DOG AND CAT COMPATIBILITY

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

My neighbor made a comment that surprised me ...... ${#emotions_dlg.glare}$

She said if my dog is a squirrel chaser, it will never be compatible with a kitty cat ..... that it's a "predator" and it will never accept a cat in the home.

Is this true? ${#emotions_dlg.confused1}$

What's your experience with bringing a cat into a dog's home? ${#emotions_dlg.confused1}$

mewsmomtoo · ‎03-05-2014

It's never been an issue in our family. We have often had dogs and cats at the same time and they weren't necessarily raised together. I'm no expert, but I think a lot of it is going to depend of the personalities of the dog and cat in question, how the introductions are made.

I don't know if the squirrel thing is true, I suppose it would depend on the prey drive in the dog. Most dogs (in my experience) are able to differentiate between who belongs in their house and yard and who doesn't and while they might chase a squirrel, they wouldn't chase a cat who is member of the household.

I really think it comes down to personality and how you've handled and trained your dog. There are some very experienced dog people on these boards who I'm sure will answer. We were just ordinary dog owners who must have lucked into some truly wonderful dogs - they were all fun and trustworthy and we didn't do anything beyond ordinary obedience training. They were all mutts and all medium/large dogs with one exception - lab mixes, german shepherd mixes and one terrier/poodle mix who was the best mouser we ever had Smile

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

There's a lot of truth in mewsmomtoo's comment. It definitely has a lot to do with how an owner trains their dog. My dog will run after a squirrel or bunny when it's within the boundaries of our yard, but once it makes it to the street or the neighbor's yard, the chase is over. We've had cats for nearly all our married life, something like 34 of the almost 36 years. When we brought our dog into the home a year and a half ago, we had two sister cats left. Since then, one remains. She's 18 yrs. old and deaf. Of course, the dog tries to engage her to play and she's never interested. He tries to gently pounce around her vicinity to get her to play, but she walks away. If she's on the couch and he comes over to her, he'll try to lick her and she'll just smack him and move somewhere else. There's never any crazy chasing going on through the house. There are also days where they can both be laying on the couch together with each of them minding their own business. The other day, the dog was up on my lap and the cat hopped up and climbed right over him to get up close to me. It's very possible to get dogs and cats to get along together.

deb5555 · ‎03-21-2010

Our yellow lab always chased our Siamese cat around like a squirrel, they never warmed up to each other, it depends of what type of dog, high strung or mellow. I had to keep them separated for years

So I would have to agree with your neighbor.

Our lab was a puppy and our cat was over 5.

deb5555 · ‎03-21-2010

Poor Dog

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

My mother has a prince charles spaniel (i think that's the name). Anyway, she goes nuts over little animals like squirrels. About six months ago, my mother got a kitten. They are great pals and sleep in the dog bed together. The dog is around seven and the kitten, one year. I think the dog was lonely being an only pet.

glmama · ‎03-09-2010

I don't think that this is always the case. I know there are dogs that have a high prey drive that CAN and DO live well with cats and other pets.

My dog loves chasing squirrels in our backyard. However, he has never caught one. And I don't think he'd know quite what to do with it if he did. He is fine with our cat. They pretty much leave each other alone. Except for the times that the dogs wants to "play" and the cat is not having it. Our cat will swipe at the dog's nose, very occasionally leaving a small mark. Not something we love to see, of course, but they have their own ways of working things out.

chickadee · ‎10-29-2010

I don't think that's always true. But at the same time, I'm pretty sure that my dog would have nothing to do with a kitty in the house. She goes bezerk when she sees one on our walks. Same with squirrels, bunnies, possums, birds, and even evil grocery bags blowing down the street in the wind. She's a hunter and chaser and loves digging and even chasing bubbles, lol.

Maybe, just MAYBE if the kitty held still and didn't run, and let my dog sniff and greet and inspect it from head to toe, then they would get along just fine. But what sane kitty would sit still for that? If it runs/evades, then the game is ON according to my dog, lol.

nagrom · ‎07-03-2010

We only had one cat in our home. He was purchased as a kitten. He joined a house of dogs specifically labs. For the first week he was crated and in a room of his own without any dogs around. After that we started allowing him into other rooms when the labs were outside so they could both get the s ent of each other. We slowly introduced him to our dog crew specifically one puppy and one adult lab. Never had a problem with chasing or disrespecting each other. The cat loved to put his paws around the dogs tail and wrestle around with him. Even the puppy and kitten were buddies. As we dog sat a few select dogs including Shelties and German Shepherds we were always amazed at the interaction. The cat Skeeter loved to show himself to the newcomer and disappear only to be sitting in the newcomers bed awaiting discovery. He thought it was a good game. He loved the high perches we set up for him. Often our dogs and cat slept cuddled together. After Skeeter passed I became allergic to cats so we could not own anymore. But I so loved the interaction between species.

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

I agree, it's how you raise your pets.

My GSD's have a natural high prey drive. They'll chase a bunny or squirrel in the yard...the faster the better and after all, it's THEIR yard. ${#emotions_dlg.laugh}$