Can Cats and Dogs Live in Harmony?
Cats and Dogs can be Pals
Who said we fight like cats and dogs? If you bring a strange dog near me you will quickly learn about angry cats, but that aside, I have been known to tolerate the odd dog or two over the years. At one time I had a friend who was a dog!
So I can say in all honesty that it's possible to have a cat and dog living in the same house and it's also possible to have these very different creatures being good friends to each other.
It all depends on the dog.
A Lesson for World Peace
We are two different animals with two different distinctive personalities and we won't necessarily get along together harmoniously. But with a good dog, proper planning, patience, hours of training, and your strong commitment to provide a loving home, most cats and dogs can live together in perfect harmony.
This concept of amicably sharing the same spaces can extend beyond cats and dogs. It can be applied to people who don't get along, like your neighbours and world superpowers.
Surely, If ordinary cats and dogs like us can learn to get along, you people stand a good chance.
Crossed Signals
Communication Difficulties
The main problem I find with dogs is their slow learning process - particularly in the area of communication.
Dogs don't understand that we both use very different signals to show our feelings. I've come across many a dog with inter-species signals crossed. I must admit it took me a little while to read canine body cues so it's understandable that a dog, being of a less intelligent disposition, will take a long time.
For instance, I tend to lash my tail about when something has displeased me. Dogs do the same when they're in a good mood. Curiously, dogs show their anger by growling and arching their backs which is pretty close to what I do when my back is really against the wall.
Crossed Signals Again!
More Communication Difficulties
The position of the head is an odd one too.
When I avert my head I am giving you clear signals of aggression while, in a dog, that very same head position signals submission.
There's no getting away from it, dogs are strange creatures and find it hard to learn another language. (They find it hard to learn anything much at all).
It beats me why you humans spend so much time training a dog over and over, but even such poor clay as a family mutt can eventually be turned into a passable production.
Why won't dogs purr?
This would save a whole lot of trouble. But try and explain that to a willful dog.
Recipe for success - Timing
Cats can get along with dogs (and vice versa)
- If the cat has adopted the humans before the dog arrives
- If the cat and dog are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for kittens, a year for dogs)
Never leave a cat and dog alone together until you're ABSOLUTELY certain they're really comfortable with each other
Planning - Bringing a Dog into a Cat's Home
How would you feel if some new person just showed up one day, moved into your home, started stealing your food, messing around in your private bathroom and sleeping on your bed?
When you have decided on a safe breed of dog to suit your cat, then please ensure these conditions in the home are met
- Make sure the cat has a "safe place" where the dog can't follow. This is vital!
- Separate the eating areas. Cats shouldn't eat dog food anyway.Apart from that, dogs have a habit of guarding their food often in a particularly nasty manner. Put the cat's dinner up high where the clumsy dog can't jump.
- Block the dog's access to the litter box. If you don't, you'll soon discover why I recommend this step
If a dog already lives in the home
f you already have a dog and you're planning to bring a cat into your family, then you have a fair bit of training to do with the dog first.
I assume that your dog already has basic training and will obey simple commands like 'Sit' and 'Stay'. If your dog doesn't know these basics it's beyond my scope to explain dog training here.
Recipe for Success - Choose the dog wisely
If you already have the honour of a cat sharing your home and you intend to add a dog to the family, you need some proper planning.
First research the dog and choose wisely
Obviously a dog which humans have selectively bred for a thousand years to hunt small creatures isn't going to find it easy to live with one of these smaller animals. We look like prey. (I shudder when I write that)
To be brutally honest I don't recommend a doberman. If anyone has an example of a cute kitteh and a gentle doberman laughing it up together, please feel free to send me the happy snap. I dare you!
There are plenty of dog breeds exclusively honed for killing - unless you want murder in your living room, don't get any of them!
If you're getting a dog from an Animal Shelter you had better find out first if the dog has any experience with smaller animals and whether the experience has been positive.
- Use a leash, Make sure that the dog is comfortable on leash in the house, so that you can have easy physical control over the dog if you need it.
- Introduce your dog to other animals, especially smaller animals, there should be plenty around your neighbourhood or in a nearby park. Observe how your dog reacts - if he's aggressive, stop him straight away.
When first introducing a cat and a dog
You will need a few minutes several times a day to give the cat and dog some carefully supervised time together.
- Leash the dog
- Make sure the cat is at the same eye level as the dog.
- Keep a firm grip on both animals. You may need two people here.
