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That could have gone better.
FailThere are tentative plans for us to dogsit for Mason's parents this winter when they go away on vacation for a couple of weeks. In very advance preparation for temporarily have a dog in our home, I thought it would be best that before we introduce the pup to our house, we should introduce him to our cat.
I can't really say it went good or bad, since after only sixty seconds of skirting around the edges of the living room with his hair standing on end, Iroh dove underneath the sofa and refused to have anything at all to do with Arnie the happy schnauzer pup. Couldn't get him out until after the dog had left, and the entire time he was in hiding he made these long, pitiful little growling noises. =_=; I don't honestly think Arnie would hurt the cat, but at the same time I can't have Iroh reduced to cowering under the couch for two whole weeks.
A second cat-dog introduction may have to be arranged, but we will have the foresight to block off entry to under any furniture this time.
*Kitty growls can be heard from the next room*
Even if he does cower for the first few hours or even the first day, he won't do it for the entire time. Poor little Iroh... *pets* As long as Arnie isn't going after him, Iroh will eventually find his balls (um... metaphorically speaking that is... :P).
You might try allowing Arnie upstairs and keeping Iroh downstairs for the first day? Or making sure Iroh has his own private no-dog allowed space that he can feel safe in (that's not under the sofa).
Yeah, depending on what happens with the next introduction, if we still do the dogsitting Arnie will probably be restricted to upstairs and we'll keep Iroh's food and water downstairs if he wants to hide or something. ^^;
I don't recommend removing spots for Iroh to hide for the next meeting, that will stress him out even more. I wouldn't even worry too much about forcing them to know one another; pets do these things naturally. They just need time to themselves to figure one another out. Trying to force these things will just cause more stress. If you have to, separate the animals.
And so you don't think I'm full of shit, I have had at least 2 cats in my life at all times, and a rottweiler for 5 years.