Introducing cats and dogs????

[Liz]

The Clan cats have been graced by 4 dogs in their lives - Breeze our deaf collie was a bed for so many kittens, shared his food bowl with as many to and we had no probs apart from him waking up to find kittens all asleep and he wouldn't get up in case he woke them up.

Jazz our late JRT was thought by the majority to be a cat in dog form she kept them in their place but with only the odd bark

Sky and Sunny our current Border Collies were bought in as puppies as company for jazz and both did get shredded noses for being up close and sniffing but they are adored by our feral cats to the point both get claws on their heads and cleaned every night

I bought in puppies as with the Clan Cats freaky ferals decided that we along with the cats would train them and both adore the cats and they do get the odd moment outside but then get chased back by the cats - its quite the spectator sport

I think we have been lucky that for the most part ours get along and the dogs both know that they will be warned and get a treat ban should they even think about it

Research your breeds - many rescues have their own breed rescues and the folks are wonderful to talk to about the dogs - I do homechecks for several breed rescues and know I would fail as my fences aren't secure so its puppies for us and they live with the 40ish clan cats so thats what works for us

[LilyandGary]

I am involved with Lab rescue, and we often get asked to rehome dogs who are happy to live with a cat or 3. My own rescued dog hadnt lived inside with a cat until I got her. I did have moments of chasing, but as always the cats have got the upper hand. I often wake up to find her snuggled up with as many a 4 cats on the bed in the mornings.

Any reuputable rescue should be able to match you with a cat-friendly dog. There are alot out there, its just finding the right one for you. I always suggest people for-go what they "want" and get what they "need" ie the right one for them temprement and activity wise. There are lots of wonderful older dogs out there that make wonderful companions, without the training/behaviour hassles the younger ones often have.

Why not offer to dog sit for a weekend for a friend who has a cat-friendly older dog? That way you might be able to more accurately gauge how your cat would react. In my experience as long as the cat can get up high, or away from the dog, and feel safe you would probably be ok.

This is my little madam, with Willow, who was a failed-foster for Angie.

[Den]

http://www.irishretrieverrescue.com/ I think one of these sounds just like what you would be after. Sadly they are always filled so when the time comes that you start looking there will be plenty to choose from.

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

That's good to know Den - thanks!

Ooh Pinkbear - poor Charley! I think working in rescue gives me a much better idea of what I want and what I want to commit to. I will be a first time owner and as committed as I am to taking a dog to training, socialisation classes or whatever it needs, I do think that something with multiple issues may not be the right dog for us. I also have a nephew who would be visiting and so child friendly is a must as well!

We're not moving for months and months, but I want to be prepared as I can be!

[Den]

I don't know if they still have them but I'm sure Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher rescue had about 5 in not too long ago that are cat friendly but were struggling to find homes for.

It is true that a lot of sighthounds have very high prey drives, many do need to be muzzled when out and about but they can get on fantastically well  living with cats. So definitely don't discount them. Lynn here has greyhounds and cats.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I like the sound of the greyhound temperament (lazy!) but am worried all would have the chase instinct - is that true?

Funnily enough, I was speaking to the lady that runs our local greyhound rescue and asked her this very thing.... she says the ex racers can be a bit iffy sometimes but there are many homeless greyhounds raised as family pets that are perfectly fine with cats. 

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Bare in mind... we both hadn't owned a dog for many, many years and in my case not since I was 9 years old. That makes a difference as we were so inexperienced.  

If I had my time over again, I would go for a golden oldie. A golden oldie is usually too worldly wise and lacking in energy to challenge the way things are.    Any dog coming into your house will have to learn to live with both your boundaries AND you cat's boundaries.

Chester was 3 years old and came with so many behavioural issues - some of which we've never solved - that he really did take all over determination and focus to tough it out. I have so, so often wished we'd picked a dear old crock of a retriever or an little old Westie. Some of the folks here will testify how close to chucking in the towel I was at the time. If I hadn't of been so involved with rescue then yes, I would have sent him back.   But when I looked up his chip history we discovered we were his 7th registered keepers. No wonder he's a fruit cake! He's had so little continuity in his life.  

