Dog and cat living together

[Guest Anonymous]

I am trying to gather information - so any help would be appreciated.
I would like to hear from anyone who has a dog and a cat.

An older dog, and got a kitten - or full grown cat.
A puppy, and got a kitten or cat.
A cat or kitten - then got a puppy, or older dog.

I would like to know what happened when you got the second animal, and how you got them both to accept each other, and learn to live together.

Thank you, your help will be much appreciated.

[behle]

I have 2 dogs and 2 cats all neutered or spayed and all inside animals. Here is the order of their arrival:

First to arrive was 6 month old Paisley, my tortoiseshell "evil" cat. She took to Bear (my husband's chow/lab mix - no longer living) - cause he was an old guy and she could run rings around him. He had no previous experience or opinion about cats at all. Paisley used to sneak up on him and chew his toenails; he would get a longsuffering expression on his face.

Next on the scene was 9 month old Max, my rottie. He accepted the arrangement with Bear and Paisley because the routine was firmly established between the two of them. Bear looked out for Paisley in a wierd way; whenever Max wanted to chase Paisley, Bear would just put his body in between Max and Paisley without directly looking at Max. Max would go away.

Ashly, our smoke gray fluffy cat, was 6 months old and the next to arrive. She upset the applecart because Paisley absolutely detested her on sight. So when she and Ashly would spat over dominance issues (Bear had passed away by this time) Max would involve himself and pursue them all over the house. Much barking and hissing. It took about 2 months for the situation to settle down after Ashly's arrival.

Wiley, our first saint was next to arrive, he didn't have a lot of impact on the household. He just flat out wasn't interested in their petty squabbles. We rescued him from a horrible situation and he had a lot of his own "baggage" to deal with.

After his untimely demise, I vowed never again to have another saint, but about 6 months later we adopted Ben (almost a year old) from a rescue organization near Chicago. He was interested in the cats, but not in an aggressive way. Max and he hit it off right away. The two dogs have an occasional mild dominance issue, usually initiated by Max the rottie. Every so often there will be a cat chasing festival usually brought on by the arrival of a stray mouse getting inside the house. Cats see mouse-chase mouse-dogs see cats run-dogs chase cats.

We introduced them to each other with a hand on the dogs' collars and with the cats loose, with lots of petting and reassurance. Before a new cat came in the house, we would temporarily shut the dog/dogs in the bedroom. That way the cats could get a good sniff around, get the lay of the land, and scope out the high ground. Then we would let the dogs out under our control to meet them. This is what worked for us. I'm not sure what the experts would say. :D

[Black GSD]

I had a 33lb, 11 week old pup. I wanted to get a little kitten but thought it may not be the best with the pup never being around cats before. I got a 9 to 12 month old (this was a guess, I got her from the pound), cat. I figured that a cat that was a little older would put the pup in his place. SILLY ME! I brought the cat home and let the pup out of his crate. He immediatly walked over and put his mough on the cats neck and pushed her down. STUPID cat didn't even care! I still have this cat (she is approx 9 now.) And to this day, she LOVES the dogs to do this to her. (Though it is NOT encouraged). She has NEVER said a word about it. BUT, she will only let a GSD do it! It is almost as if the cat thinks she IS a dog. She plays and sleeps with the dogs. Any new dog or pup that is allowed in the house is treated the same even if she has never seen them before. :stupid:

[Black GSD]

Also wanted to add that my dogs only like BLACK cats! All others are to be run off. (Obviously my old cat is black [with long hair]). We live "in the middle of nowhere" and there have been stray cats show up. The dogs go after them, which IS encouraged since I really hate it when a stray cat comes on MY property and beats up MY cat. BUT, a stray showed up that looks EXACTLY like my cat. This was 2 years ago and he is still here. The dogs love him too. (It also helps that he isn't afraid of dogs AT ALL.)

