View Full Version : Advice please :) Will cats learn to live with a dog?
I have to female cats. They came together from cats protection. Its taken a long time to gain their trust but they are so friendly with us now. Had them for about 3 years. They are indoor cats, but only through circumstances. We will let them out when we move in the near future. Anyway my partner would like a small dog. I have no idea how the cats would react, they still have a bit of a wild streak. Would it be a ridiculous idea to get a small dog? would they learn to live with each other? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated :)
prob the best situation to be in actually
a new [puppy] will be no threat
an existing dog where cat[s] are brought in
or
an older dog brought in are prob the worst as they 'know' what they should do
a puppy growing up with cats will know no better and be freindly
might upset the cats a bit for a few weeks , but it wont last.
dx
dragonfly
12-Jan-11, 08:45
we were the same as you are now, we had a cat who would have been about 5 then and wanted a dog so went off chose our puppy and brought him home. First thing puppy did when getting in the house was rush across to cat and shove his nose at her - lesson for life learnt - respect the feline they have sharp claws!
That was 16 years ago, sadly no longer have Bracken, the dog however Cola the cat is still going strong and will be 21 this year. Cola has seen 4 dogs being brought into her home in her lifetime and has never liked any of them and each one has had a nasty scratch from her so they soon learn to ignore her. On the other hand I have 2 other cats who were brought into the house after we had the 1st dog and they all get on like a house on fire, cats and dogs will snuggle up to each other quite cosily. So whether they like each other or not they will all learn to live together
Oh BTW, if the cats are in the garden with the dogs, the dogs will still chase them but normality resumes when back in the house
we were the same as you are now, we had a cat who would have been about 5 then and wanted a dog so went off chose our puppy and brought him home. First thing puppy did when getting in the house was rush across to cat and shove his nose at her - lesson for life learnt - respect the feline they have sharp claws!
That was 16 years ago, sadly no longer have Bracken, the dog however Cola the cat is still going strong and will be 21 this year. Cola has seen 4 dogs being brought into her home in her lifetime and has never liked any of them and each one has had a nasty scratch from her so they soon learn to ignore her. On the other hand I have 2 other cats who were brought into the house after we had the 1st dog and they all get on like a house on fire, cats and dogs will snuggle up to each other quite cosily. So whether they like each other or not they will all learn to live together
Oh BTW, if the cats are in the garden with the dogs, the dogs will still chase them but normality resumes when back in the house
We had 2 cats, which were aunt and neice, when our son decided he wanted a dog. Max was about 15 months old when we got him, and Muffin, the elder cat, went straight for him, scratching him on the nose. Gizmo, the younger cat, sidled up to him, and they did everything together. snuggling up in front of the fire of an evening. Muffin, however, was always the enemy. That was 11 years ago. Sadly we lost Gizmo just over a year ago. Max still chases Muffin around indoors, but outside he leaves her alone. I think it's a bit like humans. We get on with some people, but not others.
as suggested, bringing in a puppy to a house with established cats will work better than bringing in an adult dog as a puppy can be taught not to chase(a dog that wont chase a cat is a rare thing tho!! lol). tho mostly it can depend on the character of the cats and dogs in question
having said that, i got our dog as a puppy when i had 2 6 year old cats. in the house there were no problems, the cats just avoided the dog. outside was a diferent matter. the neighbours cat was a big bad bully, and our dog would go out the back door running and barking just in case that cat was there!!!(while a puppy this cat was bigger than the dog and would chase him right back up the garden!! lol) over the course of the past 8 years, i have lost one of those cats, and the other one moved out for a while and in with a neighbour as the dog took to chasing her whenever he saw her outside. shes recently moved back in and grudgingly suffers the dog, and he leaves her alone. i also aquired more cats over the years, latest head count stands at 8 cats!! the dog/cat relationships vary conciderably with the individuals. all these cats have come in as kittens (several of them born here) so met the dog at a young age.
