Introducing Prey Animals to a Dog/Cat

Recognize if your dog/cat has a prey drive. Does your dog/cat try to catch mice? Does your dog lunge at birds during walks? These are normal behaviors; however may indicate the dog/cat has a prey drive and may become dangerous for the prey animal.


Three-day decompression period:

Give your new animal three days to decompress in their new home before immediately beginning introductions with the resident animal(s). This allows the new animal time to acclimate and the other animals to warm up to the new resident without rushing interactions. This is especially important when introducing a prey animal to give them time to decompress.

Scent swapping:

Allow each animal to smell the other animal’s belongings. You can simply rub a blanket on each animal for the other to smell or bring items to each of their environments. This will help them become familiar with each other before starting any greetings or interactions.

Introductions through a barrier:

After you have allowed your new animal some time to decompress in their own space, you can start allowing the animals closer access to each other by placing them on either side of a closed door so that they can smell each other directly. If both animals can sniff each other through a closed door without displaying signs that they are stressed or uncomfortable, you can allow them to see each other through a baby gate or x-pen. Avoid forcing any interactions.

Supervision and Expectations:

For the safety of both animals, every interaction should be supervised for the first few weeks to months. This will allow both animals time to decompress and acclimate to each other, and avoid any unwanted and potentially unsafe interactions. Introductions between new animals can be a slow process, but it is worth it to create a positive relationship between them. Keep in mind, the length of time the introduction process takes may vary depending on each animal’s history with the other species.

Signs to end an interaction: