Cats and dogs?

AmyMay

AmyMay

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I'm hoping to get a dog in the next couple of months.

What's the best way of ensuring a happy union between my three cats and my new pet????
 
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How old is the dog?

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Don't know. I will be looking to get a rescue dog - one probably with a little bit of age about it, and quiet in nature. It will be comming to work with me so will also be a small dog. And will be looking for one that hopefully has some experience with cats - nice experience rather than the bone crunching type........
 
Just leave them to it. Your cats will not like the dog and will keep out of its way. So long as your dog is a puppy it will soon learn to leave the cats alone because they will hiss and scratch him. Before long they will either make friends or just tolerate each other.
 
Crate and baby gate....works wonders......the main thing is both are kept seperate when u cannot supervise...the baby gate gives the chance for the cats to escape up the stairs and the crate, allows the dog to see the cats from a secure place, whilst the cats are passing by e,t,c.
Have them together as much as possible when u are there, and be firm with the dog, you should act as the cats protector, unless u have savage cats, lol
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Im currently making a saluki x greyhound cat friendly for it's new home, she was first box muzzled, then taken into my cattery, she ignored the cats at these stages, but when I carried one of the cats into the living room, she payed interest and began to whinge.......she got a sharp dig, and was told to lie down.

Stay calm, and if the dog chases the cat.....never grab the cat,always the dog....let the cat get away, other the commotion of u grabbing the cat, will cause the dog to go into a frenzie...and u will get bit/scratched, by a terrified cat.

the calmer the cat stays, the less attention the dog will pay.......it' s a antural chase instinct that makes them go for a fast moving cat, ot one that is being scooped up in fear of the dog biting it..........so stay calm, and project firmness with the dog.

This dog was in another home, and when their cat entered the living room, the fosterer grabbed the cat, the dog jumped up, thinking, huge commotion, fair game....and made a bee line for the cat.....I however stayed calm, and sat with one eye on the dog and other on the cat, the dog knew not to make a wrong move
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It's a little harder if your cats have never seen a dog, sometimes if this is the case I crate the cats, when the dog is in the same room, as cats can be very spacky and freak out, but they do try to avoid a fight at all costs, they would rather escape, so staying calm in the crate, as they feel more protected, whilst the dog is roaming around, with a bed to hide/retreat to within the crate.
 
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[ QUOTE ]

How old is the dog?

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Don't know. I will be looking to get a rescue dog - one probably with a little bit of age about it, and quiet in nature. It will be comming to work with me so will also be a small dog. And will be looking for one that hopefully has some experience with cats - nice experience rather than the bone crunching type........

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Lol.....exactly...better to be safe than sorry....some dogs are capable of killing a cat, we where up at the pound this weekend, and the woman said, she was getting sued, cos a dog she let go, bit the head of the new owners cat
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Be vigilant, obs some breeds are more capable of more than a little fiesty interest.....like the saluki I have, which is more than capable of killing my cats, if given the chance.
 
No probs....just re read..I did not mean to terrify u with the head bitten off thing...it was a large breed...to put your mind at ease......although terriers can be little gits..........u never know, u may have no problems at all....your cats will prob sulk for a while
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but hopefully all will be well, without all the impliments.....maybe just the baby gate for extra security when u leave them unsupervised.
 
Our two cats (16yo and 11yo) have reacted to our new puppy better than I thought they would - after a few weeks we have progressed to cats on one sofa and puppy on the other - watching each other while me and OH supervise proceedings..

We introduced them via the crate system which helped, cats know the minute she is in there and wander around the house freely.

I'm pretty sure that puppy wouldn't hurt them and just wants to play and she is slowly cottoning on to the fact that the cats do not
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She is a Springer Spaniel, not sure if it is typical of the breed to be okay with cats?

She has chased them a couple of times but soon runs back to us when they turn and lash out at her.

Upstairs is the cats domain and I've made it very warm and comfortable for them so they still feel happy up there, I even fed them up there the first couple of days.

However, Mommy forgot to close the crate properly one day and we found the puppy asleep on the bed and the cats asleep on the stairs when we got back
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But all animals were in one piece and didn't seem bothered.

