Testing a dog with cats

[chia pit]

thanks for the info i will let u know what happens

[Bennysmom]

Wow what a great posting! You have given me something to think about, thanks a bunch

[k1sf]

I tested at my home where my cats lived almost 2 years before Zeus arrived, but i did not get probs,my cat had a little of fear for a week,more or less,after they start to play togheter.Also in the street Zeus does not hate cats,his own "Dad" Tex hate cats and it is impossible for him to stay in a room or place with a cat,i suppose that every dog is different and it is better to test how he works in the street when see a cat,can be a right way to understand what he "thinks" about them.

[nickynoneck]

Hello , we just got a kitten last night (a devon rex) and fedor( are amstaff) is incredibly gentle with it and his tail is low and wagging really fast and generally seems to like the cat .
My problem and I think its just because its a new animal is that fedor just wont leave it alone he follows the cat everywhere doesnt really chase it aggresively just follows it , the cat will try to play with him and it does but fedor is just licking it the whole time he doesnt lunge at it or anything he just wants to be there sniffing and licking it to the point where we have to pull him off and get him to sit and stay on his bed while he just watches the cat with his tail wagging with a big smile and last night he eventually laid down but as soon as the cat went to explore fedor was up following him .
Will this behavior die down ? This morning we let the cat out and fedor out at the same time and the cat was drinking from fedors water bowl and fedor left him alone and came and seen us and then came back to the cat and was sniffing him but kept his distance to let the kitten drink which i thought was a sign that fedor would eventually just leave him alone as the cat became old news , But as the cat walked around and explored he was back to following him around with his tail wagging incredibly fast .

Am I right ?? Will he eventually just give up and leave the cat alone as he becomes a normal household thing ??

[mamapit311]

Great post.My male has a high prey drive to Cats, Squirrels, Birds.My female is ok with cats.Great education, well put..

[MissVicky]

Thanks for this post. I wish my cats were more settle with "meh dog" but nope they have claws out, fur standing up and houdini just sniffs at them and walks away.

[lionlemur]

One of the things I'm most interested in is how I can help my cats and dog deal with each other.

I have 4 cats and now the new pit puppy. Two of the cats have sequestered themselves in the roommate's bedroom since the puppy came home. (They were always very shy and badly socialized before I moved in.) The other two, the eldest (14 yr old) female and my 8 yr old male have been tolerating him, but not entirely comfy.

If the cats move slow and easy, they can sit within a foot of him and he'll leave them alone except for expressing mild interest. But the moment they run his prey drive kicks in, and he tries to chase them. He's also gotten more than a few kitty swipes.

It's pretty obvious from his play-bows that all he wants is a buddy. But the cats are completely disinterested in that relationship just yet.

I'm hoping that as he gets older and more mellow, the relationships with the cats will get better. Certainly they are much more comfy a lot closer than they used to be.

But ... other than introductions, what advice can you give to help them get along?

[JokerGirl]

Thanks for both your posts.

I'm having to work on this with Sugar. Not with cats, but with my parrots, fish, and two squirrels.

Luckily, she's very intelligent, and very food driven, so even though we've only had her a week, she's making progress.

I would categorize her prey drive as extreme. At first she wouldn't break her attention for food, but will fairly easily now.

Just worked with her, and she's to the point where she will look at the "thing" for a few moments, and then look at me or look away. Granted, this is with her lead and Gentle Leader on, but it's at least some progress. Even had her lie down for a brief nap in the computer room where my cockatiel is.

It's going to be a long road, but to already be seeing progress gives me the motivation to continue working with her on it.

[BransenThePitweiler]

Good article.

My dogs behaved most like the third dog pictured, "the big sissy."
Though now that he knows cats he is more like the second dog, kind of neutral, but still interested.

[GunMom]

Haha, I'm not sure if this is true, but:

I have a friend who is a cat person and did a lot of research on dog and cat behaviors. He used to joke that, dogs will raise their paws at one another to play as well as bow to them. (This I know is true) however, cats raise their paws at one another as an insult. So there tends to be a lost in translation between the two, which is why the stereotype of "dogs and cats will never get along" became popular. This isn't true for the minority, of course. I don't know enough about cat behavior for any of this to be valid, but it's funny to think about.

[PassionforPitBulls]

Thank you for posting this.It's really helpful!

My pit is like the second dog you presented. He has a lot of interest in my brothers cat but you can still redirect him. My brother (who is't a fan of the dog) says how he's so cat aggressive... as I try to explain it isn't aggression, he's just interested. If it was aggression that cat would have been eaten by now, since it's bold and once ran by me when I was trying to enter the other part of the house where the dog is kept. Bandit chased him but just pushed the cat over with his nose... that's it...

I can totally work him through it though. He's not dangerous with animals, just very interested and doesn't know how to go about making friends.

[Azul]

This post is really very helpful. I love the photos and I think most people can relate to them better than just text alone.

A couple of weeks ago we brought home a male pit bull. He isn't aggressive towards the cats, but 4 of the 5 cats don't like the dog. The youngest cat, who is about 8 months old, likes the dog and teases him constantly. He has a room that he lives in and he knows he can't cross the doorway into the hall. The cat will run back and forth across the threshold and tease him. She also goes into his room (supervised) so they can get to know each other. The cat will sleep under the couch with the dog lying next to the couch and just his head fitting underneath.

The funny thing is that the dog only bothers the cat when she is near his "stuff". If the cat goes near his toys or water bowl, the dog will try to herd her around to a different part of the room. After reading all the posts, I am hopeful that eventually I will be able to trust them together unsupervised. Right now the dog is so much bigger than the cat and SO playful that I fear he will accidently hurt her.

[kathak]

I know this thread is already a little older.
But I am relived to see that some dogs do get a long with cats.
Bella is still a puppy but she already knows she is not allowed near the cat. Sometimes, if I don't see her getting closer to the kitty, Miss Ella (the cat) reminds the puppy to leave her alone by hitting her in the face.
Miss Ella was ( and still is) a spoiled only pet until we got Bella and she isn't very happy about her new sister.
I am really hoping she will get used to the puppy and even if their don't cuddle up on the sofa together, at least they should be able to leave together in peace.

[petty254]

This very informative, a very nice way of introducing a new dog to cats