- If the cats is frightened, immediately remove the cat.
- If the dog is aggressive, immediately remove the dog,
A pair of friendly youngsters
This pup knows how to treat a kitten
On Talking Terms with Dogs
There is a fashion in USA to train dogs with operant conditioning.
Reinforcing behaviors, like the 'clicker training; is all very well and good, but you have to understand what the dog is saying before you start any training.
A no-nonsense introduction to canine communication and interpreting dog communication signals.
Every human with a dog should have this!
Surely if cats and dogs can get along then people can too.
© 2009 Vladimir
Leave a hint of harmony
So wonderful to see them get along! Great pictures that bring smile to the heart -
great tips - its always raining cats and dogs :)
Wonderful lens! A great way to acclimate cats & dogs to each other is through scent...you can use an old towel or blanket to do this...rub the towel on the dogs paws (this is where dogs scent is strongest) and then rub the towel on the cats cheeks (this is where cats scent is strongest) If you keep the cat & dog in separate rooms for a couple of days while getting them accustomed to each other's scent by passing the towel back & forth between them at nap times...it is much easier to put them together in person when the time comes. Dogs are pack animals that rely on scent to identify their pack...so if a dogs gets used to the new cat's smell before meeting the cat, the whole process is much easier because the dog knows from smelling the cat on the towel & the people that the cat is a member of it's pack...I've used this approach many times with my pit bull who recently went over the rainbow bridge, whenever we brought her new kitties for friends.
Good job Vladi! Our cats haven't met a dog yet that they tolerated, so we haven't allowed any inside our house. I agree it would have to be a rather special dog to live with us!
Henry (now sadly deceased), our Cavalier King Charles spaniel, loved cats and our own cats loved him back. They would rub against him, cuddle up to sleep next to him and even groom him. When we visited a friend or relative with a cat, he'd always try to make friends and couldn't understand why his friendly overtures were rebuffed, sometimes quite rudely. Of course, licking a cat's face (usually in desperation when all other attempts had failed) might have been a mistake.
Our two cats and our dog get along together. When we first brought our dog home as a puppy, the two cats were about two years old. The cats set the boundaries. Our bigger male cat would chase the dog. The dog thought it was great fun. He kept looking behind him to see if the cat was still chasing him. Now, ten years later, they get along well together though they still don't curl up together. Thanks for the warning about the litter box. We learned about it the hard way.
My dear Vladi, Dax & Blaze have been reading over my shoulder & they concur that you are absolutely correct. Though their dogs are well trained & they enjoy cuddling up with them in front of the fire, on a cold night, they've had to put their paw down about this slurping behavior. Both send their regards and hope to read more of your lenses in the future.
Great information and adorable pictures! Our cats and dogs have always gotten along. If anything, the cats always seem to put the dogs in their place!
- AUTHOR
[in reply to Ramkitten] Yes. It's ALWAYS the dog
I SENSE (call me crazy) a wee bit of bias here, Vlad. I mean, is it ALWAYS the dog? I don't knoooooow. At any rate, I love your photos, and you make some very good points and suggestions. Our dog grew up with two kitties, and they got along very well--though never were cuddle buddies. But Sassy (the dog) did have a feline friend on the farm she loved to play chase with. She'd chase Monique--a barn cat--and then they'd suddenly stop, reverse direction, and Monique would chase Sassy, then back and forth like that. When they'd meet up, Monique would rub up against Sassy. Sass didn't MIND that, but she did tell me that Monique smelled funny.
"Block the dog's access to the litter box. If you don't, you'll soon discover why I recommend this step" as a dog owner I am ROTFL at this tip!
We have only ever introduced puppies into our house when we had cats. Sadly now though w ehave no more cats and we dont think it a good idea to introduce a kitten to a mature German Shepherd.
Lovely pics and a great lens as usual Vladi - jus dont understand why it is not higher in the rankings, so here's a little boost to see if we can help launch it!
SquidAngel Blessings for you!
I wish our dog and cat got along. The dog loves the cat, but the feeling isn't mutual. Nice lens :)
Cute lens. Love the dog and cat together pics. I was thinking of getting a cat for my little shih tzu to play with, but my son doesn't like cats. Go figure. How can you not like cats?
Hi Vladi,I enjoyed your lens on the harmony between cats and dogs.I live with a cat and a dog and at times these two may have a tiff but they work it out and allow each other their own space.Its 5* from me.
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