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Anonymous
I'm trying to figure out how to introduce a cat do our dogs

See a few days ago this black cat that is nearly identical in every way to our old black cat that lived for a good 20 years showed up. This one is a few months old so still a kitten, but everything else including it's behavior is just like our old cat that I grew up with until we had to put her to sleep when I was 17 or 18. So we were thinking about keeping this one as an outside cat, but we have multiple dogs and only two of them are familiar with cats, and both of them are acting pretty stupidly when they notice the cat.

So far i've been able to get the cat to come to me while i have one of the small dogs in my lap but she doesn't like to stay in my lap very long if they are in it, and they are overly excited when they see her.

I was thinking about carring her inside and keeping her in my arms until the dogs and her calmed down to see if they'll get along but I think she'll be too skittish and try to jump out of my arms. Any tips?

Pic related, one of our dogs. The only one that was calm enough for the cat to be around until he tried sniffing her face too long and she hissed and pawed him.
>> Anonymous
>do our dogs
Make that to our dogs
>> Anonymous
That dog looks like it's sitting in a puppy mill.
>> Anonymous
what kind of dogs?
>> Anonymous
>>327887
2 yorkies, 1 mutt and one golden retriever/Brittany spaniel mix (colors, fur and body of a retriever, size, paws and ears of the spaniel)

One of the yorkies was around but still a puppy when we had our old black cat, the retriever has had exposure to cats at other people's houses when my step sister would take it with her. The mutt treats the cat like anything else it's never seen before, which is to chase it but stop a few feet from it and bark
>> Anonymous
Here's the trick: Give the cat lots of places to go that the dogs can't reach. Put up dog gates to block off some rooms, clear off counters and bookshelves. If the cat feels she can get to safety at any point, she'll be less skittish and more friendly with the dogs. (You say the cat is a kitten - how young? A few months at that age can dramatically effect the cat's ability to jump. If the cat cannot jump very well, this trick won't work.)

The big problem with cats and dogs is communication. Most of the important signals cats and dogs give off are reversed. A happy dog wags its tail, the cat sees the tail flicking, and assumes the dog wants to fight. An angry cat flicks its tail, the dog sees the tail wagging and assumes the cat is in a good mood. An angry dog growls, the cat hears purring, and assumes the dog is in a good mood. A happy cat purrs, the dog hears growling, and backs off.

They'll figure out each other eventually, but for a while, it'll be like having a Spaniard and a Texas Substitute Spanish teacher together in the same room trying to hold a conversation.
>> Anonymous
>>327928
I'd say she's 3-4 months old, definitely not fully grown yet, unless she's going to be really tiny or something.

I know she can jump at least 3 feet high as she's jumped on the window sill outside. The counters inside are only a bit higher than that

Unfortunately we don't have enough dog gates to be able to block off an area of the house for them to try and get used to each other while keeping a high ground like counters or a table for her
>> Anonymous
>>327933

How well-trained are the dogs? Will they stop in their tracks if you tell them to, even if they are distracted?
>> Anonymous
Here's another.

Introduce the dogs to the cat one at a time in a secluded room. Give the cat breaks between dogs to recover.
>> Anonymous
>>327939
No, their training is only general house training and basic commands and some phrases they've picked up