How long till new rescue cat and resident dog get on?

[CatMum1234]

Hi there, we lost our 18 year old cat a couple of months ago and adopted a new cat 2 weeks ago. We have a beautiful 5 yr old lurcher who lived happily with our old cat all his life from a puppy.
Our new cat is 18 months and was a rescued as a stray. He’s very affectionate and cuddly with us . We’ve done all the positive introductions between cat & dog …/ scent swapping / sharing treats/ feeding either side of door etc. Cat has his own room in our dining room with all his comforts etc. He’s had his vet check when we got him and all ok.

He’s swiped our dog a few times now if he’s got too close (dog never aggressive) which I know is new cat asserting himself so to be expected. Last week he chased our dog and really went for him as our poor dog ran a little too quickly upstairs so I guess cat felt scared but our dog is now terrified and it’s very upsetting.

I know it’s early days , but I’d love to hear positive stories from anyone who’s experienced similar where their existing dog & new cat now live happily together.

anyone else had this? Just need Hope
cheers

We got 4 foster kittens in April last year and already have a rescue dog for the last 6 years. We kept 2 of the kittens, they are now 1 year olds. The dog started to accept them a couple of months ago but still isn’t keen.

Was the cat advertised from the rescue as dog friendly or been tested with dogs?

Yes,

I introduced a dog to my existing cat household (took on my Mum's dog after she died). The cats were not friendly! But after a few swipes and hisses they did get used to each other.
Have you got some plug in feliway? That helps calm cats.
Keep supervising any interactions. It may take a while and they may never be friends. But hopefully they will work out the dynamics and live peacefully.

Toleration, around 6 months, acceptance 12-18 if they ever do has been my experience.

Feliway

They’ll get there. Ours took 6 months. Wouldn’t even come downstairs for the first two months. The male cat was fine with them after a few months. The female still acts skittish around them 15 years later!

It took mine two years to coexist in the same room together. It’s very stressful. They don’t get on but accept the other’s presence.

Thanks for your comments. They are fine in the same room, always supervised , it just seems to be when either one moves 😂….. little cat is very playful in the evening and spins / runs etc so dog is very aware… then vice versa, if doggy plays it freaks puss cat out . They do sit on same sofa ..either end and both get lots of fuss for being calm etc. There’s no hissing from cat and dog doesn’t growl / bark. I’m remaining hopeful that once they learn each others little quirks/ playtimes that in time, they’ll both learnt to trust each other . Does that sound about right? 😬

It’s only been two weeks. I think you may have rushed things a bit. I would keep the dog on a longline or lead. You must prevent chasing at all costs.

I am preventing chasing, I stop it if it happens which it has only twice !!!

Stopping it once it has started is no good. It’s been a couple of weeks. This takes a long time and even then they may not get on.

I didn’t say that chasing has started as a regular occurrence!!!! I also said it’s more the cat who swipes the dog…the dog doesn’t really react , if it has happened, i stop it straight away. As for me rushing it,..I’m assuming you have first hand experience in this??

Yes. I have done it the other way round. Introducing a dog to existing cats. And sighthounds. Chasing is a real trigger for them and can lead to serious injury.