Pet People - Advice about introducing a new cat?

[Jenny in Florida]

As I've shared elsewhere, we adopted a cat about a week ago. He's an adult, estimated at about four years old, and apparently was rescued from a hoarding situation that included both cats and dogs. He seems very sweet and, over the past week, has gotten very comfortable with the household's humans (especially me, since I've been spending more time with him).

Following the advice of the shelter and our vet, we've had him ensconced in one of the bathrooms since we brought him home last weekend, except when I've taken him into the guest room to stretch his legs and get a change of scenery. However -- with the exception of a potential eye issue which we are following up on with a specialist next week -- he has been given a clean bill of health and seems otherwise ready to meet the already resident dog and cat.

My experience with cats previous is that they often hiss at and/or avoid each other for a little while before settling into something between tolerance and bonding. My thought at the moment is to take both of them into the guest room (which is more or less neutral territory and also contains very few places in which they could get into trouble), keeping the dog out, and start with some brief supervised time. When it seems like one or both have had enough, take new cat back to his bathroom sanctuary and try again later.

I'm just not sure how to approach this with the dog, though. She gets along fine with our current cat. They're not "friends," exactly, but they will share a room fairly contentedly most of the time. In general, though, she's not fond of other animals and will chase, bark, etc. 

Any thoughts on how to best manage this introductory phase?

Edited June 24, 2022 by Jenny in Florida

[stephanier.1765]

Have they been smelling each other under the door? If you have him in a bathroom where they can't do that, I'd start with moving new kitty to a place where they can't see each other but can smell. I like the idea of small introductions after that in a neutral territory in small doses. I've seen introductions done through screen doors installed in the house so the kitties can see but not be a threat to each other, but I can't imagine to going through the trouble and expense of doing that. It's a really good idea though if it's possible. For the dog, you can always use a baby/pet gate to keep the dog separate from the cat so they can become familiar with each other without fear of attack.

However, you decide to handle it, good luck. It's such a joy to have a new furry friend in the house.

[Jenny in Florida]

The already resident cat has been occasionally approaching the bathroom door. I don't really have a better place in the house where they could smell but not see each other.

And, yes, no screen doors anywhere in the house.

When we introduced the current cat, we happened to have a large dog crate in the garage. We put the crate in the living room and put the kitten in the crate. That way everyone could see and smell each other but not actually make contact. We got rid of the crate, though, when we moved.

My husband's home office has a baby gate, because it's where the cat food and little box are. We could try releasing the new cat in there. 

Thanks, @stephanier.1765 We'll see how it goes.

[Kanin]

I think I speak for everyone when I say we'd like to see pictures of new kitty (and old kitty and dog!).