[Guest Anonymous]

We had an old cat and got as big puppy. He like to slobber on her and she just made a face like "Yuck". After losing both of them we adopted at Pre-Owned cat - big, 17 lbs. He ruled the roost for 4 months before we brough home the puppy. The cat sniffed the puppyonce and ran like he'd been scalded. After the puppy was out of the carrier the cat tipped his head and followed him around. They became friends and are the same size (big grey cat and Maltese-Shih Tzu mix). We brought home another Pre-Owned Cat who thinks she's a dog - She took to the dog within 3 days and they sleep together, play together, she eats the dog cookies when the puppy gets them. We're one big happy family.
Good luck - I really don't think Cats and Dogs dislike each other as much as we think.

[alicat613]

Let's see....

I got Poppy (2 year old cat) about 4 years ago. She was severely abused and has come very far in her 4 years with a great deal of patience and love.

Then a year and a half ago I got Spidey, a feral kitten at 5 weeks. He's a total mischeivious brave little brat. When we brought him home we just put them together without any special preparations and both get along fine, although Spidey likes to play more than Poppy.

I don't know about either cat's prior dog history, although with Spidey I was pretty sure he had ever even seen one, having been picked up at 4 weeks.

Neither had any dog encounters while in my home, and both are indoor only cats.

We got Parker, a male Great Dane puppy late last October. He spent his first tow months at his breeders around many dogs, more cats, a few wolf cubs and a raccoon. His breeder helps in wildlife rescue. We did not do anything special for the introductions. Both cats have claws (declawing is a horrible thing) and have many routes and safe spaces they can always go. The dog is not allowed to harass them, we tell him gentle etc.

There haven't been any problems. Spidey likes to play chase with Parker, but won't come that close to him. Poppy will not play with him, but keeps him in line with paw swats and hisses, but she'll sleep right on him at times. She also steals his bed and toys.

You do have to think about what breed of dog you have, what their prey instinct is like etc. And if you have a dog who is gentle, and want a cat to play with him, you would want to look for an outgoing active cat. A more sedate cat would be more like Poppy most likely although I've seen some cats that could be typed as cuddlers who love their doggy friends too.

[gooeydog]

We have a cat and four dogs... he was about 2 yrs old when we got the first dog (age 8 months), and probably around 8-9 when we got the other 3. He is also the resident "bad*ss" and doesn't hesitate to put the dogs in their place. He and the first dog used to play all the time, he'd jump on her head and dig his claws behind her ears as she flung her head all around (yes, we're sure it was play :lol: ), and they'd both "bat" at each other with their paws. After the other dogs came(ages 10months, 1.5yrs, and 2yrs), Goo (dog) became less open about playing (she doesn't exactly like sharing the house with the other dogs, but it's also not a major issue), and a little more "possesive" of her cat. Occasionally one of the other dogs will chase him, or growl at him. When that happens, Goo starts carrying on and barking, and usually "tramples" the offending dog (or sometimes just moves between the and the cat, and barks loudly in their face :o ) giving the cat plenty of time to escape (not that he needs the help). The cat has also been known to "break up" rough play when Goo is involved... he hops down onto her opponent and Goo takes advantage of their surprise :lol: .
When we introduced Goo to the cat, we first used a babygate to seperate them so that they could sniff, see other, etc, but not hrt each other. Once they seemed pretty comfortable, we took down the babygate and just corrected verbally if Goo got out of hand/with a squirt bottle if the cat did. They didn't start playing until several months later. The other dogs were just brought into the house, and let to roam around (they're all relatively small; 12lbs, 11 lbs, and 35 lbs) with verbal corrections for the dogs if they got out of control. The cat also does/did his fair share of "whipping the crew into shape" :lol: , and they all have a healthy respect for him.
If you are going to get a cat while you have your greyhounds (or any sighthound), you have to be careful, because some are so prey driven that when they see a cat running through the house/yard it's enough for them to want to chase/kill it. Thats not to say that it can't/won't work, but you may need to use a little extra caution.

[mouseatthebusstop]

I don't have the cat now he died at seventeen years old, He would have been about twelve years old when Poppy came to stay for three months almost seven years ago. As most of you know she is still here. with them both being older it worked out well. They soon became good friends. :)

[courtnek]

I have an old cat, who was here first before the current dogs. Freebee was a puppy, and Pushy "whipped" her into shape in no time...the adjustment period was practically non-existant. Alex was another story. He was full grown when I got him and had no experience of cats.

