Dogs and cats living together

MomEads

I don't usually post here, but am looking for some advice about getting a dog.   When DH and I moved in together, we got 2 cats who are now 12 years old.  This was when we were living in an apartment.  We are now married, have 2 DDs, and own a home.  I have always been a dog lover and have wanted a dog for many years, but with pregnancy and babies I thought it best to wait.  I am now done have kids and we have decided to look into getting a dog.  This has been in the process for months, but recently a dog has come under our radar that we would really like.  She is a 7 month old collie (I have always wanted a collie!) So now that this is becoming more of a reality, I am starting to become more concerned about how my cats will react to a dog.  I am always reading stories about how cats and dogs can live together, and while it is best to get them both when they are young to make it easier on both, that it can still work when one of the pets is older.  Anyone have any experience or words of advice.  I really want to make the transition (if it occurs) as smooth and simple as possible for all the animals.  Thanks!

ramcheer55

I just went through a horrible experience with this but I think that it could work.  We have a cat who is 1 1/2 and live in an apartment.  We will be buying a house within the year so I figured that space wouldn't be an issue since it's temporary and we are active so we could take the dog on long walks and to the park to get its energy out.  We got a 2 month old lab puppy and were thrilled.  He did so well with crate training and never messed in his crate.  However,  he chewed everything including tearing up the carpet and would not leave our cat alone.  There are a few things that I think we did wrong with introducing the dog and our cat.  We were so on edge and nervous about them getting along that we were on top of them whenever they got near each other.  The dog would go to sniff the cat and she didn't like it so she would run away which he took for playing and she would run herself into a corner and he would chase her.  Then she would hiss and bat at him because she felt trapped.  She is declawed in the front so we weren't concerned about her hurting him.  The other mistake we made was that we never just let them check each other out on their own...like I said we kept hovering so when the cat would come out, the dog would instantly try to jump on her to play and see what he could get away with.  It basically became impossible for our cat to even come out because he would attack her right away.  He was never mean but he did bite her twice.  We eventually took the dog back to the breeder because we felt that we weren't being fair to our cat and he was destroying our carpet and our apartment.  My husband and I have decided to wait until we are settled into a house and have more room for a dog.  The apartment would have been fine for the dog because we could take him out and get his energy out outside but the apartment was too small for our cat and the dog because she had no where to go for privacy and to get away from the dog.  If we had a house she could have stayed upstairs or in a different part of the house away from the dog.  I think that it can work you just have to give the cats their own space and privacy.  I would supervise them during the initial introduction but then let them do their own thing.  You can't hover because eventually when you are away at work our outside, they'll have to get used to each other on their own.  Good luck!

ifeelgoodifeelgreatifeelwonderful

My cat was about 3 when I adopted my dog. First just make sure the dog can be around cats without going crazy. At the shelter the first dog I looked at was marked as good with cats but when we went into the cat room the dog went into attack mode. The dog I got went into the room and was curious about the cats, but nothing more. It's been a year and a half and I wouldn't say they get along but they can tolerate each other. The cat still gets chased frequently and smacks the dog in the face but they are both still alive so I assume they are just playing. I have a baby gate that blocks off an extra bedroom so the cat can have alone time to escape the dog and I think that helps. My dog is still only a year and a half and just wants to play with the cat, but I see that as the dog is getting out of puppy mode and calming down the cat is venturing out of her room more and more. Just a month ago they both slept in bed with me, well until the dog woke up and chased the cat out, but still it's progress. It won't happen overnight thought, I still think when the dog is too old to want to chase anything is when they will probably get along. Until then my advice is to just have a place for the cats to be able to escape the dog.

cs026a

Coming from a home with 2 dogs and 2 cats, I'll put in my two cents.

First, as long as a new dog isn't cat aggressive - it will work out well. We have two boxers both of which will chase and want to play with our cats. Chasing and playful behavior is something that will get better with time. Our 3 year old boxer is finally (yes after 3 years!) pretty unphased by the cats. They cuddle together and groom each other frequently. The new guy, who is a year old, is still very excited by the cats. He'll learn though, slowly, that the cats are not his personal toys. The cats now are very used to the dogs, and either play with them or find a place up high to get out of their way.

Having said that, our cats do spend the night in our finished basement. They are also in the basement when we are not home. This is more so due to the fact that our cats are pretty destructive - screens, curtains, bedding, leather furniture - you name it, they've destroyed it (yes, despite appropriate scratching things..ugh). The dogs spend their nights in their crates as well. When we are home, our set up is pretty easy. We put a baby gate at the top of our basement steps, high enough so the cats can squeeze under it but the dogs can't. The cats come and go as they please. They retreat to the basement when the need a break, and they come up for attention when they want. 

We do keep all bedroom doors shut, otherwise the cats end up hiding under the beds. We also close bathroom doors, but only because the cats will climb up the curtains. Badddd kitties!

Anyway, overall I feel like yes having dogs/cats is a bit of work. It takes some commitment to it, and someone that isn't going to freak out the first time the dog chases the cat. And you also have to be prepared to see your new dog get scratched a few times (or bite - it happens). Dogs learn to respect cats one way or the other (either you enforce the rules - or the cat will).

Good luck!  

 

DanniLynn88

We tried to introduce our old cat into a house with our two dogs who were both a year or so old at the time. It didn't work well as the cat was old, he lived with my mom and was upstairs, all dogs downstairs, and like I said OLD!!! We recently got a kitten and the dogs I guess matured so they love her and everyone is doing well. I think it will depend on the dog, and the cats. And also about if the cats can get away. I would also say with a collie they are a herding dog so his instinct will be to herd the cats so I'd put up gates or something.