Introduce a cat??? - Paw Talk

Z00keepa · #1 01-19-2005, 03:30 PM

Chloe is about 5 years old. She is a mix of Collie, Terrier, Springer Spaniel, Jack Russel and possibly Whippet. (mostly Collie though) Since about 2 months ago she was very unsure about cats. She acted brave and would chase them but all her hair would stick up as though she was frightened. (i think she got biffed over the nose by one when she was a pup!!!

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Anyway, over christmas we were in Cornwall and she shared a home with about 8 cats who were used to being with dogs and she stayed out of their way. Then last weekend we went to stay with some friends who have a cat. She's old but not bothered by dogs at all. Chloe went right up to her, looked at her, and walked away. We had no problems at all and this is a dog who, a while back would bark, whine, chase, and run from any cat! Perhaps she is just acting more mature as she grows up and has learnt to accept cats...

seems odd! anyway, we are thinking of getting a cat from the animal shelter... we would be sure to get one who had lived with dogs or would easily settle in, but what are your opinions? I think if she lived with one she would soon accept it as the norm... has anyone had a similar situation or any ideas? Please post!

DirtySouthChins · #2 01-19-2005, 04:25 PM

Well it surely sounds as though she probably did get swiped across the nose at one time

or she has just learned to accept cats. We have both cats and dog's and the only cat our dog's torment is Bubbles, but that is only because she teases the dog's

other than that they all just go about life just normal. With any new pet there is always an introduction period.....Now just because she gets along with cats outside of her home doesn't mean she will accept one in her territory. If you are truly wanting a cat, I would try to adopt one that is used to being around dogs or other animals and not just cats, but don't get me wrong, most cats adjust fine as do dog's. If your dog is well socialized as she sounds to be then you should truly have no problem. Usually they will either grow to love eachother or grow respect to stay out of eachother's way. That IMO in a short version, I'm sure there will be other's that can give you some really great advice....but it sounds to me that you'll do just fine if you choose to adopt a cat

Good Luck!!

Z00keepa · #3 01-19-2005, 04:31 PM

Thanks Navy! That's cool!

I just have one more question, I think my dog gets quite jealous, of my rabbit in particular! Even if two humans hug each other in our house, Chloe wants to be part of it! Does anyone have any tips on controlling jealousy? (of course i have no favourites, and much less time is spent with rabbit, rather than dog but any time at all winds her up

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DirtySouthChins · #4 01-19-2005, 04:46 PM

We have several of our dog's that are that way....The attention is to be focused on them at all times (at least they think so). The only way I have personally found a way to help control the jealousy is to ignore it. I know this may sound cruel, but show Chloe positive attention when she does something good, but when she begans to act up because the attention isn't focused on her, I wouldn't show any negative attention, as this is still "attention" I would simply ignore it, and then when she is calm again show her positive attention, but she is 5 years old, so this may take longer than hoped. Some dog's will learn easily than other's......There are quite a few dog experts here in PT that I'm sure will gladly help you out with a better way, but I just wanted to share with you what we do

.....our dog's will even sulk for awhile as they didn't get thier way

Z00keepa · #5 01-19-2005, 04:53 PM

Thanks for your help NavyWife!

Very usefull i will give it a go.

RSbunny · #6 01-19-2005, 05:29 PM

well I have a four year old Staffordshire who loves to chase cats out in the street. I bought home a kitten that was just to be for a few days and one of the reasons we kept it was cause him and the dog are inseperable!!! My dog is used to rabbits so she knows the word gentle very well. We got her when she was three and it took me months to get her used to the rabbits. We just could not trust her at all. But now we can lock her out in the animal room with the rabbits running around and she will not touch them, even if they jump her. She is 100% trustworthy (the first time I did it I watched them through the door the whole time without her knowing, she lay down and slept, even when they go in her crate she doesn't care).
Biscuit is a jealous dog too but she either gets ignored or put in another room if she gets too much. She knows now that jealousy gets her nowhere and she only tries to butt in if we're patting another dog, but she has learnt that we have two hands, and they both don't have to be on her!!!
Get a cat that is used to other dogs, otherwise you could have a problem on your hands, but introduce slwoly and they should be ok.

pihlaja · #7 01-21-2005, 02:20 AM

The January 2005 issue of Dog Fancy has an article on jealousy in pets.

Basically, it says about the same as Kim and Carmen: ignore it.

Here are some quotes from the article (by Sally Deneen):

"Jealous dogs tend to be "dominant wannabes" or "needies," whose possessiveness serves as a sign of anxiety, dependence, and lack of confidence, Dodman suggests. An independent or secure dog will ignore an embracing couple and go off on her own."

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"But the most important part of behavioural treatment of this problem is ignoring the dogs most of the time for three to four weeks. This will reduce the one dog's over-dependency on the owner and calm the dogs down. By ignoring attention-getting behaviour and [ensuring] all attention [is] being initiated by the owner, competing for the owner's attention is no longer rewarded and goes into extinction."

Most dogs will learn to accept a cat as a member of the family and vice versa. When I brought my two cats to Finland with me, one of my cats, Galina, had no prior experience with a dog and my husband's dog, Kirby, had never been with cats before. We had to teach Kirby to respect the cats and leave them alone (and of course the cats helped with this by slapping him on the face), but a few months after moving everyone got along just fine. It just takes a good deal of patience and a little work.

Z00keepa · #8 01-21-2005, 10:56 AM

Thanks everyone!

I am totally confident about the idea of bringing a cat home now. Chloe knows the word "gentle" too - she learnt that when we taught her not to snatch biscuits or toys

so i suppose a similar thing would apply! As for the jealously thing, i agree with ignoring it and I'm sure she'll soon get the message!

I think her main reason for attention seeking is that when we first got her we went to Florida for two weeks and she gets very worried that we will leave her again!

he he he. We would of course get a cat that has lived with dogs in the past, or a kitten who will grow up with Chloe. I'm sure it will go fine, and if we do get one i will definately be posting with news!! Thanks for your help!!!!