Question ... does anyone have an answer???

Well the introducing my new kitty to my resident cats is moving along successfully ... thank goodness. Now my problem - and question - is this: How do I get the new kitty to accept my dogs? They've always been fine with my cats but the new kitty FREAKS whenever she sees the dogs (I tried introducing her to my very docile dog Sophie and she FLIPPED - climbing walls and everything. Then, a couple days later, put her in the cat carrier and brought her out so they could smell each other and that was more of the same ... freaking.) So how do I overcome this obstacle? I can only have her out of the bedroom when the dogs are outside ... this can't be the case forever.

Be patient...she's obviously never seen a dog. Many cats who are not acustomed to new things...i.e. dogs, other people, loud noises, being outside or in public, will completely flip out when exposed to these things the first few times.
Your cat is likely one of these types. She will need to come to grips with the dogs at her own pace. I would suggest you give her a place to escape to when the dogs are inside and let her come out to visit them when she is ready.

Well the thing I'm afraid of is my dogs have alot more interest in something that detests them - which could freak her out. Will she eventually get over this? How do I make this transition tranquil?

I don`t have dogs...but i`m wondering about doing the exchane of smells like you do for cats....maybe someone else on here has tried it and knows if it helps or not.
Linda

have you tried a childrens gate in your bedroom door? that way the new kitty can get used to the smells and the noises of the dogs and their routine. After a few weeks raise the gate a bit off the ground so she can get through but the dogs cant. that way when shes ready she can come out if she wants and run back in when she feels unsafe. this worked when my brother was introducing his cats to my moms dog. I wouldnt force the cat to be near the dogs. it might make your new kitty to be more scared of them.

Maybe she had a bad experience with a dog. The baby gate is a good idea, so she can get over it, but they can't. Then she can just stay away from the dogs, until she gets a chance to learn that they are ok!

The baby gate sounds like a great idea - THANKS!!!

Here's an article about cat<->dog introductions:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...gintroductions

If someone knows please help. I took home a stray cat about 1 year ago. A day ago I brought a puppy home and as soon as the cat walked in the house (she spends most of her time outdoors) she knew something was wrong. Her body language changed and she started smelling everything. She inmediately ran under the bed and didnt come out until later that night. When she came out she ran outside and havent seen her since. I am worried she will never come back. Have set out her food but she hasn't touched it.

Do I have to choose between the two? do I have to return my new dog?????

Help

For any cat that hasn't experienced a dog before: it can be very traumatic at first as cats instinctly understand that dogs are a natural enemy in the wild.

I brought 2 puppies into my house close to 4 years ago. Some of the resident cats had lived with dogs and others had not. The ones that had not were very put off by the new arrivals.

I put up baby gates to confine the puppies in one section of the house. As long as the cats knew that they had a safe place to escape to, they were absolutely fine. I also added a cat tree into the area where we had the puppies so that they could run up the tree to get away from them if they felt threatened.

I spent a good amount of time teaching the puppies that cats were not play toys and would not allow them to chase the cats. Once the cats observed the dogs for a while, they realized they weren't a threat and everyone settled down. If the cats were calm, the puppies were less likely to want to chase them, and teaching the puppies not to chase helped to calm the cats down. You have to work on both ends of the equation.

And dogcatlover: its been 1 day. This could take weeks to settle things out. Keep patient as you work through this.

Not sure of her age, but usually they react (freak) this way when they've had a bad experience with a dog.

Kittens might puff up and hiss first time they see the bigger dog, but don't freak out totally around them (in my experience).

Perhaps you can crate the dogs and just let the cat out in the same room for awhile. Seeing the dog locked up might be better for them.