Can dogs get along with cats?

Tracey Lee

I've got a 2yr old beagle and recently got 2 young kittens.
We were told to keep the kittens away from her for a while and gradually introduce them to each other but not force them to be friends..
So, we let them into the room together and they actually now, walk next to each other calmly, but once my beagle turns her attention to them they hiss at her and hide, then the beagle starts chasing them and making an excited whining noise and keeps sniffing them from behind and lifting them up with her nose and trying to lick their neck.
When I intervene, she won't give me time of day and her attention is on the kittens. Yesterday I did give her treats when she behaved and told her off when she went near them..which seemed to turn her attention away from them.
I can tell they are getting used to each other gradually, but bit worried about the beagles behaviour towards them and what it means.
Whether its just a playful thing or her hunting instincts...

mjffey

We have three dogs (2 irish Wolfhounds and a terrier crossbreed) and a lot of cats from all ages and never had any problems. And I know that everybody thinks that IW are a lazy breed, but our youngest goes for the kill if she get the change. (but of course we make sure she doesn't). Not cats, but chickens, and not on purpose, but just because they make a lot of noise and fly away from her. That's her natural instinct.

You have to stay with your dog and kittens in the beginning, but as long as the cats have room to manoeuvre everything will be fine. The little ones hiss because they feel threatened and thats' ok. They should do that so your dog knows that this is forbitten food;)

Everything will sort itself out. Cats and dogs are no natural enemies. Humans make them.

skink

your beagle's behaviour is totatlly natural, she is just being inquisitive, I am myself have a 2 year old beagle, and 2 cats now, and they get on like a house on fire, the kittens hissing is just their reaction to a big dopey looking dog sniffing ands licking them, they soon probably be sleeping in the same bed!

Arcadian

You must absolutely 100% prevent her from chasing the kittens, keep her on a lead at all times during introductions. Everytime she gets to give chase the kittens are getting a fright and the dog is getting an adreniline rush, thus setting back the whole process.

Tracey Lee

Thanks for that, everyone that posted, so just a little patience and stay with them and in time they will be ok..

I was just scared that the dog would hurt them. She's usually so gentle with my young daughters and everyone..so was just a surprise to see her acting this way.

Tabitharose

I've 2 rescue labs (who both thought cats were snacks when they arrived) and 3 cats - all living in perfect harmony they even help out with the foster kittens

nc6000

Cats & Dogs can get on. Many years ago when I still lived with my parents we had a dog and a cat. They got on very well. The cat used to groom the dog! I can remember the cat licking it's paw and cleaning the dog's face, removing sleep from his eyes etc etc. The dog would also get us to open the back patio door so the cat could come in. I can't remember whether we had the dog or the cat first. Both have since passed on......

doctor evil

How young are the kittens, I remember hearing an awful story about a dog grooming very young kittens and damaging quite badly (pts) the stomach where the remains of the umbilical cord was attached.

Tracey Lee

The kittens are 11 weeks old..

Today in the back garden the kittens were letting her lick them.
I was giving the beagle treats when she turned her atention to me and this evening one of the kittens fell asleep next to her..so much better today..

Only thing is i got no housework done, watching them...lol

But do u reckon they're getting better:)

i think they are just getting more used to seeing her around.

We've only had them a week and a half now, but the beagle since 3months.

i'll be happy when i can relax and when they are like the picture posted.
I'd love to have them all relaxed with each other.

that's a lovely pic !!:)

Tabitharose

Tracey Lee wrote:

We've only had them a week and a half now, but the beagle since 3months.

i'll be happy when i can relax and when they are like the picture posted.

it's a slow yet extremely well worth it process to get them all living as one big happy family - best of luck with it

PaulyB63

My sisters ex has a dog and a cat who are a romantically involved couple :eek: The cat presents himself to the dog, yes they are a gay interracial couple, and hey presto! They even sleep in the same bed! So yes its safe to say they can get on together, just not sure its a good idea for them to get IT on together

I think the main problems with dogs and cats is that they are a very different species to each other and neither knows how to interpret what the other is signaling via body language etc. We got a pup who is now a 7 mth old big dog and also have a cat who is dog friendly. The dog most of the time is fine with the cat but if hes bored or wants to play we have to intervene bec he gets far too rough, the more the cat tries to get away the more excited the dog gets. It would help if the cat had the cop on to give the dog a swipe but the most he can muster is a pathetic barely audible miow!
They are fine but have to be kept under supervision and we try our best not to leave them alone, purely bec the dog is far too big and could damage the cat just by what he thinks is playing.

best of luck with yours

Tracey Lee

PaulyB63 wrote:

