[heyy cutsie]

Sorry if this isn't the right place to post. However, I have two dogs. One's 5 and one's 7 - both the same breed, Shelties. Friendly dogs and all...they go up to Beaux's cage and sniff it, and eventually walk away.

My point is does anyone have both cats and dogs? How'd you get them to get along? Is there anyone who had both and the animals did NOT get along?

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[Trifon]

I have one dog and 2 cats and they get along great. My cats adore the dog, always smooching her.

I think the question of how to get them to get along is tricky because it really depends on the nature of your dog and how much training you have done with the dog/s in the first place.

My dog is gentle by nature and when she first came to live with me I already had a cat and she just adored him. I have also done obedience and agility training with my dog so I have good control over her. When I introduced my newest cat to the clan, the dog was the first I introduced him too as I know she is always smiling and wagging her tail. I simply give her the command to stay so the cat can watch her before he felt he wanted to approach. So introducing them is about keeping good control of your dog so it doesn't rush forward at the cat and letting them introduce themselves when they are ready.

My sister has a Sheltie and it gets on great with her cats and rabbits (yes it kisses the rabbits). As you have 2 dogs I would introduce one dog at a time to the cat though so as not to overwhelm the cat. Build a relationship between the cat and ONE dog first, when that is established introduce the second dog.

From my experience, dogs and cats get along great together.

[maigrey]

I have to big greyhounds and they get along fine with the cats, I just make sure never to make a fuss and expect them to all do the right thing and watch them very closely the first few times when they are out together.

[mumto2]

I am going through this at the moment with my puppy. She is very excited to see Maggie and just wants to jump on her and eat her tail. We have Bella in a secured area when she is inside and Maggie just walks arounds and sniff's her through there. I think it just takes time and yep keeping good control of the dog so it can't pounce on the cat and scare her.

[jemkatz]

i have 5 dogs , the 3 inside have more exposure to the cats and they get on great play chasey around the house,where as teh 2 out side dogs tolerate the cats but are a bit too ruff with them and need to be supervised

[heyy cutsie]

Good. It's possible...good. Gives me hope.

[bluesnip2000]

Jazz (Australian Shepherd) and Neo (Ragdoll) are good friends now. They chase each other all over the house, and although I'm telling Jazz to be gentle, its really the cat who needs to learn some manners - he attacks Jazz's legs all teeth and paws, and pounces on her back and attacks her tail as she walks past the couch. Such a tease too! Slow and careful introductions are the way to go, let them sniff each other through a door, let one in and the other out so they smell each other through the house, hold the cat then pat the dogs so the dogs are used to the smell and accept the cat as part of the 'pack'.

Video of Jazz being blaze with Neo - at last!

Its Toby (Springer Spaniel) I worry about - he is not fussed with cats, but when we brought him inside and he investigated the cat, he promptly peed on him! Guess he thought Neo smelled funny! (He certainly did afterward - eiw, bath for kitty, and outdoor banishment for Toby!)

[fleabag]

My dog ,a kelpie border cross was fabulous with cats even when the cats were not good with her ...just keep the dog on a lead at first .

[Lushbaby]

Depends on the age & nature of both & the way they are introduced. My Poodles & cats are fantastic,playing,piling into beds together & tolerant with pups & kittens but I dont just throw them together & let all & sundry run wild & amok. Knowing their individual personalities & at what age & how many they can deal with & how is important. Most cats & dogs can live together but not all.
I had a Doberman once that killed anything that moved except other dogs but she was incredible with children.

[dmcwlvssr]

It is possible with safe introductions. Yet there may be one who no matter what will never accept the dog. Sundance and Freesia just don't like each other.

[caramel]

Guess we were lucky, Amos always liked cats and when we took the 4 kittens home we put them in a fenced off area and Amos just sat and watched for hours we called it kitty vision. They were never afraid of him and when we let them out they went straight to him and rubbed around his legs. Amos is a bit of a grumpy old man at 14 and a half but the kittys treat him well and don't expect him to play, just give them a cuddle now and then.

How about giving Beaux 1 of the dogs blankets and the dogs a cats blanket, exchange of smells so everything is a familiar smell.

[OciMom]

We have a lab who is great with cats. She likes them better then other dogs.

I did have a sheltie with my first cat. Mitten would tease the heck out of the dog by racing past her and getting the dog all confused and excited. The dog would take off and Mitten would jump the gate to the living room (where the dog could not go) - leaving Shane standing there totally confused.

The funny thing was when Mitten was in the backyard exploring, Shane would go her best to "herd" the cat and Mitten would completely ignore her!

[Shadowmum]

We have always had the 'dog' first and introduced our boys (cats) later. Our dog, Sam was an Australian/Sydney silkie terrier and we had the luxury of having the boys get used to seeing him through a glass window everyday - at first Shadow had a heart attach, Tzuki was used to dogs, rabbits, a duck and goose so he just thought it was all very normal. When the glass was removed and they came face to face there was no reaction at all and Sam was an old dog and didn't bother them and Shadow was happy to just sit with him. Tzuki was a kitten and would climb all over him and bless his soul, he'd let Tzuki. Sam's passed on now.

So, recently we have a new addition, Holly a pomeranian. We're in a different house now and don't have the luxury of the 'glass' between them. We divided the house - we got one of those puppy pens and split it up. The boys have access to all the carpeted areas, the cool tiles of the bathroom and laundry and their kitty litters of course - we moved food and water into our room for them. Holly had all the floor board areas and her own litter box etc. Shadow surprised me, he was very curious about her and would follow and sniff this eternal bouncing, playful entity. Poms are forever on the go - like the everyready bunny. Tzuki was very suspicious. Poms have this delightful ability to balance on their hind legs easily and Holly often goes into that position the minute one of the boys comes near. Now a days, Shadow's had enough of the constant bouncyness and happiness - it's like he's saying 'forgoodness sake sit down and rest already'. So he bats Holly if she doesn't leave him around. Holly, in her pom way, has decided that this could be fun and sit in front of Shadow and tries to bat him back - it's quite amusing to watch. We've made sure that the boys can escape to higher ground if they want to get away from Holly. Tzuki now plays with Holly and they rip around the house chasing each other. Only once did Tzuki think "Maybe you're a weird looking cat" and grabbed Holly in the cat wrestling hold and sunk his teath into her considerably fluffy butt. Holly yipped off like no ones business and Tzuki was totally amazed and came over all concerned and licked Holly better - no teath marks and that stunt has never been repeated. Holly is quite cheeky and knows that she can tease Shadow, Shadow is really acting like the old lovable grumbly grandpa. When Shadow doesn't think we are looking, I've caught him snuggling up with Holly, cleaning her (which with his tongue must have been a treat - but Holly layed there on her back like a good girl and put up and shut up) and I've seen him nudge her away gently - toward Tzuki as if to say 'play you two'. It's a bit of a different picture if he knows we're looking though.

I think they'll settle together fine. Holly's 6 months now - we've had plenty of medical issues with her and Shadow over the last 4 or so months but I think that they're a nice little fur family.

[Kirov_grrl]

We have 2 dogs and 2 cats...
We had our male cat first, and he is "boss" of the house, so taught both the dogs their rank in the house!!!

Our final addition is our kitten, who is 6 months old now - both dogs are good with her - love her - but still need some supervision as she is pretty little!

[mustang]

We have 1 dog a big Hungarian Vizsla and 5 cats and being a breeder we also have kittens in the house running around when they get older and Chilli is great with them but we had cats before we had the dog.The cats are boss but most of them are very smoochy with him although they take great offence when he sniffs their bums.