Introducing my feral to the family

My feral has been in my downstairs bathroom for roughly 6 months. Since then she has been fixed and vaccinated and she is healthy. She is also super loving now and I feel it's time. I have 3 older shih tzu's who will not chase her. A previous cat with claws has taught them to stay away. I'm more afraid of her reaction to them honestly. I anticipate that she will be very nervous outside of her safe room. Any help on how to do this would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Have the dogs seen the cat at all?  It might be best to start with a barrier such as a baby gate.  Allow them to get used to seeing each other.  I used a screen door that I put up against the door and attached with tension rods.  This allowed all animals to see each other and sniff if they wanted. 

Be sure that the safe room is always available to your kitty.  She needs to know that she has a safe place to retreat.  When I brought a feral inside the home and it was time to allow him time out of the safe room, I did it for short spurts.  I started by allowing him time out without any other animals around.  Be sure you are able to handle the kitty so when necessary or when enough time has passed, you can take her back to the safe room.  It is best to do this over many weeks.

Here is an article on introducing cats and dogs.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

Thank you Shadows.

I'm very close to being able to pick her up but not quite. Should I wait until that is accomplished?

BelleBlue said:

Thank you Shadows.

I'm very close to being able to pick her up but not quite. Should I wait until that is accomplished?

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Not necessarily.  As long as you think you can sway her back to her room, it should be fine.