27 CREATIVE WAYS TO HELP ANIMAL SHELTERS
Want to help your local shelter but aren’t sure where to start? Try donating DIY cat toys, hosting a cat fashion show, or knitting blankets. The pawsibilities are endless.

Introducing Your Cat to a New Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide
Cat, meet dog. Sound like a recipe for disaster? It doesn’t have to be. Your cat can learn to love (or at least tolerate) a new dog if you follow a few simple steps for introducing the two species.
Step 1: Choose a Cat-Friendly Dog
When you bring a new dog into a home that already has one or more cats, take care to make sure the newcomer is a good fit for your household. If you’re adopting an adult dog from a shelter, ask whether the dog has lived with cats before, and whether he or she displays predatory behavior towards smaller animals. If you’re getting a puppy, choose a breed that’s known for being compatible with cats—check out this list for tips.
Step 2: Make Sure Your Dog Has Basic Obedience Skills
Before you make the introduction, your dog should know how to come when called, sit on command, and how to “leave it”—drop something he or she has picked up. A Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) can help your dog learn these basic commands if he or she isn’t already well trained. If your new dog is a puppy, it may take weeks or months to master obedience skills. You don’t have to put off the introduction, but you will need to take a few extra precautions.
Step 3: Let Your Cat Set the Pace
When you first bring your new dog home, give your cat a safe, peaceful place to retreat, and keep the dog in a separate area with a baby gate or other barrier. Begin the introduction slowly. Put your dog on a leash and take a stroll to a spot where your cat can see and smell your dog, but your dog can’t get too close to your cat. If your new dog barks or lunges at your cat, use obedience commands and rewards to encourage calm behavior. If your cat shows signs of agitation—like hissing or spitting—or goes into hiding, that’s fine. Keep up this routine until both animals start to get used to one another.
Step 4: Friends At Last
As the days (or weeks) go by, give your cat more opportunities to observe your dog. As long as your dog doesn’t display any aggression, like chasing or barking, you can gradually remove barriers and lose the leash. Make sure your cat has a “territory” that your dog can’t access (typically high shelves or other inaccessible areas of the house) and that your dog is kept away from the litter box and cat food. Your cat may choose to keep his or her distance, or the two species may become fast friends. Either is fine, as long as you have pet peace and harmony in your home.
If you introduce your cat to your new dog with care, you’ll minimize stress for your pets and yourself. Soon you’ll be enjoying the best of both worlds—dog and cat!
we did numbers one and 3 and we also did something else. I got my cat in 2007 (July) and my dog arrived in October of 2007. When we brought the new dog home, I had googled and found that the best way to introduce them is through scent. They suggested perfume! I put a dab on our cat, the dog, me and my husband (all the same scent and a tiny, tiny bit). When we brought our dog home (who did NOT know obedience commands, he was 8 mos old), we left him in the crate for about 15 minutes and let our cat walk around and investigate it. Our cat only hissed at him once (letting him know who is boss)……….and he has NEVER, EVER hissed at him again. They are BEST friends. I also made sure my cat had “safe havens” with baby gates (cat toys and cat litter is dangerous and should be kept out of a dog’s reach)……….the cat litter in in a fancy enclosed litter box in my bathroom with me, the toys are in our “office” safely baby gated away from our dog. Another important point (both of my pets were young at the time) but BOTH had lived with cats and dogs. catchatwithcarenandcody
Indeed, this is very helpful. My cat and my dog are friends, even their first met. I agreed with the “give your cat more opportunities to observe your dog”. Looking forward to see more from you.
xoxo, Marie@ Follyfoot Cattery