Good luck, hope it all works out
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Our late Persian cat, Dolly, was out on a leash, attached to a running rope in the garden we had then, when one day a Doberman, who we later found out had killed more than one cat before, came running into it. Dolly lowered herself to the ground, all her hair stood up and she GROWLED!! The Doberman just froze and got a very remote look in his eyes, after a little while he almost crawled away. And Dolly didn't stop growling for a long while...
I might add, that my mother was with Dolly in the garden, just not beside her and saw him coming, but didn't stand a chance about running as fast as he did.

Strange cat, was never really difficult with any newcomers that we brought home, even when the newcomer was a dog (not even when my second dog happened to be a DobermanX), but never approved of strange animals anywhere near her outdoors. So if she saw a cat or dog outside her fence (we put it up after the Doberman-incident) she became furious and started jabbing with her paws through the fence. Only exception was that from the day of the incident, if she heard or saw that Doberman walk past our house, she always growled.




It's usually easiest if they're kitten and puppy or a kitten and a adult dog. Getting my dogs to accept a new kitten/kittens have never taken long. The longest, was with the DobermanX, she was terrified for two days, on the third day she decided they were her puppies and went out to dig themselves a lair in our garden. She was about half a metre or more down when we realised what she was doing, on our interruption, she went in and grabbed the first of the two kittens she found around the neck, and started to carry it towards the door out to the garden, with a clear aim at her "lair".

If it's a puppy and adults cats it usually ends well to, but it tend to take a little longer. When we got my first dog we had three adult cats and it took weeks before they were completely comfortable around her, and then her breeder had cats and she didn't really bother about ours. Dolly actually accepted Nessie after only a few days, it was the two rescued cats (maybe about 6 years old) that caused the biggest problems.

The situation where it's most likely to fail, is when they're all adults and without previous knowledge of living together with the other sort. Doesn't mean there isn't rare people who can make it work even with adults, without friendly experience of the other sort. But in general it's more difficult, and of course, the breed/breeds and their previous history can make it either easier or more difficult.



Make sure your cat feels it's still mainly their territory, and that there's places where they get plenty of opportunity to study and become acquainted with the new being.


from Sweden.
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My cats had never lived with a dog when I got my puppy.
The cats had a corridor between the catflap and the stairs so they could see the puppy, but not get cornered - I also didn't want a scratched puppy when she was small.
Anyway to cut a long story short, contact was on the cats terms, and they gradually reclaimed the lounge in their own time. One of my cats also started to lie on the bed in the puppy cage when the pup was out and about.
My youngest cat is now my dogs best friend, they chase each other, but also curl up together - the cat also rubs his face all over the dogs much to her embarrassment. As for my old cat, she just hates everyone with 4 legs and fur, and my dog knows to give her a healthy wide berth when there in the same room (so does my other cat too) - she really is a grumpy old bag.
 
We have a not very experienced cat (stays pretty much in the garden, not raised with any other animals, used to a very quiet house, not at all aggressive) and got a lurcher puppy.
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I can't say they're friends but they get on okay now and can certainly be calmly in the same room together.

There's all the good advice you need above but I might add a bit from my own experience.

One, obviously you'll work with whatever rescue you choose but it's worth asking how they test their dogs for "cat friendliness" and how they actually define the term. Since ours came from a sighthound rescue they're paranoid about "small furry friendliness" and only a very few of the dogs were even options for us. I specifically wanted a young dog so it would be able to adapt to coming to work with me so that both narrowed the field and meant we had a cleaner slate, so to speak. The rescue not only told us about the dog's testing and his reactions, but also offered lots of advice and support. I have heard of some rescues that are perhaps not as good about testing etc.

One of the rules for the dog is no running in the house. EVER. I know that doesn't work for everyone but on the rare occasions he was tempted by the cat (pelting around like a lunatic just for the heck of it, as she will) he already knew the rules and reacted correctly to correction. They now play "slow chase" walking around the house but if the cat starts to run he looks at us in alarm and doesn't just hare off after her.

We also made sure the cat didn't wind the dog up when she got braver. She's never hissed or swatted him (I wish she would have but that's not her) but after she got braver she'd bat at his tail etc. We stop when we see it as it's not fair for him to have to behave if she doesn't. Yes, cats should have the upper hand but I wouldn't expect a sharp dog with a high prey drive to put up with teasing.

It took a couple of months and they were never alone during that time without the baby gate up. We still watch for silliness but generally everyone gets on well.
 
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