Quote:
Originally Posted by Phyllis Stone
we have a little dachshund who was rescued and near death. We have had him
about 6 yrs. and love him dearly. Recently a cat has 'adopted' us. This is a
sweet female yellow tabby. She is very afraid of Zip (the dog). with good
reason. He hates her and cry-barks everytime he sees her. I would like this
cat to be welcome in our home as I think she needs us. Is there a way or a
trick or something I can do to make them at least tolerate each other? I pet
her outside and come in and pet him so he can have her scent on him. So far
I am making no progress. Does anyone have a suggestion?
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Hi!
It sounds as if you're on the right track. When we adopted our kitten from a shelter I visited almost daily before we could actually bring him home. Our dog, Chester, was raised from a puppy with another cat (who since passed on) although they were never "friends", they tolerated each other. When visiting the shelter I brought along a small towel and held the kitten in the towel to get his scent. Upon returning home, I presented the towel to Chester for full examination. I also rubbed the towel on Chester and presented it to the kitten in the same way. I never washed the towel during this cross scenting process.
I really have no way of knowing for certain if it made a difference to Chester since he's such a good natured boy, but I think it made a difference to the kitten to become familiar with the dog's scent. Maybe try introducing your dog's scent to the cat also. It may be a slow process, but maybe it will work. Worth a try! By the way, they are GREAT playmates and it has been almost 3 years since we brought the kitty home. Let me know how you make out!