My sisters ex has a dog and a cat who are a romantically involved couple :eek: The cat presents himself to the dog, yes they are a gay interracial couple, and hey presto! They even sleep in the same bed! So yes its safe to say they can get on together, just not sure its a good idea for them to get IT on together

I think the main problems with dogs and cats is that they are a very different species to each other and neither knows how to interpret what the other is signaling via body language etc. We got a pup who is now a 7 mth old big dog and also have a cat who is dog friendly. The dog most of the time is fine with the cat but if hes bored or wants to play we have to intervene bec he gets far too rough, the more the cat tries to get away the more excited the dog gets. It would help if the cat had the cop on to give the dog a swipe but the most he can muster is a pathetic barely audible miow!
They are fine but have to be kept under supervision and we try our best not to leave them alone, purely bec the dog is far too big and could damage the cat just by what he thinks is playing.

best of luck with yours

Yes, that's exactly wots happening here. I think the dog wants to play and keeps licking them and sniffing them and licking them and was also biting their ear too. One of the cats does hiss back, but the other one jus sits there and lets her push her along with her nose. Yes, I was watching them all day today and worried like you said that she's so big and heavy and might hurt them jus by trying to play with them.

Thanks for all your advice...

bullets

Myself and my girlfriend have 11 Cats and they get along with ALL the dogs
in the area except for a bold Westie whom they are terrified of.
Most of the dogs they bully! and at one stage they used to actually
play with a wild town fox that called to my doorstep one night.

~B

Dudess

Tabitharose wrote:

I've 2 rescue labs (who both thought cats were snacks when they arrived) and 3 cats - all living in perfect harmony they even help out with the foster kittens

OH that pic is divine!!! God, I miss having pets. Damn landlord! :mad:

Irish-Lass

As Tabitharose said it takes time but is so so worth it in the end. We have currently 3 dogs in the house 2 our ours and 1 is a foster, the foster hated cats when she first came, now her and one of our cats play with each other groom each other and general love each other.

We are lucky in that we have a dog who thinks her main aim in life is to look after anything that is smaller then her....she is a fantastic mum to both kittens and pups
This is our Jess with 3 foster kittens (who have all gone to their new homes one at least was homed to someone on this board )


From right Kissy, Jess, Tara (a dog we minded for 2 weeks) and our Sheba

Kissy using Sheba as a pillow.


When we got our 1st dog (Jess) just over 2 years ago 2 of our cats were nearly 4 at the time and Kissy was coming up to 2 so they were adult cats and as you can see they soon accepted each other. It just takes time and patients.

Dudess

Irish-Lass wrote:

We are lucky in that we have a dog who thinks her main aim in life is to look after anything that is smaller then her....she is a fantastic mum to both kittens and pups.

So gorgeous. We could learn a thing or two from our pets!

littlebug

When I was small we had an Irish wolfhound who slept on the doorstep. The cats slept tucked in around him or on top of him. There was one kitten in particular with whom he got on very well. He used to take her in his mouth, toss her up in to the air, catch her in his mouth again then put her gently back down on the ground. The kitten would jump around in delight and keep coming back for more!:D

Dudess

littlebug wrote:

He used to take her in his mouth, toss her up in to the air, catch her in his mouth again then put her gently back down on the ground. The kitten would jump around in delight and keep coming back for more!

These posts are killing me!

Irish-Lass

and one last one, this is Jess babysitting them, so they didn't fall off the sofa

Irish-Lass

ok Dudess just to keep you laughing here is our dog Jess letting a foster kitten suckle from her :eek: :eek: (not in the left our cat Winnie is looking on in shock)



(that kitten is the same one that is in Tabitharose's picture, she had been fostering them for me)

Dudess

Oh, those pics are so heavenly. While I adore all cats, I have a particular liking for those browney-grey and black striped little guys. I got one in '96 but he died of cat flu after about six weeks. So did his sister - a ball of fluff. They were absolutely full of energy and eating all round them, but their eyes were constantly filling with gunk - no matter how much we cleaned them - and they just died overnight. Distraught. . Damn, I miss having cats.

Tracey Lee

Irish-Lass wrote:

and one last one, this is Jess babysitting them, so they didn't fall off the sofa

Oh those pictures are so lovely, irish lass...
They all look so cute and cosy together:)
You must have so much fun with them..

I had the cats and dog out in the garden today and they seem to be getting on so much better. I honestly think the dog is just trying to play with them and mother them, because today they were heading towards the gate and she started whining at them and nosing them back to the garden. One of the cats hisses i think to tell her she's going too far and hurting her, but then follows after her and plays with her tail. then when we brought them in this evening they all fell asleep quite near each other on the sofa and she was watching them sleeping for ages.

