Jack russells and cats

[CrystalButterfly]

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Hi i am new here, I dont have a dog yet but going to view some Jack Russell puppies tomorrow and potentially putting a deposit down for one. Question is what are they like generally with cats? As I am also wanting a beautiful chinchilla persian kitten. I have read some awful stories regarding JRT and cats and already know not leave them alone together when i pop out which is fine but would be nice for them to socialise together when i am in the house if that makes sense. I used to have a little Cavalier king charles spaniel who loved cats but i know JRT are natural hunting dogs. Anyone with any positive stories on JRT and cats? I dont have any other pets.

 

[JoanneF]

Jack Russells have been bred over many years specifically to chase and hunt small furry animals so it's hard wired into their brains. I personally would avoid this combination.

 

[Mayblossom]

I have a Parson terrier and she loves cats....to chase ! Just bred into them , anything small and furry is fair game maybe if brought up together from a very young age you may be ok but I personally wouldn’t trust them

 

[JoanneF]

And, I would add, that even if you attempted to train them to live together, you (and they) could never be completely relaxed for fear of something kicking off. Pet ownership should be a pleasure, not a constant source of stress for the next 15 years or so.

 

[Josie]

I ditto the above. Especially as you haven’t got either at the moment I would decide which you’d prefer and just accept you cannot have them both

 

[CrystalButterfly]

Thank you for your replies yous have confirmed what i have been reading online. I would like a dog and my persian kitten so maybe a jack russell is not the right breed of dog for me and i should look into other dog breeds who are more suitable.

 

[JudyN]

If you decided you'd rather get a different breed so you can have both a dog and a cat, you also need to consider the timing. Out of interest, I've had a hunt around on the internet, and have seen every option (dog first then cat, cat first and then dog, both at the same time) so you'd need to think that through carefully.

If you got a dog first, there's a chance that it would decide it hated all cats, which means you'd have no chance of introducing a kitten safely. (My dog loves the cat who was here when the dog arrived, but still hates all cats outside the home.)

 

[Mayblossom]

Go with one or the other ....the worry of all the what ifs make for a very stressful life ...been there with dogs and cats together and wasn’t much fun, could never have the cats in with the dogs and if by chance a cat sneaked through then it was chaos biased I know but I’d go for a dog every time

 

[Kara 1]

I have had jack russells all my life and the ones we have had from pups have lived alongside our cats with no problems ....we currently have 2 jacks one adopted at 1 yr who has a very high prey drive and one we adopted at 12 wks ...he was bought up with chickens and the chickens used to chase him ...he wouldn't hurt a fly ...so i believe jack russells can live with cats ...as long as you get a puppy and you are very careful. ..we Never left our dogs and cats alone together .....

 

[Mad Murphy]

If you decided you'd rather get a different breed so you can have both a dog and a cat, you also need to consider the timing. Out of interest, I've had a hunt around on the internet, and have seen every option (dog first then cat, cat first and then dog, both at the same time) so you'd need to think that through carefully.

If you got a dog first, there's a chance that it would decide it hated all cats, which means you'd have no chance of introducing a kitten safely. (My dog loves the cat who was here when the dog arrived, but still hates all cats outside the home.)

Murphy is like this with Basil our parrot..He lays next to Basils cage and begs for a bit of carrot (we never leave them alone..) But outside he will hunt and chase any bird he sees.

 

[merlina]

I think the prey drive point is well made. We've had a corgi and a cocker that have both lived with cats BUT our present cocker has the highest prey drive I've ever known in a spaniel- not trustworthy with any small furry- ever, even for a moment. He can't help himself. Yet he came like the other spaniels as the sweetest puppy!

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

My mum got my younger sister a kitten when my Jack Russell was about 1 and they got on so well together! They used to play together and snuggle! I do have a few pictures somewhere but it would take ages to dig them out sorry! I didn't even need to train her though, you may even have a better situation because you're bringing in the puppy and kitten together so they can get used to eachother from a young age.
However Jack's do like to chase cats, it's just natural for them. Maybe mine is special haha! She also used to be fine in my bedroom with my rabbit (in his cage though) they used to sniff eachother through the bars!
Although since moving out she is no longer used to living with a cat and will chase one at any opportunity, if I take her to my brother's she barks and tries to chase the cat.

 

[Teddy560]

It's also about the cat's personality too. They may not like dogs that much.

When I was a child we had 2 cats and a dog. My Mum then rehomed another dog (lab x) into our family. The owner was a drunk and said they were going to put her down because they were having a baby So, in came this lovely, non-aggressive, hyper, completely untrained dog.

Our cats were brother and sister. The girl was very timid, would go off for days at a time, only be petted when she wanted and the boy was a complete snuggler and loved being inside. Anyway, the boy cat took off afer we took the new dog in and we never saw him again. So I'd be cautious about getting the two together just in case it isn't all peace and love. Maybe you could decide which you want the most and then after a while you could see how they get on with the other species and go from there?

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Do you have an update @CrystalButterfly? What have you decided?

 

[Shalista]

Bax is a rat terrier so not quite a jack russel but similar (theres jack in the mix somewhere) his prey drive is so high he HAS hunted and killed before. (he is no longer allowed off leash because of his prey drive)

we have two cats.

One is very old and grumpy, the other is very young (1 year or so) and high strung.

Old grumpy one he occasionally plays with/pesters and they get along fine.

the young one he has 100% hunted around the house and grabbed by the neck (i felt the wetness there after their 'play time') thank god he never shook him.

In hindsight i probably should have been more diligent about separating them but the good news is that the young one and he play normally now without Bax stalking him. the young one is also more well adjusted and less anxious and i feel like bax has picked up on that.

So yes its the dog but i would also argue to a certain degree its the cat to.