I recently became involved with a wonderful woman who happens to own a non-declawed cat. I took my 5 year old Basset hound mix to her house last night for the first time and everything was fine for the first 15 minutes then I think it finally registered in my dog's mind that there was a cat there. She made a threatening move for the fearful feline and wound up with a claw swat to the snout.
This is potentially a big problem! I love my dog & my girlfriend loves her cat. I definitely feel it was my dog that was the aggressor in this case and I feel bad because of it. What can I do to promote racial harmony between them? I don't want out pets to be a roadblock in out relationship. HELP!!!
2007-11-04 00:42:12 · 10 answers · asked by Atlas shrugged 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Getting a dog and cat to get along takes patience and must be done slowly. You may not even want them to see each other for the first bit, so they can investigate the smell of each other first. You made a few mistakes on the first go, and both of your pets could get hurt if you push things too fast. It is not too late to get things on better footing, so try again with some better precautions and planning. You need to start over from the beginning if they are ever to get along.
It would take a long time to go over how to promote good Feline/Canine relations on here. If you do some quick searches on the net you will find tonnes on the subject, as you are not the first couple to deal with this :) Some of the tactics are a bit different, but the crux is the same. You need to go slow, and be in control of both pets at all times. Keeping your dog on a short leash for very short visits for a few minutes, then longer visits on a longer leash working up to letting the dog be off one.
Since your dog has been swatted already, you may want to give it a bit of time before you bring him back, so he cat forget the experience a bit. Hounds hunt small furry things so you don't want to give him extra reasons to be aggressive to the cat. It is not only the dog who could be the aggressor though, as you have seen, but the cat did feel threatened and acted in self defense.
If you are to someday move in together, you don't want to be in the position of one of you needing to give up your pets. I never would have given away my cats, and that is one of the reasons I still live in my own house when my boyfriend of two and a half years owns his own. His Samoyed X just can't be trusted around cats, period, ever. If you two ever do get your pets together in harmony, I would still advise you never leave them alone together when you are out. My own dog is never loose in the same rooms with the cats when I am gone, because although I trust him when I am there, I would never risk him hurting one even by accident if he was trying to play or got bored and wanted to chase one.
Hope this helps you some, good luck to all four of you.
2007-11-04 01:06:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well sure they can. i have a cat and a dog and they get along perfectly fine! and they were both adults when i introduced the new dog to the cat. all you have to do is be a little patient and ease them into it. try distracting them when they start going at it and once they're distracted give them a treat to show them that not being rude to each other and minding their own business gets rewarded with treats =]
2016-03-13 22:49:06 · answer #2 · answered by Mary 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have had this problem when I brought home a new kitten with extra long claws. I let them be in the same room with each other but at a distance. Eventually they got used to each others presence and now have become fast friends. They both get either the same or identical treats. At first, keep a close eye on both to see whats going on and that neither gets hurt. Do not leave them alone together until you feel they are truly friends. One day you will see that they will cuddle and play with each other...it will take time, but it will happen.
2007-11-04 00:54:07 · answer #3 · answered by Soniafrompa 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
there is no way to make dogs and cats get on with each other- you have to give it time and they will ACCEPT each other my dog and cat have known each other now for 10 years and they still hate each other but they dion't attack each other they just stay out of each others way... if they get too close they still snap at each other but you can't help it
cheer up! you don't HAVE to get your dog and her cat together unless you want to live with her
xx
2007-11-04 00:50:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wish I could smack around idiots who want to force dogs and cats to get along.
2016-10-06 01:05:59 · answer #5 · answered by master control 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Easy... don't bring your dog to your girlfriends house. Unless you're planning on moving in with her, then don't make it an issue. If you do plan on living together someday, then get rid of her cat. Otherwise get a new girlfriend.
2007-11-04 00:47:40 · answer #6 · answered by Air Ninja 3 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Time. They would have to be together a lot. My 4 year old rotty/mix and 9 month old cat get along super! Best of friends.
2007-11-04 01:14:50 · answer #7 · answered by what u talkin' bout? 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I would get them in the same room and give both lots of love. This way the other will not be jealous. Time will work. Otherwise keep them apart. Keep the cat in a room while you play with the dog and vise versa. You can still keep both animals.
2007-11-04 00:46:51 · answer #8 · answered by CK 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
give your dog the cats blanket and the cats the dogs( or something with their scent on it) give them trets while they snifff it introduce them with your dog on leash cat in a cage. do it SLOWLY!!!!!!! hope all goes well. Good luck
2007-11-04 01:07:08 · answer #9 · answered by Irishlover 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dog girlfriendcat
2016-02-03 01:49:26 · answer #10 · answered by Sula 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