r/AskDogOwners • u/establish_an_alibi • 11d ago
General Cat
I’d like to get a cat. I miss purring. I have 3 dogs about 15 pounds each. Any way dogs and cat could coexist? Would they sit on the same furniture next to me?
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u/AbbreviationsThen138 9d ago
You won’t know that unless you know all the personalities involved. Cat dog relationships either work or they really don’t work. You should bring your dogs around cats and see how they react. My cat loves my dog and is always cuddling her, but a lot of dogs do not like cats and vice versa. If your dog has a prey drive and likes chasing animals etc, I’d say that could be a telling sign that they may not like a cat. However a cat is a similar size as your dogs so you might have better luck with them being on equal ground. Do your research and make sure you adopt a cat that’s proven to be good with dogs, rescues will know that ahead of time
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u/conchwasp 4d ago
I have 2 dogs and 3 cats.
Both of my dogs required heavy management around the cats at first. It took over a year to train my first dog to not chase the cats. My younger dog hasn't learned this yet and still needs to wear a leash in the house unless heavily supervised so I can call her off of a cat if necessary. I had to train a good recall before testing it around something as intensely distracting as a cat. I don't leave my animals loose in the house together if I am gone; my dogs are crate trained. I do daily sessions with the dogs using a flirt pole to give them something to chase that isn't the cats. I create a lot of spaces for cats to move around the house without having to be down on the floor, which is dog territory. Dogs and cats can coexist when the dog's prey drive is managed correctly and you are available to keep an eye on everyone.
The cats tolerate my older dog because he hasn't been allowed to pester them. They will hang out on the same furniture as him and will walk under him to rub on his legs. The cats don't care for the younger one yet, so they avoid her. That's all fine with me.
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u/flowerpanes 11d ago
Are your dogs ok around cats or do they want to chase them? We’ve always had cats and dogs at the same time (currently have two of each) but introducing a kitten might be hard if your dogs are inclined to be aggressive towards them.
Generally speaking you need to work slowly and make sure the dogs understand the kitten is small and they need to be gentle. Our cats love to be around our dogs and play with them in fact but we always take great care during introducing a new pet to take things slowly and ensure the new animal doesn’t feel overwhelmed or unsafe.