- with Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin

What do you do when you want to add a new cat into a house with a resident dog?

All pets are different, but for most of them, an adjustment period is needed. How you introduce them is crucial if you want to see them getting along.

In a recent coaching call with fellow pet professional, Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin, I took her through some simple steps to take to introduce her new cat, Peaches, to her dog, Husk.

If you'd like to listen to the episode, click play below:

Valli has always been a dog person (both personally and professionally), but cats have not been in her repertoire. She wanted some guidance on the best ways to slowly introduce her new feline family member to the household.

Some of our conversation is below (edited for clarity) as well as some tips you can use in a similar situation.

So, tell me a little about your current routine and household

It’s currently me, my partner Graham, and our dog Husk all living together. We’re sadly down to a one-dog household after losing our dog Ghost, which people might know from my Instagram account, The Lives of Wild Dogs. Ghost was a good cat dog, the kind who would happily snuggle up to a cat. But now we just have Husk, the husky.

Husk sometimes likes to chase things, but otherwise, he’s not too crazy and not very typical of the breed. I feel pretty confident that we can introduce the new cat because Husk already has some good skills under his belt.

We’ve done a lot of training with cats outdoors on walks. While it will be a different context to having a cat in the household, we’ve been getting used to seeing and interacting with cats. So, hopefully, some of those skills will transfer.

Do you know anything about the cat yet?

We don’t know much about her because we weren’t allowed to play with her because of COVID.

But she seemed friendly from what we saw. A lady actually came into the pet store with a small terrier and the cat pretty much ignored it. She’s one year old, so she’s out of that baby stage as well.

How is your house set up? Do you have safe spaces for both Husk and the incoming kitty?

We have an open concept downstairs, so we mostly hang out in the living room. Upstairs we have a couple of bedrooms and downstairs we have a basement as well. I think it’d be tricky to block off the living area because it’s open concept.

Tips for setting up a safe space for a new cat

Open concept is difficult but not impossible. I recommend setting up your space to keep the cat safe first of all.

Your cat’s new safe space should:

• Have a securely closed door (spare bedrooms work great)

• Have all her toys and any enrichment items in there

• Have at least two management methods to keep the dog out. You might think that a cat is safely tucked up in the spare room, but what if you open the door and they bolt out?

The cat was kept in a large dog crate in the pet store, and seemed comfortable in there. Valli wanted to know whether having a similar crate in the cat’s safe space at home would be a good idea. In this case, I recommended keeping food and water in the crate, and keeping the crate open so the cat has a larger space to explore, with the option to retreat to the crate. This would be the first step to slowly expand her territory to the rest of the house

For a few days, it’s best to keep the cat in that safe room unless they’re showing signs of separation distress. While in this safe space, I suggested Valli spend time playing and getting to know the cat's personality and starting some simple training exercises. The goal is for Peaches to enjoy her time in the safe space, decompress, and learn some basic skills before starting structured interactions with Husk.

What about the dog?

Your resident dog will know something is different very quickly. How do you help him with the transition while the cat is still secured in their safe room?

Here are a few things you can do:

• Keep the dog’s normal enrichment and exercise schedule the same

• Spend time with the cat, then immediately go to your dog and do a fun activity with them to help form a positive association with the cat's scent

• Each day, swap any blankets that the dog and cat have been resting on so they can get used to each other's scents (bonus if you place the scent-soaked blanket near a calm, enjoyable activity like chewing or a Lickimat)

• Do a treat scatter (away from where the cat is) whenever the cat vocalizes or makes noise moving around the space to prevent frustration

Dog can't leave the boundary alone?

Set up a kind of airlock around the door, which keeps the dog at least a few feet away. You don't want your dog pawing, sniffing, or whining at the cat's door - this will not make the cat feel safe. Baby gates or ex-pens are really useful here (depending on your house setup).

Reinforce your dog for moving away from the door. Toss treats back and forth in a pattern (towards the door, then away from the door) to strengthen the dog’s muscle memory of automatically moving away from the cat's space.

Redirect the dog whenever he gets stuck at the boundary. Then provide him with a chill activity so he’s not ramping up and getting over-aroused. You might also need to keep him on a leash with you if you find yourself having to redirect more than once.

If the dog’s not able to relax, it’s time for a little rethink. Instead, focus on the easiest thing you can do. Can the dog eat dinner in the furthest possible place from the cat without making a beeline for the door?

When to let the cat out

The cat will likely let you know when they’re ready to leave their safe space and want to explore more of the house. They might start digging at the door, vocalizing, or hanging out right near the door whenever you come in.

But hold on! That doesn't mean you should just open the door and give them total freedom.

1. Make sure the dog is secured (and is busy with another activity)

2. Help the cat know where the best (and safest) spots in the house are:

• guide her movements (have her follow your finger, a target stick, or a toy) so she can learn the different routes to their stations (areas where the dog can't reach them)

• reinforce her whenever you see her heading to those areas on her own

• feed her meals on these stations (usually a cat tree, table, or shelves)

Once you feel confident, you can start bringing both animals together strategically to reinforce appropriate behavior around each other (with barriers in place to keep everyone safe).

The overall goal isn’t to keep them totally separated forever, or even for a long period of time. You don’t want your dog to think that there’s a “forbidden thing” behind the door. It’s about having short, positive exposures that are controlled, where the dog learns that the cat shows up sometimes and they chill around each other, get some treats, and it’s no big deal.

Knowing the difference between cats and dogs

As Valli is a dog person with lots of experience working with dogs, we talked about how training cats and dogs can be different.

Cats can be fickle with food. Be prepared with a larger arsenal of reinforcers because they’ll often get bored of a certain treat or toy.

They also tend to do best with shorter training sessions than dogs. Start with 3-5 reps of a behavior and then a break (my recommendation for dogs is 5-10). Of course, you might have a cat that’s really into training or a dog that isn’t interested. So, try it out and see if your cat does well with short sessions, or wants to keep going after those first few reps.

Some training activities to try out with your cat include:

• Training them to go to a “station” on cue

• Practicing whiplash turns with food or toys

• Getting them used to a harness and leash

• Teaching a solid recall

Another tip I have for newbie cat owners is to research cat body language. You'll be able to see whether your cat is comfortable when the dog is around, or if you need to adjust your setup plan. Watching your cat closely will also tell you whether they are excited about training and enrichment activities, or whether you need to switch it up. 

Introducing a cat and dog to each other takes strategy (and some patience) to get it right. You might have pets who are really open and friendly and adjust quickly to having a new housemate. Or you might have a pet who’s a little more anxious and needs more time.

Focus on creating an environment and routine that provides ample opportunity for your animals to create positive associations with each other's presence. Also reinforce both animals for offering calm, relaxed behaviors when they are together and pretty soon you'll have an integrated multi-species household!

Share this post with anyone who is thinking of adding a cat to their home!