Cats and dogs...how much to interfere??

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bex1984

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Stan is now 10 months old and we have always effectively kept him away from my cats, s he hasn't been allowed upstairs, which is where they live. I do miss the cats coming downstairs for cuddles in the evenings though, so this has been a source of stress as he has got very excited if they have come down and has scared them off.

Anyway, last week we were doing some decorating upstairs, with the door closed, and came out an hour later to find Stan at the top of the stairs. Sitting next to the cat. He must have been there for a least half an hour!

So, we now have a stairgate halfway along the landing so he can come up and see them bu they can get away. Sometimes they are ignoring each other, sitting near each other on either side of the stairgate or passing each other calmly...other times it is war on the part of the cats and Stan just winds them up (they try to hit him, he runs away, then runs back, they try to hit him...etc!!)

It's hard not to interfere because I don't want anyone getting hurt and/or stressed....but I'm wondering if they're better to sort it out themselves? what are your experiences of cats and dogs establishing relationships (or at least, the pecking order)?
 
From somebody whose dog escaped from the car yesterday, through a window with a six inch gap, then proceeded to get stuck halfway through a metal five-bar gate, dangling and howling pathetically a good foot off the ground, who wriggled free just as I got there and proceeded to streak across the paddock intent on eating the neighbour's beloved cat...

What you already have sounds blissfully harmonious. :o
 
I have eight cats and two dogs. Sometimes they get on beautifully and other times they fight. I only interfere when the dogs get a little too enthusiastic. I never leave the dogs alone with access to the cats though as I wouldn't trust them. The cats will tolerate so much of being chased then they will turn round and smack the dogs hard. It always makes me laugh as the dogs look so upset - as if to say 'What did I do?'


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Sorry BC but that's a classic :D

My cats hate the dog, we used to get a lot of the game you're describing, with added barking. I always step in and put a stop to it. 'OI! at the dog and body block works. He generally ignores the cat now unless they're being particularly mean (claws on nose for the crime of walking past etc). Although poor Loki usually gets a double telling off then, as he will tell me off for telling him off, it that makes sense. So then he gets told off for telling me off....

If you type 'telling off' too many times the words lose all meaning :confused: Or I've not had enough coffee yet today.
 
As long as the cats have a way of escape then I'd leave them to it. Obviously never leave them together unattended but you stop stressing and I'll bet you they'll stop wandering what the fuss is about. I have 6 dogs, 3 fosters and 3 cats. The foster dogs are usually not cat tested before coming to me but they soon learn the house is ran by cats and not to try challenging that. :D
 
^^ as an aside I agree, if I say a word too many times I start to doubt the word even exists :p

My cat and my old dog - cat killer-wana be Holly were always kept apart. However once Holly got in to the house and cornered Buffy (cat) Holly was a lab x springer with the size of a lab.

Buffy kicked her ARSE! :) with kung fu cat swipes and then jumped to safety on top of the fridge!

So again, what you say sounds like bliss! I would only interfere if it got dangerous myself.
 
If they are doing as you describe it would sound like the cats have the upper hand. Our dog is like this with our stable cat but he sure as hell stands up for himself but occasionally the dog (GSD x) can get a little excitable and chase him a bit too much and seh will get shouted at a bit for that. I don't actually think she'd ever do him harm as he's far too aggressive. I think the cat actually likes her. He'll follow us across the fields or if we go out for a walk along the track but only if the dog's with us, he's not that bothered if the dog's not with us. Funny animals!

He has chased off a friend's lurcher x type dog (so largish dog), he wouldn't let her even step foot on the yard and the poor dog was/is terrified of the cat now! Lol
My first dog though - a very soft lab x collie who you could leave babysitting guineapigs absolutely hated cats. She was the only dog I know who i think could have easily killed a cat. She once got our neighbours cat pinned on the floor - she had this knack of flipping cats on their backs and pinning them on the floor. It was the only time she ever showed any 'killer instinct'!

In the main I do think cats and dogs will sort themselves out and will learn to love along side each other as long as the cats do have somewhere to escape to out of reach of the dog it should be fine.
 
He certainly doesn't seem to want to eat them, he just wants to play with them and they find him a bit annoying! Hopefully they will sort things out themselves if we leave them to it. Stan is in his crate when we're out and shut in our bedroom at night, so we're always able to intervene if necessary but I'd rather they worked it out themselves. I just hope the cats eventually get brave enough to come downstairs in the evenings again. Male cat (Sweep) is definitely the boss and did chase stan all the way along the landing the other day!
 
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