When we moved into this house it was already owned by a cat. The previous owners were concerned that he'd get lost in a new area. Toby'd been a rescue cat and was quite set in his ways, so we agreed to keep him rather than let him be subjected to upheaval. We told friends we were buying a very expensive cat who had his own house.
When, a few years afterwards, Harvey, the golden retriever, joined our family as a puppy, Toby took one look at him and snarled. That set the tone for their relationship.
Harvey would try to play with Toby; Toby would hiss and lash out. Harvey would bark at Toby, begging him to join in the fun; Toby would look disdainful.
At the time we had a large floor boiler in the kitchen and Toby took to sleeping on top of it, putting him at an ideal height to take crafty whacks at Harvey as he passed. Harvey soon learned his place in the pecking order and it was below Toby (but just above me). Toby was very much the boss. Harvey even had to give up most of his blanket if Toby wanted to sleep there!
Daughter, on the other hand, has a cat called Charlie. Charlie is quite a feisty girl but when Holly, the springador, went to live with them, Charlie moved upstairs. If she happens to bump into Holly at the bottom of the stairs she hisses but I don't think she's frightened. It's more her natural miserable attitude! (Daughter will be mad at me for saying that but Charlie isn't the coochiest of cats!)
So, finally, in answer to Nag Champa, I guess it depends on the cat, but I think that a cat and dog will adapt to living together one way or another, especially if the dog is introduced as a puppy rather than a fully-grown Rottweiler with cat issues.
7 comments:
To be fair, it depends a bit on the dog, too. As a lover of the ex-racing greyhound, I have to admit that there are some in whom the chase instinct is so strong that you will never be able to have a cat in the same house. Most, however, can be socialised to cats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, pretty much anything, and live in perfect harmony. I could refer you to pictures of greyhounds snuggled up with various small furries.
But it sometimes does take work. I can also find you a picture of a greyhound in a friend's multi-dog/multi cat household during the process of his socialisation. He's wearing a muzzle and a cat has just jumped up on the sofa beside him. The look on his face is absolutely priceless.
'I know I mustn't, and I have this cage thing on my face anyway, but Lord, I want to eat that thing!' LOL!
And for the record, yes, that dog happily lived for many years, muzzle-free and unsupervised, among all the other pets. His owner is brilliant at that.
Nextdoor's cat was brought in as a kitten and socialised brilliantly with their dog. Kittens are more open-minded. I think cats shape their view of the world very young.
Still, whichever way you do it I think the situation generally improves with time. Ours are a lot better these days, even sleeping in the same room on a regular basis. It's only when the dog is over-exuberant and playful that the cat gets hissy, but the dog is about ten times bigger, so I don't blame her! She likes to keep pooch in her place. :)
I've had dogs in a cat household and vice versa and introducing a cat where another cat is already in residence. After the initial swearing and what not, things have usually settled down. While they may not have been the greatest of friends in some cases, they've tolerated each other and obviously worked out their own hierarchical system.
Our two dogs had to cope with up to four cats but we never had war.
Tris and Badger were fine but Badge was not fond of Rinli - particularly when he would rub against her face. Badger's lip would curl ominously but they never came to blows.
6 cats and 1 Bullmastif in this house plus kids...
It sort of works as they find their own place.. sometimes the dog will cahse a cat, or a cat will swipe/hiss at the dog... actually its bit like the children ;0)
nosy DD is not happy about the last bit!!!!!!
I only know people who have cats and dogs living together in perfect harmony ! not at the beginning of course when they were already adult.
Do you still have Toby? You know that's the name of our cat, too:) Our dogs always got along with our cats; in our household it depended on the cat to set the tone,though.
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