Our brave cat

We have two cats at our house and we recently got a dog. I think she's around 10 months old now. The thing is, this dog keeps barking at our cats and one of them always runs away in fear of the dog. However, this other cat would always just stare at the dog and if it ever comes close, it would hiss and attempt to claw at the dog's face. That's the time that the dog will back off. What a brave cat! However, we are still trying to keep them apart, just to make sure they will not hurt each other.

 

My family and I rescue and foster Malamutes, with Moonsong Malamute. We can only take the 'cat-friendly' Mals. (which is pretty rare), because we have four cats. We have fostered six of these great dogs, and none of them had a problem with our cats. One of them, Mollie, had no problem with cats, but was super aggressive with little dogs.
If a cat stands their ground, a dog will not pursue, but if a cat turns and runs, that's when a dog will take the opportunity. Cats are formidable when they are facing an opponent with their claws out and hissing and growling. I think you are wise to keep them apart until you are really, really sure they will get along OK. Good luck with your new family member!

 

Some dogs can even try to face a dog and even fight it I saw something like that happen, sometimes it starts out as something semi innocent. My cat Bob is ok with my dog most of the times, but sometimes my dog wants to play with him, Bob thinks the dog is up for something else, so he starts hissing and adopting a defensive posture. The dog doesn't like that! So starts barking... what a mess!!! Talking about getting the wrong message!

 

I honestly did not have a problem when my kitten was introduced to my dogs, but my situation was kind of the opposite of the original poster. I had two dogs and they were sort of fascinated by the new family member. So from day one they got along beautifully. They were the perfect picture of cousins who got along well. I don't know if the information in the link I am providing will assist.

http://www.paws.org/library/cats/home-life/introducing-cat-to-dog/