We wouldn't give him up for the world now.... not until the next time he raids the dustbin and leaves refuse all over the garden, or tries to attack the postie, or tries to eat the cat's poo, or steals someone's lunch then we might rethink our policy... you get the picture?  

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Thanks Den - that's exactly what I feel about puppies - they're so cute, but it would be me who was at home more during the day and i've seen how much work they need etc. I think the Mr has just always had dogs from being young (under 6 months) so it's strange for him to consider an older dog.

To me, temperament is EVERYTHING and i'm not too bothered about age, sex, colour etc. and just want something that will fit into our life and home. I think that i'll be able to persuade the Mr to whatever I want to be honest. I think that Katie would want to move out if the dog was all over her and she has to be my number 1 priority as she was here first!

I like the sound of the greyhound temperament (lazy!) but am worried all would have the chase instinct - is that true?

[Den]

Don't get a puppy unless you actually really want a puppy. They are ridiculously hard work and anything can happen with them when they grow up. They generally grow up to be ok with resident animals - but it's not always a guarantee even with the best training. You can get a puppy that will grow up and not tolerate your cat. They are also into EVERYTHING and dependent on breed and personality they might ignore your cat or they might be reallllllly interested. It depends on your cat what will happen. Your cat will either like the attention, hate it and teach puppy a lesson which puppy learns to respect the cat or the cat will just wants to move out. So a lot can go wrong with puppys.

In situations like this I would always go for an older, cat friendly rescue. Maybe 5 yrs plus. Or just any that's past their teenage years. Preferably one that's lived with cats before (although living with them isn't an automatic guarantee that they are ok will all cats - some dogs only tolerate the ones they live with). Do a gentle on lead introduction with food/toys as a distraction for the dog and an escape root upstairs for Katie. It might take her a while to realise she's not going to come to any harm.

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Hmmm interesting - i'm hoping that any decent rescue would allow a trial etc as it's in their interest that a dog doesn't get returned!

Katie hates other cats and came to me as a soiling cat and when we've emergency fostered before she was OK as long as they left her alone. She's quite a loner and wants to be sat on us, but I think we'd be better with a dog who just took absolutely no notice of cats so that it would be up to her to make friends if she wanted, just not forced up on her if that makes sense, which makes me think that an older dog would be better?

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Oh, boy... where do I begin?? 

Don't do what I do - I assumed that if I got a dog that was 100% bomb proof with cats then we'd be okay. My cats had always been fairly okay with visiting dogs you see. What I hadn't bargained for is that visiting dogs were all big boys who looked intimidating but weren't the slightest bit interested in cats, but Chester is just a little un and wants to be friends with them. The reality of what I ended up with was my cat Tilly taunts Chester and tries to provoke him into a bust up. I've had to partition my house (Chester downstairs and cats upstairs) and even then Tilly will lean over the stairs gate and entice Chester over and then swipe him across the muzzle. Then follows a barking/hissing match which I have to break up. 

If I were doing it again I'd request a short trial - maybe a few hours would do it - with the exact dog I was thinking of adopting. Let them mingle in a controlled way with perhaps the dog on a lead. With hindsight I know Tilly will never just accept a resident dog in our home. Not unless that dog was determined to give her a wide berth and not go near her. Ever! 

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Well it looks like we're moving up to Durham to be closer to my family at the end of the year - woohoo! It means I get to live in my sisters old house which is 2 bed, big garden and away from any busy roads which is going to be so nice after being in a flat for 6 years!

We'd really like to get a rescue dog when we move up there as i'll be working less, we have the space and time now to commit to it. The only thing is that I don't really have any idea how Katie is with dogs and how would I go about testing her with them? She always seems quite interested in them at the vets and there's nothing in her history (that we know of) that would suggest she'd not be ok. The only dogs that my friends have are very lively puppies (under a year anyway) and I just wouldn't know how to test them together.

I know all about introducing cats to each other - is it similar for cats and dogs??? We'd plan to have a dog gate on the bottom of the stairs so that the dog couldn't be in the bedrooms and Katie could be, but we'd want them to be able to mix together etc. Is a puppy better? My Mr wants a young dog, but I have such a soft spot for oldies who have a more settled temperament.....

Any advice, suggestions or pics of your cats and dogs together would be great!!!!!!!