[Puppy_To_Be_Named_Later]

How did you get your cats and dogs to live together in harmony? So far Obi barks and play bows like crazy when the cats are around. They mostly hold their ground at this point, hiss and try to smack him. We leave the leash on him inside so we can keep him from chasing them, and try to find those times he is calm around them to reward him.... Those times don't seem often enough to make a difference at this point.

 

[Capt Jack]

Funny I was just going to start a new thread asking almost the same question except Jack has chased my wife & daughters 2 cats out of the house & won't let them back.I'm not a cat person but feel sorry for my wife she worries about the cats all the time she even went out last night & searched for them for over an hour I'll be watching for any ideas Thanks

 

[luverofpeanuts]

We have 3 cats and it's basically *time* that does a better job than anything else.

A good thing that we did was basically keep our downstairs are gated off from the pups. It's been good for making it easier to keep track of them, and it gives the cats and an escape route so they don't have to stand and fight.

2 of our cats were rescue adoptions as kittens...and were used to senior dogs. The pups have been exciting for them, but they're used to them now. In fact, cat#2 was always curled up next to our senior Jazzy's hip as she slept. I caught her testing the waters with doing this to Spirit a couple of times this past week. She managed to lean on him a while before he finally decided he had to get up and see what the heck she was doing. Cat#3 spent a couple of months in the lower level mostly, but is now to the point where he'll walk right under Spirit's belly as he drinks water from his bowl.

So.... other than rambling on.. I recommend an escape route where the cats can go to have their quiet time, .litterbox time, and food stations. An area that the dogs can't get to until they all do better together.

 

[cgriffin]

Years ago, I was staying at my in laws for a while with my then golden Sam. They had outdoor cats that were not used to dogs. Sam was not used to cats. He chased them a few times,but would not try to hurt them. He was just curious. After a while the cats just sat there and ignored him and he quit chasing them. They accepted each other.
My sister has GSDs and cats. They always got along great and still do.
I suppose as long as the cats have an escape route, like somebody else said, they can retreat when they had enough or till they get used to each other.
As long as the dog is not a danger to the cats, where he wants to actually hurt them, I would think that they will find a way to cohabitate.

 

[Capt Jack]

I guess I should have said my problem have been going on for 2 years & they still don't get along. I don't think Jack would hurt them but they run so he chases

 

[cgriffin]

Well, if the cats would stop running, lol. I am so surprised they still run after 2 years. Can't really blame the dog, that is instinct.
I can't let my dachshund off the leash for nothing. He will chase anything that moves,except cats, lol. The lab mix and golden could not care less.

 

[Willow52]

Yes, they can eventually get to a point where they 'chill' together...

 

[Wyatt's mommy]

We have always had cats and dogs. The cats need their own space so when the pup is young we always gated them off. I would never let my dogs chase after our cats. I would put a stop to that now. They eventually learn to tolerate each other.

 

[ozzy'smom]

When Ozzy was little we let him get exposure to the cats (though we didn't force it on the cats and made sure they had a way to get away or places to go where he could not follow). I figured if he got smacked enough by the cats when he was little he'd start to figure out he should lay off them.

Our male cat was ANGRY at first and would not come anywhere near Ozzy. He eventually got close but would smack Ozzy if he got close. Now they "play" together...meaning the cat gets up higher than Ozzy and smacks at him while Ozzy tries to get him back. When the cat gets tired of the game he moves on. He no longer really reacts at all when Ozzy is around.

Our female cat kind of keeps her distance. She doesn't seem afraid but is not interested in playing or having too much contact.

 

[Serawyn]

We had this problem too. We were advised to let the cat and dog figure it out. However, our cat (though feisty), never clawed or showed our puppy what NOT to do. The dog continues to chase him when we're not close by to stop her. It's gotten better with time, but she still thinks the cat is inviting her for a chase when he runs away. For now, we're building cat trees and cat walks in our house for the cat to be up really high (like 20 feet high) and away from the dog. Out of sight out of mind.... we hope.

Time is the best thing that's happened to us because honestly, we don't think anything we did helped calm the dog. She just learned not to keep chasing or play bowing. The photo below is a good example of my husband, cat, and dog "together". LOL. I only wish this were true all the time.

