Hi all!
I adopted two cats, 1.5 years old and 2.5 years old, from the shelter a week and a half ago. I have a 12 year old hound dog who has been with us since she was a puppy. This is her first experience living with cats. I have had the cats in a 10 foot by 10 foot room with a nice window for their introductory period, one of them is very outgoing and fearless, the other is prone to hiding and scared. I've been slowly introducing them to my dog, who cries at the door to the room they're in and barks occasionally. I moved on to the baby gate stage where they can constantly see one another, my dog has since stopped crying and barking as much. I decided to introduce my dog and the more outgoing cat outside of the gate, and my dog barked at my cat and then got free of her harness and chased him. She didn't hurt him, and they even smelled each other face to face, but I know it scared him. I realize I will need to give them more time until we try again, but ever since that happened my cat has been acting a little depressed. He doesn't cuddle and groom his brother as much, and has been less playful. I get them out of the room as much as possible whenever my dog is out of the house or visiting one of my family members. I can tell he is stressed because he has feline herpes virus and his eyes have been a little more inflamed than usual.
I feel extreme guilt that they are still in the room and its been 10 days since I adopted them. I leave the door open with the baby gate up and am in there with them as much as possible. I would like advice for the next time I introduce them, especially now that he has a fear of my dog that he didn't have before.
Also, if anyone has any advice for what they do when their cat with herpes has an uncomfortable looking flare where their eyes are weepy and super pink, I would love to hear some more ideas!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/lktxy3/adopted_a_bonded_pair_of_cats_last_week_and_could/
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