Introduce a cat to a german shepherd?

[Sonia T]

Me and my best friend are planning on moving in together into an apartment sometime next year. I have a 7 month old kitten at the moment, and she just bought a 2 month old german shepherd pup. I'm wondering, what is the best way to introduce these two? Right now they don't live anywhere near each other but since we are planning on having them in the same apartment/duplex in the future, is there a way to get them used to each other? I'm afraid the German Shepherd is going to get so big and want to chase my cat, who by the way is smaller than usual for her age.

Should I bring my cat to that house to see what they think of each other now, or is there a better way? Any help would be so appreciated. Since I guess we only have a little while to figure out how we can make them friends/live together in peace.

 

[Kaela Brown]

if their still babies it'll work. young animals will play with any THING. y only cation is to make sure the german shepherd doesn't play too rough with the tiny kitten but other then that they should be best friends

 

[angeloneus]

A German shepherd is likely to consider a little kitten lunch unless it is brought up with the kitten, so I would start introducing them NOW. The first time, make sure you are both there and that you are watching them carefully. Once they have shown they can play nicely, you can leave them alone for a little bit, but never leave them home alone together, be sure to put them both up in their crates before you leave or go to bed (or put each one in its own sleeping room with door closed. The best thing would be to borrow each others pet for the weekends at least, switching homes back and forth, to get them really really used to each other. Thank good ness you are thinking ahead, good for you! And good luck!

 

[Experiment E]

Introducing the pup to your cat while he's still small and in that critical puppy socialization phase is a very good idea, but I would bring the puppy to your place rather than the other way around, since cats generally have a much more difficult time adjusting to environmental changes and your cat would probably be too busy freaking out to care about the dog if you brought her over there.

Before you do any face-to-face interaction though, you can try swapping items that smell like each other. Cats and dogs both use scent as their primary means of identification so getting used to each other's scents is a good first step in the introduction process.

When you actually bring the pup over you want to make sure your cat starts out someplace safe - maybe in another room separated by a baby gate, or on top of a cat tree. Most cats need to spend some time observing new animals to make sure they're not a threat before they're comfortable interacting with them, so you should provide a way for her to do that. Don't force them to interact, just stay calm and reassuring and praise her when she's calm around the puppy, and make sure your friend does the same with the puppy. Hopefully with enough of these little meetings they will get used to each other, and when they actually move in together they will already be comfortable.

 

[Thisgirl Isbest]

Another effective way of gradually getting them used to one another which i have practised myself is to keep a closed door between kitten and pup and place treats at door for both of them. this way when they eat the treats they can smell one anothers scents through the door and if done regularly enough they will start to assosciate the scents with pleasure. However it is a lenghty process which requires patience. You should bear in mind that its best to introduce them on the cats terms as territory is of such huge importance to a cats life. You should also introduce them as soon as possible before puppy gets bigger and please have patience it could take a while for the two animals to tolerate one another. hope i helped good luck!!