Cat and dog to live together

Hi all. My cat Kirim has always been the one and only at our home. In three months more or less my mother will be moving in with us and with her a female poddle Sisi, and in another three months or so we all will be moving from Florida to Tennessee.
Sisi loves cats so I do not think this will be a problem, my concern is Kirim.
She is not used to having another animal around. Sisi is very friendly but Kirim is not.
Anything I could do to help the relationship? I am worry that Kirim is going to be miserable and won't come out of my bedroom because of Sisi.
What do I do? I am also concerned about the trip to Tennessee - 14 hours in the car. I fell so bad for my Kirim. I love her dearly

Car trip (someone else will comment on the dog) - make sure that you have a harness (the kind with two 'collars') on Kirim the whole time - one that she's gotten used to wearing at home ahead of time - and don't anyone ever open a car door unless the leash is clipped to the harness (anything at all can spook a cat in a strange environment and they move so fast). Don't feed her right before the trip. Do bring a litter tray that she can access a few times along the way. Do bring a bowl and water, and maybe some dry food if she'll eat (she may not).

I agree on the litter box for the car... Oliver frequently travels the 4 hours between school and home with me and I have a litter box in the car for him and he's used it several times... you may also want a slight tranquilizer from your vet... Oliver is given Aceprom (I believe that's the name... Dr. Kathy's writing is a little hard to read, haha) - wasn't expensive... I gave him 3/4 of a pill for our 8 hour drive to North Carolina for summer vacation and it worked like a charm - doesn't make him limp like a rag doll, but calms him down greatly.

As for the dog... I had the opposite situation. My family had our dog for about 11 years before I took Oliver in and brought him to my parents' for visits. They're still not cuddle-up-a-sleep-together buddies, but they tolerate each other.... you could bring several things into your house that smell like the pup for your kitty to get used to the smell... also, if you can, bring the dog over for short visits and see how it goes. It WILL take time, so don't get discouraged!! Actually, my dog was the big chicken in the situation (she's 13 he's 5 - he wants to play, she wants nothing of it, haha) - she would run and hide behind daddy whenever the cat came around. Just make sure both animals have places they can escape to in order to feel safe... also some feliway spray or diffusers would help to keep your cat calm - and make sure you divide attention time equally between the two... um, that's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure others will be along - lots of us have introduced dogs and cats

That's a good idea. Start bringing home items that have the dog's scent on them. That way the first few times, if there is a freakout, it will be without the dog there.

It will be much easier for Kirim because Sisi is already used to cats and is an adult. If Sisi leaves Kirim alone, Kirim will eventually get curious about Sisi.

Another idea that may sound weird: watch animal planet shows that feature dogs and play them loud enough for Kirim to get used to dog noises. Swapping scents will help with the smells, watching dog TV shows will help with the sounds.

(OK, my cats always watch the TV when animal planet is on!)

Originally Posted by Momofmany

(OK, my cats always watch the TV when animal planet is on!)

Click to expand...

Whenever I go out, Animal Planet goes on the tv for Oliver! He also has some of his own DVDs, including Oliver Twist (just cuz of the name, haha), Garfield cartoons, the 1st Garfield movie and Santa Paws is bringing him the 2nd Garfiled movie.... when animal planet is on and dogs are barking (at least ones that sound like my dog) he starts looking for Cuddles, haha

I just had a temporary situation of the sort......I brought Maia(8 months and hates dogs!) to my boyfriends over thanksgiving where his roomate was watching a boston terrier(Lola 6 years old, never met a cat). My biggest worry was Lola listening to Claire (dog sitter) or me if there was a chase...........well, make it simple, Lola was amazing! Loved her, she listened to me and Maia walked around like a halloween fluff ball for 2 days, but was a sport! Lola left her alone, just have to make sure you watch all the time. All though Maia had her 2 rooms Lola was'nt allowed in, she chose t orome about when she was up for it. It did cause a bi of stress on her though, she had a runny stool for a few days. These are the things you want to look for so that you can help your cat before the major behavioral problems start.............................