Question for dog owners with cats.

Elizabeth_C34

Hi all,

My husband and I were thinking of adopting a shelter dog to be a walking buddy and (hopefully) a kayaking buddy for me. We live in Miami, so a dog that is heat-tolerant is preferred, though I absolutely love huskies. He/she will not be outdoors during the summer months.

We do have two cats already who pretty much run the house (indoor only).

If you've adopted a dog, how did the cats handle it? Are there certain dog breeds that are gentler than others with cats? I don't want my kitties to be chased, barked at, or harassed when the dog is inside.

Thanks!

Elizabeth_C34

EmCarroll1990

I've got two dogs and a cat. Unfortunately none of them were adopted or fostered, we got the dogs from breeders and the cat from an animal hospital. Our first dog got a long fine with my cat, they pretty much just ignored each other. Now that we have a new puppy, a Rottie, the first dog and our cat have teamed up and are great friends now. My puppy chases the cat around the house and tries to mount him, lol. The cat is fine with it though as he can just jump to higher places. My cat isn't de-clawed and will swat at my puppy, not enough to scratch just enough to tell him to back off.

Basically, it's all dependant on how the new dog plays with the cat, but generally cats will just walk away or swat at them and the dog will get the hint.

Elizabeth_C34

I've got two dogs and a cat. Unfortunately none of them were adopted or fostered, we got the dogs from breeders and the cat from an animal hospital. Our first dog got a long fine with my cat, they pretty much just ignored each other. Now that we have a new puppy, a Rottie, the first dog and our cat have teamed up and are great friends now. My puppy chases the cat around the house and tries to mount him, lol. The cat is fine with it though as he can just jump to higher places. My cat isn't de-clawed and will swat at my puppy, not enough to scratch just enough to tell him to back off.

Basically, it's all dependant on how the new dog plays with the cat, but generally cats will just walk away or swat at them and the dog will get the hint.

Cool! Sounds like you have a nice menagerie at home

What breed is your older dog?

wellbert

It really depends.

My male dog usually can't care less about the cat, and the cat feels the same.
When we first got my female dog, she was very (playfully) aggressive toward the cat. We knew ahead of time, so we placed the cat in a large wire crate and let the dog loose.
Every time the dog went after the cat, we corrected her.
It took about a week, and then we eventually introduced them face to face.
The female dog will play a little with the cat, or chase up and down the hallway, but generally leaves the cat alone and doesn't really bother kitty when he is irritated or seriously trying to get away.



Generally, as long as you are the pack-leader in your house, you can convey to your dog that "This cat is part of the pack" or "This cat is off-limit"

But yes - some breeds are better with cats. Smaller breeds, obviously. Anything with a high prey drive you want to avoid - such as Greyhounds.

Goofy076

awwww i dont see it being a prob if your animals are open and friendly.. I have a 10 year old jack russell/****zu mix dog named mello who is a total lap dog but does have little man syndrome LOL.. hes totally fine as long as the other dog is female so we got a 9 month old female german sherpard/bloodhound monster mix (we just enrolled her in police dog training school cause shes so big HAHA) and even though mello weighs about what her paw does she lets him be dominate so hes happy LOL.. our cat is a 1 year old orange tabby lazy fat cat who also lets my little guy be the boss so hes all good LOL.. My cats have always been 100% indoors, my animals are my life!! they are like children to me so they are spoiled rotten..

I think the first week or so they may be a bit crabby with each other but they will grow on each other and be the best of friends. usually when ever we bring home a new animal the first few days are the getting to know period and then they will play with each other

good luck on your new family addition

hypotrochoid

Honestly, once the dog learns to respect the claw you shouldn't have any further problems. We had three kitties when we rescued our Corgi from a puppy mill. They hid for a few days and then he started trying to herd them. It became a huge game between the four.

Two of our kitties had to find new homes after they bit my six month old daughter. (They're doing well and are loved- we placed them with friends)

Our Corgi passed over Christmas.

So, now we have one kitty, Fuzzbutt, a husky shepherd mix named Molly, and a little mop thing named Max. The two puppies are rescues from a friend whose house was foreclosed on and was told 'no pets' by the apartment they had to move to. It took several weeks, but now the three will even go so far as to curl up together.

It's a matter of time.

Check with your shelter. Most do behaviour tests to see if the dog will get along with children, other dogs, cats, etc. The staff should be able to tell you if the puppy is cat friendly or not. I'd keep them separated for a few days when you bring the puppy home- either lock up the kitties or give the puppy his own room at first. That will give them time to adjust to each other's smells and make the introductions a bit easier. The shelter should have other tips for you as well.

Best of luck!

