I'm not sure what this is...

So I really want a cat. And my husband has promised me one (for my birthday, and now for Christmas). Yay! I had lots of cats growing up since my family would take care of strays a lot and I loved it.

My husband and I's list is: an older, fixed cat (minimum of 2 years) that is good around dogs. We're not picky on breed or color or gender. The cat would be indoors-only, our dogs are indoor-outdoor.

Hiro loves cats, he was raised with them, but Buddy's still a little bit of a wild card. We've been bringing him around the rescue cats at Petco to see his reaction and after a little bit he starts to growl, lunge, and bark. But his initial reaction is just interest (sniffing, tail wagging) and half the time his tail is still wagging when he's barking. I'm not sure if this is true aggression since he's only seen a cat maybe three times? He does have a moderate prey drive (he'll go after leaves and squirrels) but he's never ever ever shown aggression or prey drive towards smaller dogs.

This reaction is really disheartening to me, especially since it always happens as I'm halfway through filling out the adoption papers Should I just give up on having a kitty for now?

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“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” (Audrey Hepburn)

Cats are pretty good at getting away if anything were to happen. An adult cat in your situation would be wise and possibly with claws so that it can defend itself from your pup is need be. Some people may think that sounds awful to allow a dog to get scratched BUT its an easy way for the dog to learn that the cat is not food/toy/whatever because she is capable of hurting you. And after a while then declaw the cat is that is your desire. My dog got scratched ONCE by my cat when I got him and that was it, he didn't bother her again because she let him know what was up and now they are big buddies! Unless your dog really has an issue with cats (and it seems like he's just curious) then I think a cat would be okay.

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The cat will win if there's ever a confrontation.

Our 50+ lb puppy is no match for our 9 pound cat.

The dog wants to be friends. The cat....not so much.

I've had plastic claw covers on the cat since We brought Bella home, otherwise, she would slice her to sheds. Even with the claw caps, the cat would win.


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Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

We've had dogs & brought home kittens, had cats & brought home puppies, had a dog and adopted a cat, they've always worked things out with no major problems.

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**Fraulein "Maggie" Louise 8/2/95 - 7/20/09**
*At Rainbow Bridge but Forever in Our Hearts*

I wouldn't bet the cats life on it. Maybe see if your local shelter can test him or see if they recommend someone who could evaluate him to see if its just curiosity or actual cat aggression. I do know someone that had a foster dog kill her cat. In hindsight, she said there were signs that he was overly interested in a bad way. But not growling/chasing it was more staring and overly concerned where the cat was at all times.
That being said, if you do get a cat just take the introductions slowly, don't just toss them together to work it out. When I brought home a new dog to my existing cats he spent the first week literally tethered to me and the next several weeks loose but dragging a leash. Also for a good 3-4 months, anytime I was gone for even a second the cats were locked away. They turned out to be great friends!

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Bear 6/2000-5/27/2012

A wagging tail does not mean a happy, friendly dog. It can mean an intent to attack, especially if its not a big huge wag, more like a slow, stiff wag, more so just at the end of the tail. Staring and lunging is not a good sign. My boxer that i had rescued in june was in attack mode and wanted my cat. Not in a good way. Luckily she knew it and stayed away. But it did stress her out. She barely came around us. She would spend most of her time upstairs or outside. She would go to my neighbors house and get fed and hang out onmher porch. Since Toby (RIP) has passed she is more comfortable in the house. She stays inside more and will hang around in other places. I domt think i will put her through a dog who hates cat like that again. It wasnt fair to her. She is not one to back down but that one bothered her.

I would also see if they have a cat that they use for evaluations to see. Sometimes its just not feasible and i wouldnt risk it if he just wont calm down. My JRT "likes" "respects" our cat to a point, he does like to get in her face and annoy her sometimes, but any outside cats..they are in his line of fire. He has grown up with my cat so i think thats the only reason he doesnt want to kill her. There would be no way i could add a new cat (or any little furry small mammal) because he would kill it. Dogs he is fine with, any sex or size. So no more kittys for me for a long time as he is only 6 years old!

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Alison and 2 Furry Kids and 2 non furry kids

Lilly- Golden DOB 1/28/11
AKC name: Goldridge Lights Action Lilly RN CCA
http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=433352
Sanford- JRT DOB-9/5/06

Bridge dogs
Toby-Boxer 10 yrs. old (rescue) 9/17/2002-11/1/12
Charlie- Boxer (1st "child" together)2/19/02-3/18/12
Julie- golden retriever ( my heart dog) 5/6/96-3/3/07
Ruby- terrier/chow mix (my 1st dog) 8/1/90-1/15/05
Rusty-shih tzu (million dollar dog) 2/5/99-1/20/04

Brought our girl home 3 weeks ago , we already have 2 cats 5 years old. Our girl Carly wants them to play so bad she barks at them whenever she can with tail wagging. She goes in crouching position and just wants to play. The cats run off but come right back for more. They are declawed and hiss at Carly when they have had enough. Now our male cat is 18 lbs and the female is 16 lbs , Carly is just maybe 16-17 lbs so they are evenly matched. There are some cons about having both.... Keeping the litter box somewhere the dog can't get to it , can't leave cat food down or dog will eat it all, dog barking at 6 am at the cats , when cats jump up on couch and dog wants to and you have to tell the dog down which then the dog barks at the cat because its jealous lol. Either way its nice to have both, they are fun to live with.


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We have had three Goldens over the years. We have always had cats--anywhere from one to three. (My wife is a cat person.) No cats have been injured, but we have pulled some claws out of dog's noses. We have never had a cat injury, or a serious dog injury. Usually, the cats have ruled the roost. We had a big Maine Coon that often would back our Golden into the corner. We called them "Wild Kingdom" moments.

Recently, we adopted an elderly cat, that had been declawed by the former owner. The cat avoids Max, who seems to want to play. Probably a good idea that they stay apart.

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Dave

Please don't do this anymore, it's really not fair to the cats in the cages. He probably scares the cr*p out of them. Especially, since they're in cages, they feel trapped since they can't get away. Not fair to the cats at all.

I agree with the idea of finding a shelter that has a "tester" cat. The cats they use are used to dogs and will be loose while your dog stays on lead. The workers will be able to evaluate just what Buddy's "intent" toward the cat is. It could be that he's just overly excited or it could be that he wants to cause real damage. At the shelter I used to work at, the woman that cat tested the dogs was really good at doing it quickly. She was always right, too.

Oh...and just because he gets along with smaller dogs does not mean that he will be okay with cats. I took in a dog before she went to rescue and she wanted to kill my cats. But, she was fine with Lucy, my 8 lb. Terrier mix. The Golden rescue re-tested her with cats and she wanted to kill their cats, too.

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Karen, Chance, Lucy and Savanah RB



“Everyone needs a dog to adore him, and a cat to bring him back to reality”

Oh we're taking him away as soon as he starts up and have only tried a couple times to see if its just one cat or every cat. Its more of a "lets see what happens - oh shoot we're done". But thank you all for the ideas! I think we are going to shelve the cat for now and maybe try again after another obedience class.

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“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” (Audrey Hepburn)