How to Teach Cats to Like Dogs

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Updated: April 25, 2019

Explore this Article Introducing Your New Pets Keeping Your Pets Happy Article Summary Questions & Answers Related Articles References

Cats and dogs? Living together? It's possible. If you want to learn how to get your cat to tolerate your dog's presence, you can learn to socialize them properly, whether you're bringing a new dog into your cat's home, or a new cat into your dog's. Learn to introduce them the right way and keep them happy.

Part 1
Introducing Your New Pets

  1. 1
    Isolate the new pet in a safe space. If the cat is new to the home, the cat should remain in a safe space in your house at all times, like a spare bedroom. Keep everything the cat needs in that space: food, water, and litter. Unless it chooses to leave that space, let the cat get comfortable with a small area before allowing it to roam.
    • Make sure your cat has easy access to litter. Ideally, litter-boxes should be in multiple locations in the house. The fewer litter-boxes and fewer the locations, the higher the chance of an issue.
    • If the dog is new to the home, begin crate training. Do not keep the dog outside. Being new to a home is stressful for a dog just as it is for a cat to have a new doggie roommate. Dogs are highly social and should be kept inside, especially during this critical bonding time. Just like cats need to learn positive associations with the new dog, the dog needs to learn positive associations (and positive habits!) in its new home. Leaving it outside is asking to have a wound up, stressed out dog that develops anxiety (separation anxiety, barrier frustration, you name it) and takes it out by jumping the fence or digging up the yard.
    • Make sure the cat has a safe place to escape, which the dog cannot access. Cats love tall perches.
  2. 2
    Introduce the scent first. Both cats and dogs have a developed sense of smell, and it's much safer to introduce both animals to the scent of the other for a while, before letting them be in the room together. This is a critical step in letting the animals get familiar with each other.[1]
    • Take a blanket, sleeping pad, or chew toy that your dog has used, and put it in the cat's area. Take the cat's blanket and let the dog spend some time with it.
  3. 3
    Learn to recognize the signs of arousal, which is the stage before aggression. Be wary of the term "aggressive." Most people think of this as growling, biting, etc. However in a dog/cat predator/prey interaction, what you really want to avoid is arousal, the stages before aggression. This means you want to avoid having the dog get over excited or over interested. Obsessing over the cat, chasing the cat, stalking the cat, herding the cat, overenthusiastic play with the cat... Those behaviors can look totally adorable and like the dog just loves the cat but that is when you want to call your dog away from the cat and reward with treats. You want to encourage the dog to feel indifferent about the cat, not "unaggressive."
  4. 4
    Let the pets see and smell each other. Walk your dog by your cat's safe room regularly and associate the smell from the blanket with the cat's area. Slowly build up to a more substantial interaction. First with the door closed, then with a baby gate or other room divider, and keep the dog on leash while you do it.
    • Merely walking by with your dog will be intense for your cat. Calm the dog down as quickly as possible, if it reacts excitedly or aggressively. Make the dog sit and reward it for good behavior.
    • Don't put your cat in a crate and allow your dog to sniff around it. Your cat will feel trapped and will associate your dog with fear.[2]
  5. 5
    Let the pets be in the room together. After the pets can reliably see one another without reacting excitedly or aggressively, let them be together in the same room. The dog should be on leash and if it is not showing interest in the cat then let it drag its leash. This might be nerve-wracking, but try to be quiet and calm. Your attitude will affect the animals.[3]
    • Try not to let the dog to rush up to the cat and smell. Instead, call your dog away from the cat and reward with treats and praise. If your dog will not stop staring at your cat and pulling away, increase your distance until you can distract your dog.
    • Similarly, reward your cat when the dog is near. This is easier with two people. Try to have someone to "guard" the cat while someone else "guards" the dog.
  6. 6
    Try to always end on a positive note in an interaction. Even animals that are getting along well can start to antagonize each other. Before it gets to that, end the interaction by moving the animals to other rooms, and treating both of them.
    • If your animals are content to be in the same room and ignore each other, you can stop separating them.
  7. 7
    Be patient. Socializing a dog and cat should take several weeks, and may take longer. Keep the pets moving forward and get them familiar with each other. Each stage should take a few days, at least. Pay attention to your pets and read their body language to see how they react and go according to their cues.

