Introducing a new dog to a cat?

Sorry is this is a thread you see all the time here, I'm sure lots of people have this problem!

We're looking to rehome a very elderly EBTx. We already have a very elderly moggie, who is completely deaf and a bit frail.

The dog has lived with cats previously - in her first home she lived with them peacefully, and in her second she chased them (though it sounds like they weren't properly introduced and the owners were expecting harmony instantly).

The cat has lived with dogs before and is calm around them - she's hissed and growled at my parents over-exuberant, not-cat-experienced labx and hound but she held her ground and didn't make herself a fun chasing game, and she's completely ignored a friend's well trained working cocker.

I took the cat with me to meet the dog today, kept her in her carrier while the dog had treats and cuddles. Initially the dog was very alert, she went up to the carrier, watched the cat for 30 seconds and then started barking at her. Once I'd calmed her down a bit, she just sat and grumbled while watching the cat in a very alert, tense sort of way. It was very difficult to distract the dogs gaze for a good 10 minutes, after which she started to relax and would accept treats again. After a while we were able to let the dog off the lead (with the cat still in the carrier) and have cuddles with her on the sofa without her paying the cat any attention - she seemed to have forgotten the cat existed!

The cat was not bothered by the dog at all, she seemed more grumpy that she was in her carrier than upset by noisy canines!

Is barking a normal doggy response to something like this? I've grown up around dogs and have worked with them for a few years.. but I've never introduced them to cats before.

Does this sound like something which would be workable? Will the dog eventually calm down in the house enough for them to both be off-lead and uncontained? We're patient people and we're willing and able to put the time into keeping them separate at first, crating the dog, taking her to training to improve her general obedience and listening to people skills but I'm very aware that the cat isn't really able to defend herself - I don't want to commit to taking a rescue dog, only to have to return her.. or worse, have her hurt my old kitty

I have intorduced lots of dogs and cats to each other and it has usually gone very well. If the dog has lived with cats before and the cat with dogs then I think you are half way there. The last intro was only 2 months ago and it was with a dog from the refuge, as far as I know he had never lived with cats and had not been tested with them it, all went well I tend to just let the cats up onto the table/.work surfaces and let them see the dog and the dog see them and I just watch and see how it goes, try not to be too stressed yourself as they may just get the feeling from you. If you can have areas where the cat can go and the dog cant get then that is always best, my cats can get upstairs to the bedroom in the daytime but dogs cant, in the night the cats and some dogs are in the bedroom with us. I think its quite normal for the dog to bark at her when she is in her carrier.
Good luck hope it goes well.

Thank you Milk Maid, that's reassuring. I now have a crate under my desk, we've agreed to bring doggie home on Monday. We'll see how it goes, and I'll try not to stress!

Have a look here:

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/ca...troduction.pdf

http://www.clickersolutions.com/arti...atsanddogs.htm

Hope those links may help