Cats And Dogs do get along!

I've always liked cats but haven't had one since my last cat died almost 18 years ago, it seemed to risky to bring a tiny kitten into a house with rabbit eating borzois! I finally 'bit the bullet' last year and got two little kittens, the dogs absolutely adore them and they all get on so well together I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. Mid you my last borzoi passed away a couple of months ago, he was quite elderly and doddery when the kittens arrived. I may not have been as brave with a young zoi around

Just thought I'd share some dog/cat piccies for anyone considering a feline addition to their pack They are just playing honestly and I can assure you the cats give as good as they get

Looks like the Cee.Ay.Tee is being teased in the last pic! If nibbling and paw on top, then I think that is a step too far.

We have 2 young greyhounds, an old collie cross and 2 youngish cats. No2 greyhound has nibbled the cheekier cat in the same way in the past. Usually caused by the cat ripping at full tilt into the house, right in front of three dogs without a planned escape route.

The other trick is to paw at the dogflap tick-tick-tick-tick until a dog can't resist and then hurtle up onto the shed where the dog can't get. Dogs go in, cat plays with flap - dog runs out. Hours of fun (for the cat).

Only had the cat cornered once (when the ghunds were pups) and I had to intervene. Lots of woofing and cat under the shelves all fluffed up. They seem to have sorted out what each is supposed to do since and the cat has learned what it is best not to do!

Mel & Kim

Our family always had cats and dogs together For the past four years I've been fostering the old cats for a local charity but been unable to have a dog because of my working hours (doing less now) and because we just couldn't seem to find a dog who was 100% with the cats Our last cat, Misty, was with us 14 months and around 17 years old when she left us for Rainbow Bridge two weeks ago today :'( She had a cancerous tumour on her trachea and from it being diagnosed seven weeks earlier we knew she was on borrowed time. She was still eating, drinking and breathing ok and still had that all-important quality of life so when she DID start to shows signs of the tumour taking over I took her straight to the vet and he agreed that it wa time to let her go.

Hopefully in the future we will be able to have another cat or two but I think it will be from a kitten. It's lovely to have both cats and dogs snoozing away togethe - those pics are just FABULOUS :wub:

I have 4 cats and a German Shepherd, and although I've very sadly had to take the decision not to foster any more kittens (unavoidable health reasons ) Molly has already raised nearly 100 kittens. Her last litter were orphaned at 5 days old when mummy escaped her owner's home and got hit by a car- Molly happily stepped into the breach and did everything apart from making milk for the babies until they were able to go on to their forever homes.

My cats normally outrank Molly in the house, so if any cats are about that means she has to eat her dinner really quickly in case any of the cats want to eat it. The head cat, Billy, normally sleeps in bed with Molly (apart from when she's got babies, when he isn't allowed in bed with them) and it's not uncommon to find 2 or 3 of the cats cuddled up in a heap with the dog.

Here's Molly with her most recent kittens when they were only a couple of weeks old. Her fur got all matted on her flanks because she wouldn't get up for long enough for me to groom her whilst she had the babies.



and here she is sharing her dinner with another litter of kittens from last year



and here with head cat Billy in bed next to her

i just love that middle dog on the sofa he looks the real deal,

lurcherman said:

i just love that middle dog on the sofa he looks the real deal,

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Ahhh Spice (aka Mr Spiceisnice) he's a lovely chap

eingana said:

Molly has already raised nearly 100 kittens

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Eingana what a gorgeous girl Molly is :wub: and what an impressive number of kittens to raise - top marks to you both

Awww Chaumsong what lovely piccies!
I have 2 cats and would love to add a doggy to my family - so it's lovely to see how yours interact together

I have one piece of advice for you if you're planning on bringing a dog into a cat household, and that is to provide a space for your cats to allow them to cope with the transition because cats take a lot longer to deal with change than dogs do.

My cats have their own bedroom where they can eat, drink, go to the loo and sleep safe in the knowledge that the dog can't get to them. The door is closed at night and they have the smallest and warmest room in the house, all lined out with sheepskins, chairs and radiator beds and with climbing frames and loads of toys. During the day there's a baby gate across the door so that the dog still can't hassle them and has no choice but to leave their food alone. They have a safe space and can choose to come out and socialise if they want, but if they want to be left alone in their own space then that's fine too. I feed last thing at night so they have got into the habit of coming to eat and getting them all into the room is easy.

The most nervous cat that I had at the time of getting Molly is a hand reared feral who copes with change very poorly, and it took over a year before she was prepared to come into the room with Molly, so it was important that the cats had a happy space during this time.

I hope you find a suitable pooch to join your family soon

That's a brilliant bit of advice

I love my cats to bits and one of them is very timid. When we introduced the last cat, it took a lot of work and a lot of planning (it was like a military operation!!) to make sure everyone was happy, and safe. We got there in the end

I love the sound of your warm and cosy room with all the sheep skins - I think I want to snooze in there lol!!!