EmCarroll1990

I've got two dogs and a cat. Unfortunately none of them were adopted or fostered, we got the dogs from breeders and the cat from an animal hospital. Our first dog got a long fine with my cat, they pretty much just ignored each other. Now that we have a new puppy, a Rottie, the first dog and our cat have teamed up and are great friends now. My puppy chases the cat around the house and tries to mount him, lol. The cat is fine with it though as he can just jump to higher places. My cat isn't de-clawed and will swat at my puppy, not enough to scratch just enough to tell him to back off.

Basically, it's all dependant on how the new dog plays with the cat, but generally cats will just walk away or swat at them and the dog will get the hint.

Cool! Sounds like you have a nice menagerie at home

What breed is your older dog?

He's a Jack Russell Terrier. And yeah, I love the 2 dogs to 1 cat ratio.

(There's pictures of them in the "furbabies" thread.)

MinnieInMaine

I had a dog and cat growing up. Sneakers (the cat) came first and although she wasn't too impressed when we brought Dutchess (the dog) home, she warmed up to her after a while. Each animal has their own personality so there's no guarantees of how it'll go in your household but they usually find a way to cohabitate without too much fighting.

Some of the shelters in this area will test the dogs ahead of time to see if they're cat friendly and will also let you bring your current pets in with you to see how the potential new pet will get along with them. Shelters are usually willing to work with you because they don't like to see animals coming back.

hbrittingham

I don't know if your shelter will cat test any dog you are considering adopting, but hopefully they will.

I can say, huskies in general are NOT good with cats or other small animals. Check our your local husky rescue's website and you'll see that most of them are listed as not good with cats. I will say that I had a next door neighbor years ago who had a husky and ended up adding two kittens to her home with no problem, but he was an awesome, awesome dog overall.

I wouldn't risk bringing a dog in that hasn't been cat tested. Chances are, they will learn to coexist, but if not, you will always have to worry about whether or not the dog will kill the cat. It's not a risk I am willing to take.

I have two goldens and a lab/golden mix and they were raised with cats. Matter of fact, my one golden is petrified of the cats because one of them used to chase him through the house when he was a puppy. She's an evil cat!

Not all goldens are good with cats, either. It seems if they are raised with them, they are great with them, but once they have developed prey drive (usually from chasing squirrels and rabbits), you can't always train it out of them.

Edited to add, the smaller terrier type of dogs can also be highly prey driven. The were bred to be ratters, so it's bred into them.

loki3981

We have 3 pups (corgie mix, rottie mix and a full blood St. Bernard) and 2 cats (a big tom and a Norwegian forest cat). The cats are indoor only and the pups are pretty much outside all the time. When they are together the Saint is still intrigued with the cats, but he's still technically a puppy. The other two just ignore them unless the cats go racing through the house.
We usually put the cats in their room when we bring the dogs in and don't really have an issue with them that way. The corgi will sometimes play with the cats and groom them.

badgerbadger1

I have three cats, and we introduced an 8 week old german shepherd husky mutt into the mix almost a year ago. My cats are 13, 8, and 4.

It's a bit of a mad house at times, but it provides plenty of humour in the home. The dog is now a year old and still in a puppy mindset. She thinks the cats are the awesomest moving chew toys EVAR! I've observed them in action and noted the cats would instigate the play fight about 30% of the time, but my cats are constantly play fighting with each other and always have. The cats will hiss and bat at the dog and the dog mouths them and covers them in drool. If it goes to long or I catch the dog dragging a cat by the scruff of the neck I simply call her off. She's very clearly just wanting to play with them.

She chases them a fair amount, so if you don't want them chased, get a breed that is not an instinctual chaser. You might be better off with an older dog that has moved out of the puppy mindset. Mine still has a good 6 months to a year before she's due to settle out. My dog will chase anything that moves, except cars and grocery bags that fly in the wind because they are BERRY BERRY SKEERY! I took her for a walk yesterday and a 4 foot snowball in the middle of a field scared her to all get out.

I my pets. They're all awesome.

QueenJayJay

I have a friend who fosters animals, but also has "furrever" friends who live with her permanently. Any time she introduces a new animal, she crates it and places it in a common room, like the living room. The permanent residents can walk around the cage and get used to the smell of the new visitor. Then, when the permanent residents are outside, or closed in another room, let the new visitor out to smell things. Do this for about 3 weeks. Then, let them meet face to face, one at a time. Works like a charm every time.

*Edited for grammar.

rml_16

We've had dogs and cats my whole life and in all honesty, the best thing you can do it bring the dog in and just let the dog and cats work things out for themselves. The dog may end up with a couple scratched noses, but eventually, they'll learn to at least tolerate each other and in some cases become good friends.

I have two cats and when I found my little minpin someone dumped and brought her in, both cats retreated to hiding places for a while. My little Siamese now pretty much just stays in my bedroom unless she needs to use the litterbox or eat (except when the dog's in her crate). My other cat is bigger than the dog and they seemed to have developed a grudging friendship, Mostly it consists of the dog barking and growling at the cat every time he walks past the dog's food and water and the cat looking at the dog like she's nuts and meowing at her.

rml_16

I have a friend who fosters animals, but also has "furrever" friends who live with her permanently. Any time she introduces a new animal, she crates in and places it in a common room, like the living room. The permanent residents can walk around the cage and get used to the smell of the new visitor. Then, when the permanent residents are outside, or closed in another room, let the new visitor out to smell things. Do this for about 3 weeks. Then, let them meet face to face, one at a time. Works like a charm every time.