Bingbing (14 years) tolerates dog but rather do without him
Tarmac (8 years) hates/gets chased by the dog, wont stay in house except to eat, dog loses his head when he sees him
Toffee (7 years)BossCat would rip the dogs face off and spit in his eye sockets soon as look at him!! dog avoids her
Fluffy and Queenie (5 years(toffees first litter)) get chased but stand their ground
Tiny (5 years(aslo first litter)) adores the dog, goes walkies with him, rubs round his legs, dog loves her
Mr Jingles(3 years(toffees 3rd litter) gets chased but stands his ground
Claus (1 year(toffees grandson from 4th kitten in 1st litter)) would probably tackle and hamstring the dog given half the chance, dog occasionally trys to chase him
not wanting to put you off the idea here!!! lol as i said it can depend on the animals characters, younever know, you cats may just love the dog and youll find them all cuddled up together. if not then the cats will just steer clear of the dog.
We did it the other way round.
Poppy dog was already here before we got Frodo (the cat).
Poppy put up with a lot of Frodo hanging off her using his claws to hang on....
Now they will curl up together and Poppy uses the cat as a pillow
But we have had a cat introduced as a new family member to an existing dog and vice versa before!
They either learn to love each other or tolerate each others company or steer clear!
But in any case where we have had cats and dogs together the cat is the boss!
Any arguements over sleeping places or food, the dog usually backs down faster!
But we have only ever had spaniels and Labs.
The only nasty experience we had was when our old spaniel took a fancy for my Mum and Dads big black and white tom cat...our dog got a scratched nose for his efforts and learned that although the cat was pleased to see him it didnt appreciate his affections in THAT way!
We had to explain that the blood on the cats white bib was from our dog and how it happened!:eek:
Bringing a dog into a cat household is easier than bringing a cat into a dog household. It means the cats are usually boss, and the dog/puppy soon learns that. If this is your first time doing cats and dogs I would recommend certain breeds be avoided unless you are willing to do a lot of work. Terriers can be hard to train with cats sometimes, same with any hounds of types (not sure how small you want). Do you have any breeds in mine? Breeds like Cavaliers are quite good as first dogs and usually get on with cats :)
Always make sure the cats have bolt holes when doing introductions, leave all the doors open so the cats can get away for some peace if they want. Baby gates are useful as most cats can squeeze through to get away but dogs can't!
Will cats learn to live with a dog????? No. The dog will learn what the cats allow and learn to live with the felines. Very quickly!
Do not stress out. Do not force contact between the cats and the dog. They will get to know the dog in their own good time when they want to. Most of the times they will learn to live together as a friendly family. In rarer cases the cats will pretend the dog is not there ( a friend had a middle age cat when he got a dog. This cat was one of the most ornery I have ver known. The cat totally ignored the dog except when it got withing a meter radius. After 8 years (YEARS!!!!!!!!) they could both sit on the sofa at the same time, one on each end and facing away from eachother!).
It is very very rare that a cat and dog cannot adapt to eachother. It usually happens when the dog is first in, older and an inveterate cat hater with experience.
I have two cats, who came along after the dogs, although not my current ones. My boy loves the dogs, and wants to be as close to them as possible, he sniffs, licks and cuddles them all he can. My female pretends the dogs don't live here, ignores them unless the younger dog gets a bit too playful, then she gives the dog a slap to calm her down. Works quite well!
purplelady
12-Jan-11, 23:39
I had two cats when we got one of our dogs as a puppy and they lived happily together for many years till they died the cats i mean xxxxxxxx
Aw thanks for all ur lovely advice. Very helpful. We will def b looking into getin a wee pup in the near future :) baby due in the nxt couple of weeks, so will deal with that new arrival 1st hehe. xxxxx
dragonfly
13-Jan-11, 09:37
don't want to put you off getting your puppy but if you are just about to have a baby I know through experience that its hard juggling both baby and puppy at the same time, especially if you are at home by yourself the majority of the time. It might be easier on you to wait a couple of years rather then a few months - but then I don't know your circumstances - anyway enjoy both baby and puppy once you have them and I'm sure your cats will learn to live with both
i agee wi' 'e dragon....yer hevin a baby an yer partner wants a puppy????
crazy!!
i wish ye all 'e best.....:D
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