How to Build a Safe & Stress-Free Multi-Species Household - with Emily Fitzpatrick
Living in a multi-species house can be as challenging as it is rewarding. With so many personalities, needs, and quirks to contend with, keeping everyone happy can feel like a full-time job.
Emily Fitzpatrick, certified dog trainer and founder of Misunderstood Mutt, is someone who knows this all too well.
She joined me on this episode of It’s Training Cats and Dogs to talk about how her two dogs, Remi and Goose, and her cat, Potato, all get along, as well as some tips for keeping everyone safe and happy.
If you'd like to listen to the episode, press play below:
How Goose, Remi, and Potato met
Emily has always been a huge cat and dog lover from a young age. When she and her husband Joey moved to Sicily, they adopted a dog who unfortunately passed soon after due to illness. Emily found another dog, a “weird-looking puppy,” and it was love at first sight. She knew she had to adopt him.
Emily brought him home and named him Goose, a name he grew into pretty well due to his goofy nature. Eventually, they moved back to America with Goose and saw that he was having some anxiety problems. He wouldn’t go on walks until they got a second dog named Remi, who helped him feel more confident. While their first meeting wasn’t the best, they soon became best of friends.
Emily was working at a vet hospital for about a year and a half before she met a farm cat with a new litter that needed a new home. She had no intention of adopting a cat until she fell in love with one of the kittens. And that’s how Potato came home to meet Remi and Goose.
How Emily slowly introduced everyone
Not knowing what to expect when bringing a new cat home to two dogs, Emily proceeded with caution.
They had a split-level home which was ideal for keeping everyone separated in the beginning. Potato took her place in the basement bathroom with a cat tree, food, and toys while she was recovering from being spayed.
Throughout the day, Emily and Joey opened the door and let Potato roam around before meeting the dogs.
At first, Remi was terrified. But Goose was very curious. Potato, still recovering from being spayed, didn’t react much to Goose’s attention but this actually helped to keep everyone calm. If she had run away, Goose probably would have chased her.
Emily kept the first few interactions really short, just five minutes a day, which they increased over time. To keep Potato safe, they kept quiet, safe spaces around the house where she could escape for mealtimes, and litter boxes in quiet spots where she wouldn’t be disturbed.
How to set up your home to keep a new cat safe
Taking a leaf out of Emily’s book, you can apply some of this to your own multi-species household if you’re introducing a new pet. Here are some starting tips:
Keep animals separate to begin with
Set up a safe space for the new cat/dog with lots of enrichment opportunities and toys
Introduce the animals slowly and in short bursts – increasing over time
Make sure there are places high up for the cat to escape to
Make sure the cat’s food and litter boxes are away from the dogs and vice versa
Dealing with pet anxiety
Among Emily’s pets, she says, “everyone is anxious in their own way.” Goose has a lot of fear around loud noises, objects appearing when he doesn’t expect them to, and strangers. He usually reacts with a big bark and then retreats.
For Goose, Emily’s calming tactics include:
Playing calming music e.g. when the garbage truck arrives outside
Confidence building activities
Counter conditioning sessions
Taking him to places where he doesn’t have to worry about strange things popping up
Getting him an emotional support dog (Remi was a big confidence booster)
Remi is more of a reactive dog than Goose. She’ll bark and lunge at dogs that suddenly appear, and she’s sensitive to people’s voices and loud noises. She’s also not a fan of being overly handled. Emily’s main tactic was to help her make dog friends with some muzzle conditioning.
For Potato, her anxiety comes out slightly differently and usually includes urinating all over the house.
Emily’s tried a few different things:
Moving her litter box
Checking for infections
Changing the litter type
Keeping pets separate
Using fun enrichment toys
Using pheromones
Anxiety medication
She found that the medication Fluoxetine helps Potato a little, but she still goes through bouts. One trigger seems to be changing circumstances, for example, getting a new pet or moving house.
If you have a similar issue, know that simply understanding the root cause isn’t always going to solve it. Anxiety in both animals and humans is a complex beast.
One tip I gave Emily is to set up cameras to capture when and where Potato does it. That way, Emily will get a better understanding of any triggers.
Removing a big stress trigger
One very clear trigger for everyone’s anxiety was when Emily and Joey welcomed a new dog into their house, Gus.
Gus was a very aggressive dog that really affected Goose, Remi, and Potato’s quality of life. While Remi got along with Gus fine, and even gained some confidence, Goose became really withdrawn around him. Potato, similarly, avoided everyone while Gus was around.
It sadly ended in behavioral euthanasia due to his aggression. Emily got to work trying to help all the other animals recover and decompress. A few days after Gus was gone, Potato finally came over to curl up on Emily – something she had completely avoided while Gus was there.
Gus may be an extreme case, but when pets don’t get along, there’s no real safe space for anyone. That makes it so urgent to work on keeping everyone safe and secure. Your pets might not all become the best of friends, but it’s vital they feel safe at least.
Addressing a pet’s needs
Remi and Potato have a bit of beef going on right now. As a Pit Bull, Remi has a strong prey drive, and naturally, Potato isn’t a fan of being chased.
But Remi’s drive isn’t a bad thing that needs to be stamped out. Instead, Emily has a few tricks to keep everyone happy:
Using a flirt pole with Remi
Taking Remi out on longer walks
Using cat trees and other high up safe spaces for Potato to escape to
Interestingly, Potato is sometimes the instigator. She’ll jump up and start trying to play with Remi, but Remi takes it a bit further. Once it goes too far, Potato decides she’s had enough and gets out of there.
Is conflict always a problem?
This is a good example of self-regulation. Animals give off signals to each other that communicate what they like and don’t like. In this example, Potato decides when she’s had enough and removes herself from the situation. Remi knows that’s her cue that playtime with Potato is over.
With little bouts of conflict like this, you don’t always need to step in and split everyone up. The animals will usually take care of that themselves.
Conflict, in this case, isn’t necessarily a problem as long as the animals can self-regulate and have somewhere to go when they’ve had enough. That part is key.
Advice for bringing a new species home
As someone who’s been there, done that, Emily’s advice for bringing a new species home is to learn as much about them as you can.
Research their breed and learn about their expected behaviors and quirks
Meet them to see what they’re like and how they interact with other animals and humans
Understand that your cat is likely going to be way different from your dog and vice versa
Take things slow (slower than you think)
Accept that not everyone will become best friends in the beginning (and that’s okay!)
Finally, if your pets don’t get along after trying everything, to the point where their mental health and natural behaviors are affected, rehoming is an option. It’s not a failure, and while it’s no one’s favorite thing to do, it’s sometimes necessary to keep everyone healthy, happy and safe.