How to Introduce an Adopted Cat to a Resident Dog

Set up a room for your new cat to live for at least the first few weeks after it comes home.

Give the cat a litter box, food and water bowls, soft blanket, cat bed or pillow, cat tree or cubby hole, and a few cat toys. Allow your dog to inspect and smell all of the new items. Have everything ready before your new cat's arrival.

Bring your cat directly into its room in a cat carrier without letting the cat or resident dog meet each other. This reduces the stress on the new cat. Allow your cat to acclimate to its new surrounding for one week. Bond with your new cat by visiting it in its room during this time, and playing with it until it becomes comfortable with you or any other human members of the family. Give your dog an equal amount of attention so it does not view the cat as competition for your affection.

Rub a towel on your new cat and rub another towel on your dog to obtain the scent of each pet.

Place the dog-scented towel into the room with your cat, and place the cat-scented towel in an area your dog frequents to introduce each animals to the other's scent. Put the towels in areas such as near food dishes or on pet beds. Cats and dogs rely much more on scent than appearance, and this will familiarize each pet with the other's scent before a face-to-face meeting, according to The Humane Society of the United States.

Feed the dog and cat on opposite sides of the door to the cat's room.

This will allow each animal to smell the other under the door during the pleasant experience of eating. Give each animal verbal praise for calm behavior.

Open the door to the cat's room and place a baby gate or screen door at the entrance to allow the dog and cat to see and smell each other, but not physically interact.

Give your dog treat rewards when it behaves calmly in the presence of the cat and vice-versa. Calmly close the door if your dog becomes overly aggressive and bears its teeth, growls or barks. Walk away and introduce them again through the gate or screen when the animals have calmed down.

Put your dog on a leash and allow your cat out of its room.

Have your dog stay in place and reward it with food rewards to ensure calm behavior. Supervise any initial interactions between the two pets when they discover each other. Never force interactions as this only serves to stress the animals and make each view the other as a negative experience. Continue to use verbal praise and treat rewards for each animal during the introduction. If your dog shows any signs of aggression, do not punish it. Instead, walk your dog quickly away, restrain it temporarily in another room, and place your cat back into its safe room.

Keep your dog on a leash for the first few weeks that the animal are in your home together.

You can tether your dog to you with a longer leash attached to your waist for ease of moving about your home if the dog's behavior shows little or no signs of aggression. Make sure to always provide an escape route for the cat or a high perch for it to run to if the dog becomes aggressive or gives chase to it.

Supervise the animals together once your dog is off of its leash after the first three to four weeks the two live together with few to no issues.

Young kittens need supervision with dogs until they reach three to four months old; older cats may need supervision for the first month after your dog is off of its leash. Keep the cat in its room when you or other adults are not in the home to supervise its interactions with the dog. If your dog shows no signs of aggression after this probationary period, allow each animal to interact without supervision.