on their own, during a storm, while we were at work. Maybe maybe maybe if I'd had a table or dresser or something, but I know they pulled at least one of them out from under the bed or behind the dresser. I've had years to second-guess the setup, and I'm not sure anymore that there is a foolproof one.
It would probably be safest at first to put a basket muzzle on the dog when he's (supervised) around the cat, just to be absolutely sure that one fast snap isn't going to be the end of this experiment. You can get a bead on the level of the dog's interest that way and then plan your accommodations from there.
I do not think you will get any value out of pre-introducing them. You'd be better just segregating completely, with a "cat room" situation, for at least a week until both of them calm down from the move and then begin this process.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:29 PM on March 21, 2016
I would either bring Charlie to Morphy for visits, or just wait to introduce them when they're in the new home together. I've moved in with a significant other into a new place, and we both had a cat. Then we eventually added a dog to the mix. I don't think you need to worry about cat-testing Charlie in advance, and should not read too much into their initial interactions as long as they are safe. Just introduce them slowly, giving Morphy some options for finding higher ground or leaving the room (we used a baby gate). Morphy and Charlie sound exactly like my indoor/outdoor cat and my black lab mix, and they have a sweet and playful friendship although our cat was not happy when we first brought the dog home.
posted by Katie8709 at 4:55 PM on March 21, 2016
posted by Katie8709 at 4:55 PM on March 21, 2016
Can you take Leo out of the equation by sequestering him in a separate room or bringing Charlie over when Leo is out of the house. At least at first, it would probably be better to just have the two pets interact.
posted by bendy at 9:38 PM on March 21, 2016
posted by bendy at 9:38 PM on March 21, 2016
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Bring the kitty to the dog's house and have him be in a separate room, until he gets the lay of the land. I'm talking about an afternoon at first, and then extending the visits as each species rebalances.
When you move, you may have some regression, but it will mellow out once you've established a living space where there's room for everyone and each has his own territory.
Use lots of Feliway and treats.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:49 PM on March 21, 2016