Pushy hid from Alex for weeks, and really all he wanted to do was sniff
him and know him, but Pushycat wasnt budging. After a few weeks, I put a baby gate up in the ktchen doorway. Pushy's food and catbox are in the basement so the dogs cant get to them. With the gate up, Pushy was able to "get to know" Alex without feeling threatened. They sniffed through the gate and got used to each other. Now, Pushycat rules the roost. He reclaimed his dominance of the house, and both dogs answer to him.

It's really quite funny - together the dogs are 10 times bigger than the cat;
he weighs 18 lbs and they are almost 180....

He walks in the room, tail high, and they move out of his way. They will literally GET UP to let him walk by...of course, he has bitten both of them on the nose as a reminder of "whos' the boss" when they "get out of line..."

I love dogs, but this is so funny I cant pass it up. They could easily hurt him, but they give him his way.......Pack mentality with an animal that has no pack...cats arent stupid...LOL I think everyone who has a dog should own at least one cat - to show them how it's done....

LOL


:D

[Guest Anonymous]

we have 4 cats, 3 of which are living with us right now (the other is at my sister's). Taz hates Hazel, but tollerates her (although she is the one who's gone now). We got Hazel AFTER Taz. Pokey is afraid of Hazel, will growl and hiss, and run away when Hazel comes in the room... Hazel also came AFTER Pokey. Angel is TERRIFIED of Hazel, she had NEVER seen a dog in her whole little life, then when my sis (not the one with Taz) moved back here, she came in my room holding the cat, and I guess never really realized Hazel was in there (to this day I don't know what made her think that! :roll: ) hazel went flying after Angel, Angel went flying up the wall! So now, when Angel hears/smells/sees Hazel comming, she will puff up and run and hide! Now Daiquiri, THAT's another Story! Dak LOVES Hazel! They will play together, sleep together, you name it! I introduced Dak to Hazel when she was a kitten, brought them in the same room at oppossite ends for a few minutes, then took them away... did this for about a week or so, bringing them closer together slowly. Then They started to get worse, so (may not sound like the best idea, but hey! It worked! HOWEVER, I DO NOT recommend it!!) I put them in my room, closed the door... left them for a few minutes, came back, and they were sleeping together!!! :o Since then, they've been buds!!

[bk_blue]

I would like to get a cat, but Blitz would kill it. :( Actually I don't know if he would, it's hard to tell if he wants to kill it or just play (I wouldn't let him get that close to a cat to find out!!!). We often see them when we go walking and once he lunged at this big black cat sitting in its driveway, it reared up and hissed at him, and Blitz got scared and backed off, the big wuss. :lol: I think if we'd had him since he was a baby and already had a cat, they would get along fine. But not much hope of introducing him to one now, I don't think.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thank you so much everyone, for the excellent response to my request. Your stories have all been of a great help to me. And they will be very useful for future reference.

Do we have any greyhound lovers out there? - They are my passion - as you may have gathered by my avator.

http://www.risingfree.co.uk/users1/margaret_p//

[Guest Anonymous]

Now how did that happen!!!

Sorry folks - did not realize that I was not logged in.
:oops: :oops:

[Guest Anonymous]

Science_doc is MAYBE looking at getting one!

http://forum.dogomania.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4085&forum=9

Why don't you PM her with some info on them????

[bk_blue]

WELCOME Margaret! :D :D

[Guest Anonymous]

When my pitbull was first introduced to a cat she was around 4 months old. It was at my moms house. Her cat just had kittens. She didn't like the dog being around her. But after a few bats and hisses the dog learned to be gentle with the newborns. She was trying to play but was a little to rough. Well we ended up taking one home with us. Now that kitten and my dog are the best of buds. You probably won't believe this but the dominant one in my house is the cat. This is the only animal my dog has ever gotten along with really well. They've been together for about 6months now. They play all the time. The cat plays pretty rough. The dog not nearly as rough and just uses her paws to play with the cat.