I need help introducing new dog to an existing indoor/outdoor cat. A little background: Up until about 6 months ago we had a male dog. A lab/German Shepherd mix. He was old and passed of natural causes after suffering hip displasia. We also have a cat who lived with that dog. They were never really friendly, AFAIK, but they minded each other's space for many years.
In the last month or two we rescued a female German Shepherd who is 3 years old and VERY energetic, but otherwise very good natured and intelligent. The problem is, the cat is absolutely terrified of the new dog. And the dog gets super excited any time she see him (small, running animal = MUST CHASE!). The cat hid under the bed for days the first time they came into contact and is pretty traumatized.
Fortunately the cat is indoor/outdoor and can get in and out through my bedroom window. He spends most of his time outdoors now, coming in to eat and sleep with me at night, but he growls now any time he can hear the dog outside my bedroom door and usually just leaves. I try to keep the dog out of my bedroom to the cat has a "safe space. But I can't keep my window open as fall approaches so we have to find some way to resolve this. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid introducing them again will excite the dog and totally traumatize the cat, especially if the cat has no escape route.
I'm personally much more of a cat person. I've owned cats all my life and I know them. I only lived with the deceased dog for his later years and don't personally have experience with young, energetic dogs. I'm not even certain the dog means no harm. For all I know she'll kill the cat if she were to ever catch him.
Halp!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/cz6uqi/new_dog_old_cat_cat_is_terrified/
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