Attention Dog and Cat Owners

[Visualad]

Anyone have any experience with bringing in a dog to a home with a cat?

My cat right now is 6 years old, male.

Im thinking of getting a rottweiler or a doberman or maybe a labrador or golden retriever, not sure which way to go really.

Ive heard golden retreievers are ok with cats, not sure about Rottweilers though..

Anyone have experience with dogs AND cats, Id appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks.

[StuartD]

All I can say is "Good Luck!"

[Panky]

Does the cat have claws?

Are you introducing an adult dog into the house or a puppy?

It doesn't really matter what breed of dog you are introducing into the house. No matter what the breed, every dog and every cat has a different personality.

If the dog hates the cat, and the cat just happens to torment the dog, the dog will snap at the cat.

If the cat hates the dog, and the dog happens to torment the cat, the cat will claw and hiss and run off.

It only takes a few times of them hissing and snapping at each other to learn to leave each other alone.

They are like siblings. They will fight like hell at times. After a few weeks or so of testing each other, they will just learn to live together.

The cat will more than likely stand it's ground a few times and then simply hide and find places to sleep. Cats think they are superior, even to humans. The cat won't waiste much time on the dog.

The main thing is, keep the food and water dish seperate. Don't feed them at the same time. Dogs will eat the cat food and drink all the water, because it is there. Dogs are also possesive about their food. The dog will snap at the cat, if the cat comes to eat at the same time.

Then again, the cat and dog could hate each other when people are around. Left alone and you will catch them sleeping together on the floor. They could like each other from the start and you won't have snapping or hissing.

[Visualad]

Originally posted by Panky
Does the cat have claws?

Are you introducing an adult dog into the house or a puppy?

It doesn't really matter what breed of dog you are introducing into the house. No matter what the breed, every dog and every cat has a different personality.

If the dog hates the cat, and the cat just happens to torment the dog, the dog will snap at the cat.

If the cat hates the dog, and the dog happens to torment the cat, the cat will claw and hiss and run off.

It only takes a few times of them hissing and snapping at each other to learn to leave each other alone.

They are like siblings. They will fight like hell at times. After a few weeks or so of testing each other, they will just learn to live together.

The cat will more than likely stand it's ground a few times and then simply hide and find places to sleep. Cats think they are superior, even to humans. The cat won't waiste much time on the dog.

The main thing is, keep the food and water dish seperate. Don't feed them at the same time. Dogs will eat the cat food and drink all the water, because it is there. Dogs are also possesive about their food. The dog will snap at the cat, if the cat comes to eat at the same time.

Then again, the cat and dog could hate each other when people are around. Left alone and you will catch them sleeping together on the floor. They could like each other from the start and you won't have snapping or hissing.

hey..good info. Is that from a site (if so, which?).

thanks.

[Funbrunette]

Expose them to one another gradually under controlled conditions. You want to avoid creating situations where the cat runs away and the dog's prey-chase instinct is activated.

After the dog has explored the new house, it's probably best to confine the dog to a room (with some one in it with him) and let the cat smell where the dog has been in the house, under the door, etc. Also, pet the dog and let the dog lick your hand - then let the cat smell your hand. And vice versa. Don't worry...Your cat will probably end up beating up your new dog...lol


BEWARE...THIS COULD HAPPEN!!!!

[Panky]

Originally posted by Visualad
hey..good info. Is that from a site (if so, which?).

thanks.

Experience.

We had a Great Dane and a street wise, rat of a cat. That cat lived to torment the dog and every human in the house. The dog had enough one day and pinned the cat to the floor and stared at it. The cat hissed and snarled, trying to intimidate the dog while trying desperately to break loose. The dog simply continued to stare at the cat and the cat eventually gave up. From that point on, the cat still tried to torment the dog, but all the dog had to do was look at the cat a certain way, and the cat would find something else to do.

In the beginning, they will both try your patience. They will chase each other a few times. Steal each others toys. Knock over a few things on tables... The dog will bark. The cat will hiss. They will live to bother each other for awhile, but it's normal. They will drive you nuts for a bit until the boundaries are set.

Discipline is key. Don't let the dog rule.

The dog will be jealous of the cat and the cat will be jealous of the dog. It's no different than if you introduce another cat into the house.

Worst case... they could both hate each other. The cat could be pissed for life that you brought the dog home. Cats hold grudges.

