When Did They Become Friends

[apocalypsepwnie]

We've had Vinnie for 7 weeks.

While the cats don't HATE him, they aren't fond of him.

Big cat who's 5 years old and a bit skitzy runs away from him when he approaches and hides up high.

Little cat who's 4 and pretty chilled out will let him sniff a bit and quickly trot away if he makes too much noise/movement.

Vinnie desperately wants to be their friend. He doesn't bite and is coming around with approaching calmer. He looks so upset when they ditch him.

When winter comes I know the cats will be sorely missing out on snuggling with him as they'll both fit between his legs against his tummy and I don't want the area in front of the fire to be a wrestling match!

Did your pets finally come around with a new addition?

[persephone]

I walk away if a puppy comes up to me being playful ;)

A young puppy is usually too much for cats - as their play styles are so different

Don't force them- and make SURE the cats have somewhere which is completely dog proof .

[apocalypsepwnie]

Certainly is no forcing. They have the fireplace and all the surrounds to get up on. They can get up onto the beds and lounge away from him too. He doesn't spend time with them unsupervised.

[Sash]

I can't add anything about puppies and cats becoming friends as we don't have cats, but it only took about 48 hours for our 17 month old miniature poodle cross and 8.5 week old whippet to become the best of friends. I attribute this mostly to the fact that they're both fairly young plus Monty is a very gentle but super playful and Astro being a puppy always wants to play so they were destined to get along.

[silentchild]

Not sure if this applies as I don't have puppies, but with my cat and my Rottie it took about 2 weeks over a period of very slow introductions - separated in the house to separated within sight, to free roaming together (supervised). My Rottie taught my cat how to love dogs so now she is a dog lover. Thus when I brought home my new Aussie Shepherd, my cat loved her from the get go, but it has taken my Aussie several months to be comfortable enough to snuggle together, and even now she still doesn't prefer it and treats the cat with a healthy amount of wariness and respect. I don't expect they will ever be as close as my Rottie was with kitty, and I don't force it.

These things take time for different individuals.

[apocalypsepwnie]

It took 3-4 months for Big to like Little even though he allowed Little to suckle from him. Bahaha to males, oh yes killer.

I think Little *might* come around. It took him 3 years to actively seek the attention of my partner and not run away when he approached for pats. Now he will come up for lap sits every few months. The fact he lets him sniff is a good sign.

We also spray feliway on Vinnie's collar before we allow him near them which is the cat version of adaptil.

[Podengo]

We have an 8 year old cat that had never lived with a dog, and a puppy that was raised with a very playful cat. Our cat was super unimpressed with the puppy, but not scared. He just ignored her. She tried to get him to play a lot, and eventually gave up. We've had the dog for about 2 years now and the cat still ignores her totally.

We went to a friends house that had a playful cat, and she was SO happy when the cat wanted to play with her :) :)

[Bjelkier]

My black cat still hates every dog we have and I don't see that changing any time soon.

[BlaznHotAussies]

My 'puppy' (Robo, Aussie shepherd, 8ish months) always wants to play with the foal (~4 months) while we're cleaning out the stables/feeding horses. He'll run up to the fence and she'll look and nicker at him. Then he'll play bow and jump away. Then she just kind of gets a look on her face. If she actually runs after him he'll get scared

He also follows/plays with me/us while I'm riding my horse... My horse is a really good sport about it but I don't let him do it to any other horse (he only comes out to the arena if I'm there so I just call him off if he starts going up to the wrong horse).

[Guest Ams]

I find the cats to be the deciding factor. If you have a cat that is dog savvy then you can teach the dog to behave around the cat, but if you have a cat that doesn't feel comfortable around dogs it just isn't going to work in my experience.

Up until the last 12 months I have owned 10 cats and multiple (hundreds) of dogs through the house. Three of the cats were comfortable with dogs but the two Devon Rex cats were most often still viewed as prey. All the other cats would quite happily have lived having never had to acknowledge dogs even exist.

The tabby cat was able to interact with all but the very obviously anti-cat dogs. I think because he looked like what a cat should look like and acted as if he belonged around the dogs, it was easier for dogs to accept him.

The Devon's, even though they were raised with dogs, seemed to be seen more as rats than cats and would be chased (and chomped) if cornered. The Devons also like to instigate a game of chance and didn't always pick their prospective play mate with a discerning eye.

Of the cats I still have here, two belong to a friend and even though they have been raised with dogs, they consider my dogs are not "their" dogs and whilst they won't run, they will never snuggle with my dogs. The tabby has been banished to the cattery for urination issues in the kitchen and I wouldn't consider any of the other cats to be "safe" around the dogs. They will all run which just makes prey drive kick in for the dogs.

[the cat lady]

I have noticed in our household that if the cat is confident and dog savy there is hope that they will get along.

Our 15yo cat is very savy, and always approaches the dog with confidence and walks very slowly and deliberately and looks the dog in the eye.

Our dog seems to have a certain amount of respect for the cat, however, if Big Hercules (cat) tries to run then its every man (cat and dog) for himself

I would never leave them inside unsupervised together I just can't trust them

I have seen them close by each other in the yard, but as soon as one of the family goes outside the cat must leave.

Our dog has no respect for neighbourhood roaming cats and they are all dispatched quickly with great drama

[bamboo]

I have always had cats and dogs together without issue. Response to new family members has ranged from Yay you bought me a kitten from the Great Dane to Why would you bring home another one of these smelly things from an old cat to new pup. The most recent newbie spent quite a bit of time tied to the coffee table when young so the cat could relax, but there is no problem now. Did take about 6 months to convince the dog the cat could not be chased under any circumstances , but he is totally trustworthy now and has In fact defended his cat from others. I have always chosen dogs from breeds or combination of breeds that are not known for having a strong prey drive as I would be devastated if my dog killed cats or wildlife.

[apocalypsepwnie]

We have some movement.

Vinnie sleeps on our bed for a few hours during the first bit of the night if he's been good.

Usually the cats sleep on the bed with us. When he's on there, the cats are nowhere to be seen.

Last night they both climbed over him to sleep with us, Big Cat (who avoids him like the plague) settled a few inches from him and spent the night there. he even had a bit of a sniff. Vinnie sleeps like the dead and wouldn't notice the cats checking him out. Much safer for them to get to know his smell without him trying to lick their faces off.

[hankdog]

So when we got Jake 2 years ago he was unable to look at the cockatiels even if they were caged without losing it. Today I went out and on the way out the door hubby said he'd come with. Normally the birds would only be out if we are home but hubby forgot to put them away.

We got home to find the two monsters had teamed up and the evil cockatiel was furiously ripping diamantes off the tutus whilst The Tubster hoovered them up. Poop pickup is going to be a sparkling affair tomorrow.