As unfair as it may sound, you have to set very firm and consistent rules with the dog where her behavior toward the cat is concerned, but you need to allow the cat to do whatever she wants in terms of disciplining the dog.

A dog, even a relatively small dog like a beagle, can kill a cat with a single bite, even if the bite is in play. That's why the dog MUST have strict rules about NO chasing, NO growling, NO whining, NO barking, NO following, and NO staring at the cat. Any interactions between the dog and cat should be initiated by the cat ONLY, and ONLY if the cat so chooses and in the way the cat chooses.

The cat needs to know that you and your DH will protect her from the dog in all situations and back her up as alpha animal in your household. If she feels threatened and/or unprotected and/or displaced by the dog, she may demonstrate all sorts of unpleasant behaviors (hiding, aggression toward the dog and/or both of you, soiling outside of the litterbox, refusing to come indoors, etc).

Give the cat LOTS of extra attention and be very patient with her behavior toward the dog. Do NOT reprimand her for swiping or doing anything else to the dog. The dog has invaded her territory, and she has a right to set her boundaries. If the dog tries to retaliate in any way, immediately and firmly correct the dog.

Train the dog to completely ignore the cat, distracting her with toys, treats, and teaching her to do tricks. Give the dog plenty of interactive exercise so that she won't feel the need to exercise herself by chasing the cat. Praise the dog everytime she ignores the cat or allows herself to be immediately distracted away from the cat.

Maybe the dog and cat will eventually become friends, and maybe they won't, but either way it'll be up to the cat to decide.

Laurie

Congrats on your new arrival! :)

Be patient. Give the cat lots of love and space -if possible set up one or two rooms that the dog is not allowed for the cat to call her own. It's a big transition for a cat. They are territorial by nature and in her eyes she's dealing with an 'intruder'.

Don't ever let the dog chase, bully or corner the cat. He needs to know cats are not toys. We showed the cat considerable respect in front of the dog, like he was the most fantastic guest we were so happy to see and interact with. The dog bought it and would sit nicely hoping to get his chance to interact. The cat eventually (4 months after the dog's arrival) sniffed the dog. Our pup was uncontrollably happy for the next hour. :)

'leave it' is an invaluable command, works best when followed up with a command the dog is permitted to do to reinforce the desired behavior.. so 'leave it' + 'sit'. Our dog now sits to greet the cat.

Also we used babygates set 7" off the floor to give the cat the option of leaving the area when he'd had enough dog attention and also to restrict the dog's access around the house the first 3 months.

It took 6 months for our cat to start to interact with our dog in a peacable manner. About 4 of those months we had strict separation between the two until the dog's 'manners' got to the point where we could recall him away from such an interesting event as the cat appearing in the living room.

It's worth the wait and now it is such fun to see them play hide/seek games around the living room. The cat loves to chase the dog and then hide, then ambush him! :) I can't say our kitty 'likes' the dog, but they've worked things out.

I suggest you reprimand the cat for unwanted behavior as you would the dog. Make certain the cat is up to date on all of its shots, diseases can be transmitted from a feral cat to a dog. In time your pets will either ignore each other or start to like each other, as long as you control unwanted behavior from both of them

I think they probably just need more time. Typically, the cat will take a few swipes and the dog will learn to leave her alone. And I bet in no time, they teach each other their boundaries.

If the dog doesn't learn to leave the cat alone, you may to step in, but IME, they usually figure it out themselves.

Ditto to all the above, except that I would not discipline the cat for reacting to the dog. It is not the cat who is giving the dog unwanted attention, but the dog giving it to the cat, right?

And I would never leave them alone together until I am really sure that the dog has learned how to behave with the cat. If the cat ever happens to decide to run away from the dog, the dog's instinct for chasing and catching, and perhaps killing, could kick in.

That said, there are plenty of dogs and cats who are fast friends, and still more who at least tolerate each other and act appropriately.

Do you wear any scent? Hand lotion? Perfume? Shampoo? Put your scent on your new dog. That will go miles toward getting the kitty to accept the dog. Works like a charm.

Laurie's done this kind of thing a time or 3, so she knows
exactly how it works.

Just follow her guidelines exactly & it'll all simmer down.

The dog is the newcomer, & dogs are smart.

She'll learn to get along with the cat.

Reprimanding a cat doesn't work, except to make a miserable cat. Cats are not like dogs. Listen to Laurie.

Not only have I been through this a time (or 100), but I've made more than my fair share of mistakes integrating dogs and cats over the last 50 yrs. Perhaps my most notable error in judgement was with Tasha when she was a wee pup. Tasha is a herder cross with VERY INTENSE herding instincts. When I adopted her as a very young puppy, I made the mistake of assuming that my dozen or so cats at the time would teach her appropriate boundaries and behaviors. Unfortunately, she was such a maniacal pup (who matured into an equally maniacal adult), that the cats simply avoided her whenever possible. I kept waiting for them to get fed up with her shenanigans and put her in her place, but they never did. So now Tasha is a very pushy adult who believes that everyone and everything (except me, of course) should bow to her every whim. She is a complete pain with the cats, nipping at their heels to move them away from everything she considers hers (which is everything, period), and going after them anytime they look like they might be having too much fun or getting too much attention. I am constantly having to tell her to back off. If I'd just stepped in when she was a puppy and established the rules that the cats weren't enforcing themselves, I wouldn't have to be monitoring her all the time now. I don't think she'd intentionally hurt any of the cats, but her drive to control is so intense that she could inadvertantly cause injury in her zeal.

So please believe me that it's MUCH easier to relax rules later once your cat and dog have made peace with each other than it is to never establish any rules at all.

Laurie

Thanks for all the info. At this point I can not even get the cat to come inside the house. So last night I put the dog a her leash and walked her up to the cat and they smelled each other. Kitty did not run away, so hopefully that is a good start. The dog does not seem at all intersted in the cat.

I wanted to let everyone know that Kitty came back in the house last night and the dog just ignored her. So, kitty is getting over the new dog. Thanks for all your advice.

Bird_lover_2006, did you try what I suggested with the scent?

That's great news! It sounds like you all are off to a good start. You are very lucky the dog has no particular interest in the cat. The transition should move along as the cat's tolerance to the dog's smells, sounds and sight grow. :)

Like Laurie, we were dealing with a herder (border collie pup) + cat... a very dominate cat who was very annoyed by the interest and intensity of the dog. Rules/boundaries were hugely important for any hope of a peaceable co-existence in our case.

Beagles are great dogs. Each one I've know has been such a character! Many happy years ahead for you and your new arrival :)

Oceanna, I put my hand lotion on and then petted the dog. When my husband took the dog for a walk kitty came inside. When my DH came home with the dog I would not let kitty out. The dog never even went near her and of course she never went near the dog. I think this told kitty that Pebbles(the dog) would not hurt her.