Introducing a cat to OES household
Is that a sensible idea? If so, is it better to introduce the cat now, while he is still a puppy, or later, when he is more mature? Any guidance would be appreciated. |
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| Hello,
I just purchased an OES and had a cat for two years. They are not best friends yet : ). The pup wants to play rough and she just wants to be left alone. Getting a cat is a good idea only if you get a kitten but then you have to make sure that the kitten won't be bullied to death by your dog. Best, Magda |
| Probably introducing a new kitten to an existing dog will be easier than a new dog to existing cats, our cats, really can't be doing with an idiotic 68 lb bouncing fluffly thing wanting to play, who said he could live in their house anyway? the humans are bad enough, obviously apart from when they need a warm lap to sleep on that is.
You obviously will just have to be careful it doesn't get sqaushed!  |
| I have a multiple cat (currently 12) household as well as two Old English Sheepdogs. And I also foster OES (and cats) on occasion. So....as to introducing a cat or kitten, well it depends on the personality of your dog and the cat. Sometimes the dog and cat get along quickly, other times it can take awhile till they tolerate each other.
I've found that as long as you have a place for the cat to get away from the dog then it seems to work out ok. Baby gates are wonderful items. Just cut a hole in the bottom of the gate so the cat can zoom through at top speed (they can also jump over the gate, but ours seem to like to run through the hole at top speed  ).
Good luck Jennifer, Baxter & Cassiopia |
jennifer_t wrote: Baby gates are wonderful items. Just cut a hole in the bottom of the gate so the cat can zoom through at top speed (they can also jump over the gate, but ours seem to like to run through the hole at top speed
).I can explain this (beyond the physics  - the shortest path and all that.)
The smart cat knows that the foolish young OES with no concept of his own body size will try to follow the cat through the hole, get his head stuck in the hole and, if the gate is not actually attached to the wall, rather propped against it, the cat can then delight at the sight of the foolish OES looking even more foolish wearing the baby gate
All of my own dogs grew up with The Cat, so they all get along. But experiences with various foster dogs have varied. I had one who stayed with me for several months and never stopped wanting to chase the poor cat. He has his own 1/2 of the house and she hers, but I do think he was quite happy when she left. Kristine |
| We have always had dogs and cats together with no real problems. Of course, the dogs will chase the cats - at least during puppyhood - but the cats can usually hold their own or escape as others have stated. But if your main motivation is for companionship for the dog, another dog would be MUCH better. Cats are naturally nocturnal and will sleep all day (as will the dog, most likely), so there won't be that much interaction between them while you're away. |
| I don't know if the reasoning of wanting a companion for your dog is a good reason to get a cat. It usually doesn't work out that way.
But, if you want to just get a cat, then go for it! We had 2 cats when we got Barney. They weren't impressed (still aren't!). They all mostly ignore each other, although Barney likes to chase them if they run, and his signature move is 'the paw' where he'll corner them and slam his paw down on them
The cats will be fine if they have somewhere to escape to (a table, behind a gate, etc) We've since gotten one more cat and she actually likes Barney and he doesn't usually chase her, but she also doesn't run from him, which usually is what gets the chase going. So it all depends on everyone's personality... |
| When we lived in England, we came back off of our holiday to find that my cat had given birth, and we knew that we were getting Blue as well. So we had a 3 week old kitten, a 1 year old cat and an 8 week old OES, and they all got on extremely well. The cat was glad that she could get some peace and quiet from the kitten as it would go off and be with the dog. So for their first year the kitten and Blue grew up together and were like the best of friends.
And now in Spain, last year we got ourselves 3 kittens for the kids, 1 of them didnt like the dogs at all. The other sort of minded the dogs but would rather stay out of the way and the other kitten followed the dog everywhere and slept with the dog between her feet, so I think it mostly depends on the nature of the cat, though its better to have a kitten rather than a cat so that it can grew up with the dog and learn not to be afraid. And dogs will automatically chase anything that runs |
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