Yes, we could learn a lot from animals. they have such beautiful qualities. i love animals so much and so does all my family.

They all seem to be very happy anyway. The kittens are always purring and the dog is always delighted to see us and always wagging her tail. I could watch them for hours playing.
So I think great progress today, and as you say, its just time and patience:)

Dudess

Tracey Lee wrote:

I honestly think the dog is just trying to play with them and mother them, because today they were heading towards the gate and she started whining at them and nosing them back to the garden. One of the cats hisses i think to tell her she's going too far and hurting her, but then follows after her and plays with her tail. then when we brought them in this evening they all fell asleep quite near each other on the sofa and she was watching them sleeping for ages.

Oh that's adorable! I've thought from your first post that the dog's intentions are good, it's just that since she's so much bigger, she could inadvertently hurt one of the little kittens who are SO much smaller than her. You'll have to keep an eye on things as much as possible though, because it's going to be a while before the kittens are big and strong enough to withstand any unintentional forcefulness from the dog. But yeah, she's definitely all excited about having babies to look after! I remember when I got a kitten once, we already had a grown-up female cat and she was obsessed with the kitten! Of course the kitten was nuts - like so many kittens are - and wound up on the roof one day (NEVER have a ladder out when there are kittens around!) The grown-up cat was howling hysterically until the kitten was brought down. And then she wouldn't stop licking her. I think adult female animals just have that mothering, nurturing instinct.

carpenoctem

Awww.... veryone's pictures and stories are so sweet.

We're always had cats and dogs together - but our latest babies are the best of friends (shouldn't say babies anymore, theyre about three years old now). They are our Rough Collie, Darcy, and a black cat, Lestat, who followed us home one day when he was only a little kitten (we don't even think he was 12 months old yet). When they were young Lestat used to put his claws into Darcy's lip when he was trying to lick him, but Darcy soon figured out a way to stop Lestat fighting - by sitting on him! He would even turn his head around and aim to make sure he sat on him properly! :eek: Never actually hurt the kitten though, he just kind of held his butt over himn and not sitting down properly. Then Lestat would obviously tell him off good when he let him go again. It was so funny! They're still the best of friends now, and get up to a lot of trouble together.....

Here's a little pic of them together.

Tracey Lee

carpenoctem wrote:

Awww.... veryone's pictures and stories are so sweet.

We're always had cats and dogs together - but our latest babies are the best of friends (shouldn't say babies anymore, theyre about three years old now). They are our Rough Collie, Darcy, and a black cat, Lestat, who followed us home one day when he was only a little kitten (we don't even think he was 12 months old yet). When they were young Lestat used to put his claws into Darcy's lip when he was trying to lick him, but Darcy soon figured out a way to stop Lestat fighting - by sitting on him! He would even turn his head around and aim to make sure he sat on him properly! :eek: Never actually hurt the kitten though, he just kind of held his butt over himn and not sitting down properly. Then Lestat would obviously tell him off good when he let him go again. It was so funny! They're still the best of friends now, and get up to a lot of trouble together.....






Here's a little pic of them together.

Ahwww the pic is lovely!! That is a great story of how cats and dogs can get along:) Lestat and Darcy are sooo cute.

Dudess

Yep, absolutely gorgeous.

I love black cats so much. God, I miss my Elizabeth!

A little black kitten followed my gran home once too. That's very dog-like behaviour.

carpenoctem wrote:

When they were young Lestat used to put his claws into Darcy's lip when he was trying to lick him, but Darcy soon figured out a way to stop Lestat fighting - by sitting on him! He would even turn his head around and aim to make sure he sat on him properly! Never actually hurt the kitten though, he just kind of held his butt over himn and not sitting down properly. Then Lestat would obviously tell him off good when he let him go again.

Brilliant!:D

AntiVirus

Here's Ruby and Jack, they're like best mates now! Would you believe that little Ruby is the Boss! :eek:

Her she is being good as gold
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/mickfarr/Ruby/?action=view&current=CIMG0423.flv

And her she is being bold.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v247/mickfarr/Ruby/?action=view&current=CIMG0422.flv

Dudess

Brilliant vids, AntiVirus. Yes, I would believe that the little kitten is the boss! I lived in an apartment complex where there was a few adult cats and a kitten. The kitten was so sweet-natured but if any of the cats gave her hassle, she wouldn't be long whipping them into shape! She was one tough, feisty little thing. The other cats were afraid of their lives of her. Hilarious.

Here's a story about a 200-kilo bear and a three-kilo cat who live in a German zoo and are best mates. The English is fairly bad but you'll get the gist. And what cute pics!

http://animalliberationfront.com/News/AnimalPhotos/Animals_51-60/DutchBearCat.htm