Let's say that you met the person of your dreams and you want to move in together, but there's a catch. You each have pets. How do you get those pets to get along? Well, a lot depends on what sorts of pets you have and how many, but here are some suggestions.

First of all, allow your pets to meet on neutral territory, if possible. You don't want one pet to feel that their territory is being threatened by an interloper. If you have dogs, try the park. If a cat is involved, you may want to have the meeting in an indoor setting, like a mutual friend's house.

For cat versus dog meetings, you may want to put the cat in a carrying case and leash the dog. Allow the dog to sniff the case and see how both dog and cat react to that. Then, open the door of the cat's case and see if the cat feels comfortable coming out. If so, the meeting probably is going well from the cat's perspective. If the cat cowers in its case or bolts out the door and hides, it's a sign that more time is definitely needed.

Finally, when you introduce two pets, don't make the single common mistake. Don't force them to avoid each other. A lot of people will introduce too pets, usually dogs, but not let them sniff each other or get to know each other at all. Your pets need time to get to know each other just like people do, though. Just be able to recognize the difference between play or getting to know each other and an argument and step in to stop it, if necessary.

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David Leek has been writing articles about pets for the past four years. He also likes to write about men's business attire, including why you should have several suit jackets at the office and how to wear a double breasted suit.