I have recently moved in with my partner and as I have a cat and she has a dog we have also had to introduce them to each other.

At my previous house there was another cat but she has never had any real contact with dogs. Also being aware that the cat would also be distressed by the house move we gave it a few days before the dog moved in.

The cat was starting to find her feet in the new house but since the dog has been introduced she now isolates herself in the spare room. At first I had to bring her downstairs to ensure she ate and drank but as soon as she was done she retreated back upstairs. However over the last couple of days she has followed me downstairs when I get up in the morning to be fed, which was how her routine was in my previous house. But she returns to the spare room stays in the utility room where her food and litter tray are.

When we introduced them over a week ago the dog was kept on her lead, and although the cat appeared anxious she stayed where she was so there did not appear to be any concerns

Since then the dog appears to have accepted the cat but the cat is still anxious about the dog.

Has anyone any advice to make the cat feel more at ease?

It just takes time.

When we got a dog our cat (who had been with us for years at the time) hide up on the cupboards in the kitchen for a few days. Then she came down to the work surface and finally a few days later she was on the ground with the dog.

There is nothing you really can do, it will just take the cat time to adjust and get used to the dog.

The only advice I have is to give it more time...a lot of time...cats do things when THEY are ready not when you are!

We have a 14 year old cat who was introduced to a border terrier puppy 4 years ago...just as the poor old aged cat got used to that another border puppy arrived!

The dogs both sleep with the cat in the same bed now and clean him up after he's been eating......it will all be fine if you let them both do things at their own speed.

I would get two blankets, one for the dog and one for the cat, and on a daily basis, swap them over, so they get really used to the smell of each other.

Get a tub of kitty treats, (Because the dog will eat these, the cat may not eat dog treats) and share them out one for the cat, one for the dog, one for the cat, one for the dog. You may have to start throwing them to the cat, at a distance, but the idea is to let them see each other at a distance, and make them closer and closer gradually.

That way they will be on an even footing. The cat needs to build up confidence slowly, so have a high place in every room for it to jump to in the moments it feels scared, then slowly and surely they will get used to each other. Dont panic though as long as the cat has somewhere to get away from the dog it will come round in the end, even if they are not really close, they should be able to live together with mutual respect.

Give it time and they will be fine

My cat took herself upstairs and stayed there for 6 months when we got our dog...I did worry a bit, but she doesnt go out much anyway, and I took her food and water up and went up to fuss her frequently

She gradually started coming down and sitting on the stairs, peeping through the banisters at him, then she started popping down for short periods to sit on out laps...and eventually she came back down perminantly

Now several years on, my two are quite fond of each other in their own little way..the cat is definately the boss though..but they lick each other and even sleep together..and they make a huge fuss of each other if they have been apart for any length of time

My dog would think that was a brilliant game and would probably launch herself at the flying kitty treat and snaffle it with relish, terrifying the poor cat in the process

Seriously though, OP, the advice to let them go at their own pace is good. My own dog is very fond of cats so I didn't have the problem you have - she mothered the kittens [cats now] from the start and treats them as her pups.

I would interfere as little as possible.

They just need to get used to other naturally so I wouldn't take the cat to where the dog is, I would feed cat where it is until they sort it out.

In my experience the cat usually gets the upper hand but it has to happen over time and their pace.