new environment for young cat

Question
Hi Jessica,

I received a kitten for Christmas, and he is now eight months old (he has been neutered). For the first month, he stayed with my sister who chose him from the pound for my present. He was skittish at first, but he seemed to take to me fairly quickly. I then moved him to my fairly new apartment; for the first day or so he seemed afraid, wouldn't eat, etc, but after that he was fine and now he "owns" the place. He is intelligent, curious, affectionate, playful, and friendly (he hasn't even hissed yet!). However, next week I will be temporarily moving in with my sister (probably just for the summer) and her girlfriend, who has a dog (I forget the breed, it's a rather small dog, the same kind as Eddie on 'Frasier'). The dog used to live with cats, so he is used to them, so I know he won't attack my cat. However, my cat has never been around other animals. How can I make this transition for him easier? I feel badly enough that he will have a whole new environment to deal with, but to also have a dog running around could be too stressful for him. At first, I'm going to keep him with me in my bedroom, and then see if we can keep the dog downstairs and the cat upstairs, until he gets a bit more used to his surroundings, before trying to integrate them. Would this be the best way, or should I just expose him to everything at once? Again, I want to traumatize him as little as possible.

Thank you for any help or advice you can offer.

Lori


Answer
Hello, Lori!

You have the right idea to keep your kitty in the room with you at first.  I'd keep him in there for the first several days, or even a couple weeks, until he seems comfortable.  Then trying to keep the cat upstairs and the dog downstairs for the next couple weeks is a good idea.

What I would do is use scent transference to introduce them.  If you have the chance to start this before you move in with your sister, it would be a good idea.

To do this, you would take a towel and rub the dog with it, and then present the towel to your kitty.  Then you'd rub a towel on your kitty, and present it to the dog.  Do this a couple times a day to get them used to one another's scents.

I would also suggest to use a product called Feliway for your kitty.  It's a synthetic facial pheromone - a hormone shown to relax cats in times of stress.  You should spray Feliway around your room, on his bedding, etc.  Feliway also comes in a plug-in diffuser called Comfort Zone, which uses an electrical outlet to treat the entire room.  You can learn more and order at www.felineway.com.  It's also available at pet stores.

There is a version for dogs called DAP Comfort Zone (DAP stands for dog appeasing pheromone).  Dogs generally don't experience the upset that cats do when a new pet enters the home, but just thought I'd throw that out there in case the dog is prone to anxiety.

When it comes time to introduce the two, I would keep the dog on a short leash at first.  Even though the dog is friendly, he could approach your kitty too quickly.  Although he may have the best of intentions, this could scare your kitty and make a very difficult situation.  If the dog tries to rush to your cat, whoever is holding the leash should give the leash a quick pop (jerk the leash quickly), and give him a verbal reprimand (I use "no kitties").  You should continue using the leash for introduction periods (keep them separated while you're not there to supervise) until your kitty seems at ease.