Sometimes it's best to let them work out their own relationship - and they will comes to terms with it one way or the other.
I know a cat can hurt a dog - so, we have to keep our eye out for this.
But, I had a cat that my Bichon tormented when he was a pup. It took only a couple scratches on the nose to teach my pup that he was a little out of his league. He still liked to tease the cat, but learned to keep a safer distance......and eventually - they pretty much just stayed out of eachother's way.
BUT - I had another cat that became fast friends with my Bichon, and they literally played and ran and jumped all over the house. Occasionally, they played so hard that I would have to put them outside because they were driving me crazy. They played for years. (The secret is that this cat had grown up with a dog - they were together when they were a puppy and a kitten - and never knew they were any different.) And this same cat met the Bichon when the Bichon was a tiny little pup.
I have usually found that it takes a couple of weeks for two animals to adjust to one another - and develop their own relationship. Mine have always become fast friends --or they learned to tolerate and basically ignore one other.
Good luck!
Carol Jean |