SO unnecessary.

annabell0768

My son has two cats and a dog. The dog was with him first though. They went through and adjustment period which wasnt too bad. They don't love each other but can live in harmony. Here are some tips:

If you can, take some time to be around and supervise when they are all together at first or alternatively keep them separate so they can meet each other slowly.

Also, if the cats are strictly indoors, you can try to trim their nails so they are not so sharp in case there are any incidents.

Neuter/spay so that everyone is calm.

Keep their food/water stations separate so they don't feel like they have to compete.

Try to give everyone the same attention.

Best of luck

ana

QueenJayJay

I have a friend who fosters animals, but also has "furrever" friends who live with her permanently. Any time she introduces a new animal, she crates in and places it in a common room, like the living room. The permanent residents can walk around the cage and get used to the smell of the new visitor. Then, when the permanent residents are outside, or closed in another room, let the new visitor out to smell things. Do this for about 3 weeks. Then, let them meet face to face, one at a time. Works like a charm every time.

SO unnecessary.

Possibly for you. She, however, has tried just "letting them at it," so to speak, and it just doesn't work for her elderly territorial cats and dogs. Every animal is different, and every approach should be also.

rml_16

But yes - some breeds are better with cats. Smaller breeds, obviously. Anything with a high prey drive you want to avoid - such as Greyhounds.

We had two German shepherds -- not small -- who were fantastic with cats. My friend has two huge dogs, including a pitbull, who are great with her cats.

Size doesn't matter, especially since the dogs have no idea how big or small they are. Also, smaller breeds tend to overcompensate for their size. Our small dogs always want to take on the biggest dogs they can find.

CharlieBarleyMom

I have always had cats and a dog or two.

At first when I introduced the dog (she was a puppy) to the cats they didn't want anything to do with her. Even though she was way smaller than them she smelled different and they ran screaming and hissing. She was a black lab.

That dog grew up and those cats pretty much ignored her. Then we added a second dog. He was a lab/pit mix. All but 1 cat was really afraid of him. Eventually 3 out of 4 cats realized that he wasn't going to hurt them and they would be seen in the same room with him but only 1 was brave enough to be on my lap with the dog right next to me on the couch.

Then divorce and he got the female and I kept the lab/pit male. And when he passed a few years ago I brought an older male lab mix into the house. He came from a shelter so I had no idea how he was with cats. When I brought him in the house his fur went up around the cats and he barked at them...I instructed him that "those are YOUR cats"... and in less than 2 or 3 days he was fine with them... but any cat that was outside (I have a fenced yard) was free game for him and the strays that would come into my yard looking for food would be chased to the fence and barked at and whined at and basically treated like "game on"...

Two years ago one of those stray cats from outside got pregnant and decided to have her babies here... and Charlie got to sniff them each as soon as they were born (I couldn't have him trying to get at these babies for 6 weeks!)... and the Momma was living in my house... after the babies were grown and it seemed that the Momma was staying, I had to instruct him that she was now "his cat" too... she is still a little leary of him... but she is not afraid of him. She had two litters and I kept two of the babies -- they think the dog is their Daddy... they rub up against him, they lay inbetween his paws, they lick his paws... and he tolerates them.

Good luck - it is not always easy to add a new pet - but a dog is so worth the experience!

wellbert

But yes - some breeds are better with cats. Smaller breeds, obviously. Anything with a high prey drive you want to avoid - such as Greyhounds.

We had two German shepherds -- not small -- who were fantastic with cats. My friend has two huge dogs, including a pitbull, who are great with her cats.

Size doesn't matter, especially since the dogs have no idea how big or small they are. Also, smaller breeds tend to overcompensate for their size. Our small dogs always want to take on the biggest dogs they can find.

I'm mostly talking about room for potential injury. A careless pug isn't going to do the damage that a careless pitbull is, for example. Of course a chihuahua can still injure a cat, and an irish wolfhound might tread carefully.

frosty73

It very much depends on the dog, and your cats' reactions to the dog. Sometimes, getting a puppy is the best choice because the puppy learns to respect the cat (I'm assuming they aren't declawed). Sometimes, shelters will know whether a dog is good with cats. And sometimes your cats will be upset about a new family member and start pi&&ing in your bed, just because they can.

Dogs can make awesome exercise companions, and many local shelters need volunteers to walk their dogs every day. If you are looking for some more exercise, you could always volunteer at the shelter and get a feel for each of the dogs there; when one captures your heart you'll be able to take him or her home!
~Jess