I haven't done this introduction myself but my sister recently did between an established 3 year old cat and a new puppy so i will try to at least share her experience!
She also used the crate technique and has found it to be very helpful. The most important thing was to make the crate a safe place for the puppy, not a punishment. So he had a little food in there, a bed and a toy or two. He was given attention while in the crate as well so that he didn't feel like he was being ignored. He is now about 10 months old and he still likes to go in the crate to sleep (with the door open) as it has become his safe place so it can defintiely be a positive thing.
His containment in the crate gave Bruce (the cat) plenty of time to walk around him and check him out under controlled circumstances rather than the initial meeting starting with being chased.
She didn't shut him in a room on his own at any point as puppies will generally pine for human contact straight away, very different from a nervous kitten!
Definitely use a baby gate so that there are always areas the cat can escape to. You can also get some that have inbuilt cat flaps to make it easier for the cat to get in and out of the area. Also make sure there are high areas that the cats can easily jump up to and then be out of reach of the dog.
Lastly, my sister made a point of saying "No" in a firm tone and taking the puppy away from the cat each time he started chasing the cat. This really took some effort as at times it was constant (not helped by the fact that my sister's dog seems a little.....slow shall we say
) but he slowly made the connection that chasing is not allowed.
Fast forward to 7 months later and they are now the best of friends. Boris the dog interacts with the cat and they do play together and sleep together.. (they also gang up on mummy and daddy together) so all seems to have gone well!
When is the puppy due to arrive?! Can we see pictures, i love puppy pictures just as much as kitten pictures :D
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