Part 2
Keeping Your Pets Happy

  1. 1
    Use positive reinforcement. Whenever the cat sees, smells, hears, or otherwise interacts with the dog, both animals should be rewarded with treats, pets, toys, or whatever is pleasing to that cat. You want to make sure the cat is comfortable and never forced into meeting or getting near the dog.
    • Do not scream and yell at your dog for being excited. This will only make it worse. Remain calm and increase your distance. As soon as your dog starts to calm down and disengages with the cat (try having her do a familiar trick like "sit" or "watch") give her a reward like a treat.
    • Don't scold your cat for swatting at your dog. This is a normal way for a cat to establish boundaries with your dog and will typically do no damage to your dog. It is a warning swat.
  2. 2
    Provide a perch for your cat. Cats like to be high up, where they can feel safe and survey their surroundings. It's a good idea to provide your cats a cat tree or otherwise clear off the top of a bookshelf or other area and make it easily accessible to the cat. This can be a great way to let your pets be in the room together, so both of them can feel safe.
  3. 3
    Don't force interactions. Your goal is to have your cat associate your dog's presence with positive rewards and to have your dog associate disengaging with your cat with positive rewards.If your cat is forced to be around your dog you may create a negative association that is irreversible or may take years to correct.
    • Those commercials where the cats and the dogs snuggle? Those kinds of relationships are super-rare between pets, even though they're insanely cute. The best you can hope for is that your pets mostly ignore each other, and can tolerate the presence of one another. If you've done that, you've done extremely well.
  4. 4
    Try not to leave your pets alone together, before they're socialized. If your pets aren't used to each other yet, don't let them have access to each other when you're not there. A dog's prey-drive can be triggered and sadly dogs who were getting along for months with their new kitty friend have been known to kill the cat.
    • Even if your dog is doing a good job of leaving your cat alone when you call, be wary about dropping the leash and for several weeks allow the dog to drag the leash around the house so that you can quickly pull her away if needed.
  5. 5
    Don't declaw the cat. By taking away your cat's natural defenses, you will cause them to potentially be more aggressive because they are aware they are missing their number one tool to protect themselves. Also, you increase chances of excessive biting and litterbox issues.
    • Your dog will be fine. Cats are almost never the aggressors. When cats swat at dogs, it's either a sign of play or a warning swat.
  6. 6
    Make sure your animals get breaks from each other. Even if everything is going well, ensure they both have time apart. Spend an equal amount of time with both animals, showing them affection. Use positive reinforcement and keep your animals happy.

Community Q&A

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  • Question
    My family is thinking of getting a cat. One of my dogs has always hated cats, the other is aggressive during feeding time, and the other has a strong prey drive. How can we get them used to the cat?
    Community Answer
    Do not get a cat. Please. That sounds like a nightmare for both you and the cat.
  • Question
    How do I make pets befriend each other when they have been around for months? They usually fight.
    Community Answer
    It will take time (and a lot more if they already have grudges), but you could at least reduce aggression. First take safety in to account since both animals will have their hackles raised. Trim your cat's claws and put your dog on a leash. Give your pets places to go if they feel threatened. If your dog and cat show no aggression give them both praise, but for starters try petting your dog then your cat to get them to get used to each other without contact, but do not expect this to work over night.
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    • Start when the pets are young. Younger animals will socialize better than older pets.
    • A good setup might be to let the cat roam around the house freely and leave the baby gate up so the dog is restricted

    Article SummaryX

    While your cat and dog might not become best friends, you can teach your cat to be comfortable around your dog by rewarding it with treats, toys, or praise whenever it's calm around your dog. That way, your cat will associate your dog with positive things. Additionally, avoid scolding your cat for swatting or hissing at your dog, since it's most likely just establishing boundaries, and you might actually make it more afraid of your dog if you do. You should also make sure your cat has plenty of places to perch that are out of your dog's reach, which will help it feel safe so it's less likely to lash out. To learn how to introduce your cat to a new dog, keep reading!

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    Categories: Cat Socialization | Dog Socialization

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