Introducing Dogs to My Bobtail Cat

There are a few ways to introduce your dog to your Bobtail cat, it just depends on what you are comfortable with.   In my experience, I have let them smell each other through the door for a day or two and then let them enter the room together.  Luckily this worked for me but not every situation is the same.  You will need to be much more careful and cautious if you are introducing a dog to your kittens.  One snip or heavy paw from your dog could seriously harm or kill the little furry ones.  Your dog may mean to be gentle but sometimes they don’t know their own strength!

You don’t want to leave them alone together at first, you need to see how they interact with each other and make sure there isn’t any rough housing going on… especially if it’s a large dog breed. Cats are so much smaller and more fragile than dogs so you must be very aware and ready to react quickly in this introduction process.  Supervised visits only for a while.  It’s very important that your dog listens to you so if you need him or her to back off and lay down or sit, he or she will with no hesitation.  This will keep your dog from hurting your cat.

Having them become used to each others scents is also a good idea. Letting them lay with a shirt, blanket or stuffed animal of the others can help in a big way.  You do this for both the cat and the dog.  When you are finally ready for them to meet each other you should put a leash and collar on your dog for more control and let your cat approach the dog.  Give the leash a little tug and a command if he or she gets snippy.  If your dog is good and calm, remember to reward him or her for their good behavior… they want to please you and they definitely don’t want to get in trouble.

So those are a few steps you can take to introduce your dog and your Bobtail cat.  If those don’t work, then a talk with your vet and some of your own research should do the trick.  You need to make sure you are taking all of the right steps and keeping your animals safe.  It may seem impossible at first but I can tell you that I’ve seen this happen many times and now the dog and cat are the best of friends so don’t give up hope. Also speak with your vet about proper dog and cat care to make sure they both keep strong and healthy living in the same house hold.  Remember to always keep the litter box out of the dogs reach as this can make them sick.