Dog and Cat Play?

[Sarah Moore]

Wow this thread is really dead on this board, too bad. Guess everyone knows how to get their cats and dogs to be friends except me, just kidding :)

Ok, so my question, more of an observation, not sure if there is anything I can really do. Ginger, my min pin mix, is very close in size to both of my cats, and after much work, counter-conditioning and lots of treats, her and Lily (my tortie) seem to be on friendly terms, but neither Lily nor Ginger (to my knowledge) have much experience with interacting with dogs/cats respectively (the cats and big dogs stay separate for now, the dogs are a little too interested). So, Lily will try to do the equivalence of a dog play bow (tries to rub her chin on ginger, lays on her back with her tummy exposed) and Ginger has no clue what to make of this. She freaks out when Lily tries to rub her chin, and pretty much just ignores her when she is lying on her back, waiting to play. Does anyone have any tips or observations about dogs and cats interacting in a friendly way? This is new territory for me.


Thanks :cat: :dogrun:

[Marsha]

I wish this area was more active, too. Unfortunately, I have nothing to tell you to help you. I'm trying to get my babies to coexist. I've had the puppy for 8 months now, he's 10 months old. The 2 cats will still not stay in his presence. We keep the downstairs gated from the upstairs, and the cats just stay upstairs. If they venture downstairs, they're careful to come around when the dog is pre-occupied. Also, when he goes in his crate at night (upstairs), one of the cats comes down and spends some time with us. The puppy wants to play with them, but he gets so excited when he sees them. And, if they run from him, he chases them whimpering. How did you work with yours? What kind of conditioning did you do? I am surprised that we are still a house divided. The last time I introduced a puppy to a cat, the cat took charge, and the puppy fell in line. No such luck this time. On the plus side, the cats are more comfortable with the puppy now, and they don't seem afraid of him. They tolerate his visits when he is on-leash.

[Jaime Cress]

It took a while before my cats would even be in the same room with the pup, much less come near him. We seperated the house so that the dog could not interacte with the cats when they didnt want to like you did, and slowly the cats started to make thier way back into the main part of the house. The were the "top cats" before the dog, and I have a male 7mo. cat that insisted he get his territory back. So while the dog was asleep, or we were in the room, the cat felt safe enough to come an investigate. It wasnt long before our other cat started coming out too.

Now they have a love/hate relationship. Depending on how the cats feel, they will either play with the pup, or just go off and find a place to sleep. Our male cat actually will play with the puppy. They bat paws, and pounce around together, its pretty neat to watch. And then there are times when the cat wants to love and rub all over the dog, and all he wants to do is be mouthy. But its getting there.

I caught the two of them doing this the other day.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/JaimeC/000_1110.jpg

And would you believe this?? The cat decided to get a drink while the dog was eating!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/JaimeC/000_1109.jpg

Not only am I having trouble keeping the dog out of the cats bowl, but it looks like now the cat is going to try what the dog has!
Animals....go figure!

Good luck getting your gang together!!

[Krispie]

My dogs and cats get along pretty well. when I first introduced Kobe to the cats, she didn't know quite what to make of them. Since she was a puppy then, they were about her same size! I have introduced Shiba(who is 3 months) to the cats to and she seems to think they are more playmates. Of course my cats think they are dogs. When Hoggie rubs up against Kobe( he loves her best!) she doesn't really know what to do! They like to play together but I always watch them carefully. I always try to get agood picture of them together but have yet to succeed. Good luck with getting all your babies to get along!

[Vanessa Lee]

I wish I had a video clip I could show you of my aussie x (Natalie) playing with my cat (Chieve). They are hysterical to watch...rolling around on the floor together. Chieve bats her in the face and she mouths him and makes noises but she is very gentle with him. Natalie has whiskers on her face that most of my cats just love rubbing their faces on. Natalie just stands/lays there and allows it. My toy poodle (he is smaller than any of my cats) does'nt really like the cats but he tolerates them pretty well. He has even attempted to play with them on a few ocassions.

[Debbie Chastain]

Now, before you read this let me state, "Please don't try this yourself!"

A long time ago, I had a german shepherd named Annie. She was as sweet as pie, and had always been very friendly and nurturing towards other animals. A friend of mine gave me a 2 month old, half/wild, calico kitten. Which was OK with me, but afraid of the dog. So, I wrapped the cat up in a towel, so it couldn't bite or scratch the dog or me, and let Annie lick her face. Well, that little kitty came bounding out of that towel after some good dog-kisses, and those two became best friends. They spent a lot of time stalking and ambushing each other. I think this was a special circumstance, and it was only because I'd had a lot of time working with dogs, and really trusted the dog I was working with, that I gave this a try. I just wanted to prove to the cat, the dog was not going to hurt her.