Cats and Dogs?

[lacy]

So I have three cats. All 1 year and a half old. My husband loves them but also wanted a dog. So we got a yellow lab female puppy. Does anyone have both dogs and cats? Do they get along?I am so scared for my cats. I dont want them to be harmed or scared or unhappy! I need advice and success stories!

[cw]

We currently only have a cat, but are going to get a dog soon.  When I was a kid there was never a time when we didn't have both cats and dogs, and they all got along just fine. Well... there were occasional scraps, but there were with my brothers and I too, and we all came through more or less unscathed.

I think the key is supervision until they get used to each other, and a little extra attention for the animals with "seniority" until things are normal.

Oh, and in my experience, you probably don't need to worry about the dogs hurting the cats... it's the other way around!

[lesliek]

Lacy- I have 3 dogs & 2 cats. They generally are fine. They seem to work out the pecking order by themselves.My lab/elkhound mix is alpha. Then my 15 yr old adopted stray cat. The chihuahua next & then the 6 yr old cat. Last but not least the beagle.I'm not listing the 18 yr old hermit crab. He really
doesn't interact w/ the others.
    Usually puppies will bother the cats until they get their nose wacked. Just be sure to confine the puppy not the cats. Let them sniff him while hea crated.

[lacy]

Thanks guys! I appreciate your comments more than you know! And LeslieK, an 18 year old hermit crab!! WOW! I didnt know they could live that long! Thanks again!

[Cindy Nevarez]

Yes, we have (currently) 4 dogs and 3 cats.

The oldest dog is 15, the youngest 2.5. The oldest cat is 18, the youngest 9.

The youngest dog prefers cats and hates the other dogs. The other dogs merely tolerate each other. None of those like the cats to be near them, and will snap at them if they get "too" close.

The cats all hate each other (except for the male who like to 'wife beat' the females), AND the female cats both hate all the dogs. The male likes to 'burrow' in the longhaired dogs fur....sometimes that is tolerated.

It's been my experience and observation that if cats and dogs are raised together from babies...they get along much better. Unfortunately, in my case since all mine are rescues...it hardly happens that way for me.

[Kathleen]

I have 4 cats and 2 dogs---never had a problem with the cat/dog mix. I got my dogs as adults and aready had cats, and still had no problems. My dogs are WHIPPETS-sight hounds so I was nervous when I recently got a kitten and I was extremely careful for about 3 weeks, isolating the kitten, keeping the dog away from the kitten. When I finally felt comfortable , I let the 2 of them run free in the house---NO problem at all. I wondered what I was so concerned about.

I have seen my Whippet pounce on a squirrel in the backyard and kill it before I even had a chance to react--Whippets are VERY fast. After that I always checked the back deck before I let the dogs out. However, the cats in the house seem to be put in another category in the minds of the dog. Now, I would NEVER trust one of my dogs with a cat outside--I am sure they would kill it if they got the chance.

My suggestion would be to watch carefully and NEVER leave them alone if you are away from the house--at least until you are sure that everyone is on board with acceptance. I am sure it will go well.
                                                     Kathleen

[lacy]

Wow. Thanks again for all of your stories. This is just so scary to me.