The long story short is that I need to move in with my cat to a household that has a dog. Them meeting can’t be avoided. The cat will spend her time in rooms separated from the dog, but the issue that’s being faced is that the dog will incessantly cry when the cat is in the house. We also want to make sure “oops” scenarios wouldn’t put either of them in danger if the cat were to get out of the room.
So far, we spent a couple weeks introducing the two by smell (exchanging blankets and fur). We have escalated recently by letting them meet through a screened in porch with some sight barriers. We’ve tried positive reinforcement with the dog for calm behavior like laying down and making eye contact with us. We’ve gotten the dog to the point where he can lay down or be distracted with his toy while in close proximity to the cat through the screen. However, certain movements from the cat trigger a predatory response.
Once getting to a point where they could (mostly) be calm in each other presence, we’ve had them have dinner together through the screen, still positively reinforcing calm behavior with treats and pets. He also seemed to display a slight amount of resource guarding by facing away from the cat to eat. But he did eat calmly without looking at her. When he’s around the cat it seems now his biggest issue is us leaving his immediate area to do anything especially interacting with the cat. This is an issue that occurs in the house between other dogs as well.
How can I boot his prey drive around the cat? How can I alleviate his separation anxiety and jealousy issue? Any advice is appreciated.