Taking in a foster cat today...any advice?

I have an 8 month old who has never seen a cat before in his life. My older dog is fine with them, no worries there.

My current plan is to set things up in the bathroom, litter box and food on the counter. I was going to leave the cat in the bathroom with the door closed for a day or two so they can get used to the smell of each other.

My worry is when it comes to letting the cat out, that my dog will totally pounce on her. What are some ways you guys have calmed a dog down around a smaller critter? Usually when I need to calm him down, I give him a long leash attached to me and something tasty to chew on, kind of a bandaid fix and not a real good solution.

You could put the cat in a carrier, and let your dog sniff her through it!

Always keep your dog on a leash when introducing them to a cat. Let the cat wander around as she pleases, and control how close your dog gets.

Probably should have checked to make sure the dog would be okay with the cat before taking the foster in... I've learned this myself.

Put the cat in a crate with a blanket and let them sniff each other. From there, I say the rest is going to depend on how your dog reacts. I think you should do gradual "meet and greets" over a couple days. Let the dog sniff the cat's blankets, have something of the dogs for the cat to sniff.

I've found it beneficial to teach our dogs words like "settle" which means to calm down, and "gentle" which means to be gentle with who and what they are playing with. That way I have complete control over the situation. A strong down stay works as well. Good luck.

How do you teach things like settle and gentle?

I know the dog will eventually be fine, its just his immediate instinct will be "OMG HI PLAY WITH ME YAY!"

Make sure the cat has a way to escape and hide out. We have a finished basement where all the cats eat, and where the dogs can't go, so we put new cats down there and let them come upstairs when they are comfortable, on their own terms.

I've got a baby gate that should do the trick I think, it has a hole in the bottom so small animals can pass through easily, but the big guy can't do anything about it.

I know a lot of people have taught "gentle", so maybe someone can help explain it to me. To me, if you want your dog to be gentle with the cat at all times, why use a cue to tell him when to do it? Why not just teach him to be gentle without a cue?