We adopted this cat about 3 weeks ago and he has been kept inside my daughter's bedroom, away from the 2 small dogs we have. I have let the dogs in the room twice just so they can see the cat and the cat can check them out . There was minimal barking, a little hissing on the cat's part and then they 'agreed' to stay away from each other. I want them to all get along eventually and today I left the bedroom door open so the cat can come out at its leisure. The dogs of course went in and checked things out - not much of a fuss was made by either of them - a little barking and a little more hissing from the cat. Now the dogs are downstairs with me, walking back and forth, worrying about the cat. I feel like it's up to the cat to decide when to come down so I will leave the bedroom door open now. Do you think this will work? The dogs will not hurt the cat - they are just curious/afraid of him. Should I just let them work it out?
As long as your dogs are nice to him I would say yes, I, myself would do it this way. Personally I would take the cat and hold and love on it , let the dogs stiff him out while i'm loving on him so they know that he is one of the pets in the house too and they need to be nice. If they bark I would tell them to stop, if you don't your letting them think it's ok to do. there is no way to really help the cat, you need to let him get used to - and get comfortable with his surroundings. this will take a while to get used to and get used to the dogs and the dogs to him. Time and patience and just keep a look out. Always interact with your cat so your letting your dogs know that you love the cat too. they will warm up, just takes time. God bless
No, do not just let them work it out. Your dogs could get an eye scratched. That happened to me once. You need to supervise at all times.
Three weeks is long enough. Let them be together. Minimal barking is nothing and a little hissing is to be exepcted, OK? They are all aware of who is in the house now. Just do it. I'm not a fan of this isolation thing but you've done good. It could be way worse. Expect some hissing for a day or two and let it go. The animals will work it out. If there is an extreme fight and blood shed put the cat back in the room, otherwise, let them go.
You should NOT be allowing your dogs to bark at the cat. That is a very poor behavior that MUST be nipped in the bud and discouraged at all times. You need to create positive associations between all your animals, so the more stressful the situation is, the worse off they will all be. Teach your dogs the "leave it" command if they don't already know it, and use it if they are too nosey with the cat. Otherwise, trust me, he will NEVER come out. You can't just "let them work it out," because the solution will just be a reclusive and nocturnal cat who only ventures out when she won't be harassed and barked at.
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You need to provide a sanctuary for your cat where he can get away from the dogs and not be bothered. I recommend a baby gate to "his" room. That way, she can either jump over it or squeeze through it. Add a blanket over it for added privacy. He needs to come and go as he pleases at his own pace. If he feels like he has nowhere to escape, then he will just hide.
Next time your dogs and cat are in the same room together, there should be treats for everyone. You should encourage positive behavior with your dogs (ie. calm curiosity) and discourage all negative behavior (ie. whining, barking, pacing) It may work better if you work with 1 dog at a time with the cat. Put the other outside with a bone for a bit and see how it goes 1 on 1. The cat surely feels overwhelmed and 3 weeks is not long enough to really feel safe and settled.
Your cat can have the run of the house as long as your dogs do NOT have the run of the entire house for the time being, and are NEVER left together unattended until you're sure it's safe. Your cat could severely scratch your dogs if she's frightened. Yes, your cat can probably jump up somewhere to get away from them, but you really need to assure him that he can get totally away from them if he's feeling stressed.
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Good luck