 

[natali861]

We have 2 cats - one who is perfectly fine with dogs and one who (used to be) absolutely terrified of dogs! I agree with previous posts about giving your cats an escape route and a safe place to go where to dog won't get to them. For us, the entire upstairs and stairway is their territory as well as the laundry room (with their food & litter). Luckily Aspen knows he isn't allowed in these areas and, except for the occasional cat food snack, leaves those areas alone.

Also, both of our cats have their claws and we made sure when introducing them for the first time that they were actually allowed to swat at our new pup. The cats have to establish who is boss, even if that means a scratch to the nose! Now our pup always leaves a safe distance between him and the cats, even when he is playing on his own or running by them just to follow me. He rarely ever chases them, but he will run in wide circles around them outside.

I have no idea how you can stop your cats from running (creating the chase game) other than just giving them a good place to run to! Do your cats have their nails? Maybe work on seriously raising your voice as soon as your dog starts chasing and be sure to highly reward him when he stops. Work on the "LEAVE IT!" command

 

[goldenrio]

We have one cat and she is anti dog even though she's been raised around them since the day we brought her home as a kitten....although, she did somewhat get along with one of our dogs (he passed away 3 years ago). She 'tolerates' dogs at best, she doesnt run from them but she's not down for playing with them and will swat a dog if they try to play with her. She will walk around them, near them but thats as far as it goes (we call her a Diva). I dont mind too much....I'd rather have a cat that dogs are afraid of then the other way around. My cat is the head honcho in the house to other animals and they know it and its been peaceful lol.

 

[Jackson's Mom]

I have to agree with the previous responses that time is a big helper. It took my cat over a year to get to the point where he at least tolerates my dog. For several months after I got my pup, he literally stayed in the bedroom 24/7 and for a while I thought I might have to send him to live with my parents. When my cat finally got brave enough to come out of the bedroom, my dog would run over and start barking and trying to get him to play, which scared him back in the bedroom. Finally I put my dog in "time out" whenever he would do that. In one night he learned not to bark at the cat, which really helped my cat get used to him.

 

[Selli-Belle]

I am starting the search for a new kitty. Our darling Leo went to the bridge in December. He LOVED the dogs and would spend time grooming Selli almost everyday (Duffy did not like being groomed by the kitty, his tongue was too rough). I am searching for a kitty who likes dogs as much as Leo did.

 

[Aislinn]

I've always had cats and dogs. The cats also have a very tall cat tree they can retreat to. Dakota still wants to play with the cats, but her energy level is extremely high. They climb the cat tree and wait for her to fall asleep or calm down. Katie and the cats get along great. The cats each have a favorite pal of the toy dogs. Rio, the Bengal cat loves to wrestle with Mia, rescue four inch tall shih tzu, and Truly, the 2.5 pound Russian Toy. Tiegan (another Bengal) loves to play 'I chase you and then you chase me' with Truly and any of the Papillons. Indy (Indiana Jones, a Bengal owned by my son but currently living here) loves flying leaps over any of the dogs and chasing toys with them, stealing the toys from the dogs. Yeah, he lives up to his name.

 

[abowman]

We have 2 cats , Finn loves them. He does on occasion get alittle "carried away" however, they put him in his place. (This once resulted in a small amount of bleeding). We often find him sleeping with one of them.

 

[MikaTallulah]

My dogs and cats normally get along. Buddy is still learning that kitties don't like it when you bark at them. He starts to whine when the leave. He really just wants to play with them- He play bows and acts like a puppy around them. My cats are older 13 and 11 right now. Mika my old lady will growl, hiss, and then beat him upside the head. Tallulah just walks/jogs away from him.

 

[coffenut]

We have always had dogs and cats. We have, however, always introduced young to old .... and all of our cats have had their claws so they can defend themselves. <G> I just don't remember what I did specifically .... but I did let them work it out for themselves. Like we have to learn each others signals, so do they. I do remember Mazlon coming to me as a puppy whimpering. I looked down and saw the cutest golden puppy face complete with a claw coming out of her nose. My basic reaction was "well, I guess you put your nose where it wasn't wanted, didn't you" and plucked the claw out. A nice spurt of blood came out and she was happy. Didn't have an incident after that.