I've raised dogs all my life along with various other pets. At one point, we had 2 dogs, an albino rabbit, a hampster, and a parakeet all at the same time. The rabbit was kept outside, but still roamed free in the yard. The dogs wanted to eat the hampster, bird, and rabbit, but they also were well trained. They would sniff the hampster and rabbit, sometimes lick them. The one dog lived to chase the rabbit around the yard, but would stop dead in his tracks if he saw one of us or we yelled out the window. When we cleaned the birdcage, the bird would torment the dogs. It would fly just out of reach. The bird was braindead and asking to be eaten. We never gave them the opportunity to eat the hampster. They would knock the little clear ball around, but would stop when told to go lay down.

[dyonisus]

I have a lab and he loves all beings
As for cats, though he has had limited experience he was more curious then fiesty and more playful then rambunctious

The cats are usually the ones trying to stir up trouble I find. Especially if the cat has been around a while!

I have heard no matter what you do never mix Huskies and cats. The husky is always in prey mode with cats from my understanding

[Visualad]

Originally posted by Panky
Experience.

We had a Great Dane and a street wise, rat of a cat. That cat lived to torment the dog and every human in the house. The dog had enough one day and pinned the cat to the floor and stared at it. The cat hissed and snarled, trying to intimidate the dog while trying desperately to break loose. The dog simply continued to stare at the cat and the cat eventually gave up. From that point on, the cat still tried to torment the dog, but all the dog had to do was look at the cat a certain way, and the cat would find something else to do.

In the beginning, they will both try your patience. They will chase each other a few times. Steal each others toys. Knock over a few things on tables... The dog will bark. The cat will hiss. They will live to bother each other for awhile, but it's normal. They will drive you nuts for a bit until the boundaries are set.

Discipline is key. Don't let the dog rule.

The dog will be jealous of the cat and the cat will be jealous of the dog. It's no different than if you introduce another cat into the house.

Worst case... they could both hate each other. The cat could be pissed for life that you brought the dog home. Cats hold grudges.

I've raised dogs all my life along with various other pets. At one point, we had 2 dogs, an albino rabbit, a hampster, and a parakeet all at the same time. The rabbit was kept outside, but still roamed free in the yard. The dogs wanted to eat the hampster, bird, and rabbit, but they also were well trained. They would sniff the hampster and rabbit, sometimes lick them. The one dog lived to chase the rabbit around the yard, but would stop dead in his tracks if he saw one of us or we yelled out the window. When we cleaned the birdcage, the bird would torment the dogs. It would fly just out of reach. The bird was braindead and asking to be eaten. We never gave them the opportunity to eat the hampster. They would knock the little clear ball around, but would stop when told to go lay down.

wow.. thanks Panky, Great info there.

[Evil Chris]

The only thing I could add to this is that dogs need a lot of attention. Big or small. We have two fairly big dogs, and especially since the arrival of the baby, they need extra attention or they will get into trouble.

[american bulldog]

Originally posted by Visualad
Anyone have any experience with bringing in a dog to a home with a cat?

My cat right now is 6 years old, male.

Im thinking of getting a rottweiler or a doberman or maybe a labrador or golden retriever, not sure which way to go really.

Ive heard golden retreievers are ok with cats, not sure about Rottweilers though..

Anyone have experience with dogs AND cats, Id appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks.

We´ve got a 5 year old cat. The cat used to live with a "Hovaward". Now we got two Labrador Retriever and there were no problems: the chief superintendent is definitely the cat - but it is female, maybe that´s why.

[KCX]

This sounds like something I can help with too.

I have two cats, a 13 year old and a 6 year old, that had never lived with a dog before. We brought our dog, a St. Bernard/Black Lab mix, into our house at the age of 8 weeks old last May.

When our dog was a puppy (and the same size as our cat) she thought the 6 year old cat was another puppy and tried playing with him. The cat didn't want anything to do with the puppy and, when he ran away, our dog took it as if the cat were playing. The 6 year old cat never really stood up for himself but the 13 year old did nothing but hiss whenever the dog came around.

Now our puppy is almost a year old and still loves playing with the 6 year old cat. The cat acts like he doesn't like it but he does. He'll walk over to the dog when she's laying on the couch and headbutt her. The dog will then either rest her head on the cat or lick him. Being part St. Bernard, that's basically a bath for the cat. The 13 year old cat still doesn't associate with the dog but he does tolerate her. They all seem to get along better every day. I've even seen the 6 year old cat eating the hard dog food along with the dog!

Hopefully this helped. Although they can all be a pain I wouldn't give up any of them.

[Bigsampy]

My best friend of 12 years, Kingbear...

[dyonisus]

YES dogs require huge attention especially if something obviously distracts you from giving them attention

Any trouble our little guy can find to get attention he will find.