General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCats and Dogs Living Together
For over 20 years, my wife and I have been cat people. We've had a bunch of the feline companions, but once we moved to Minnesota, we settled on just having two. Both are neutered females, and both live 100% indoors. One cat per lap seemed to be enough. They got along just fine and provided humor and a friendly four-footed presence in our little house.
All seemed well, but my wife got a hankering to have a dog. You know how that goes. To find just the right dog, she started volunteering at a shelter, walking and feeding the shelter dogs, figuring she'd find just the right one while volunteering. After a few months, she came home and told me she had found THE dog. Now, I'm skeptical about things, so I asked a lot of questions about this dog. Was it house trained? "I don't know." How is it with cats? "I don't know." Is it friendly? "Seems to be." I didn't care for the first two answers, but the third answer was OK. I looked at the photo of the dog on the shelter's website. It was a Beagle/Basset mix, and had a nice face, but I was still skeptical. We have two cats who know nothing of dogs, and a house that we try to keep relatively clean. "I don't know," I told my wife. "I know," she replied. And that settled that.
So, we adopted this unknown quantity of a dog. We bought leashes, a big wire kennel, expensive dog food to be processed into dog poop, and various toys and other paraphernalia associated with dog ownership. But the questions still remained: Will the dog harass the cats? Will it deposit its processed dog food on the floor? Who will walk it? Who will take it outdoors in the middle of Winter in a snowstorm? Never mind. We drove to the shelter and brought Dude back with us. Into the kennel he went as soon as we got him in the house.
We named him Dude. About an hour after we got him home, he demonstrated that he was, indeed house-trained, insisting that he go outdoors to do his dogly business. One problem solved. But what of the cats? After he was back in his kennel, our elder cat, Scout, walked into the room, did a double-take, and slowly and stealthily approached the kennel. Dude? He wagged his considerable tail mightily and stuck his nose through the wires of the kennel. Cat sniffed. Dog sniffed. And that was it. After walking him on his leash past the cat a couple of times with no problems, we gave him the freedom of the house. No issues. Mostly they ignored each other. The other cat, Beasley, a basement dweller, made her peace with the dog a few hours later, although she still hisses at him if they encounter each other unexpectedly. Dude simply ignores such rude behavior.
A truce was established. Different points of view were accepted and civil behavior maintained. I was relieved, my wife was happy, and the dog joined the household. My worries were for naught. Good news all around.
Since then, we've adopted another rescue dog, a beagle from the Beagle Freedom Project. Having lived in a laboratory cage for 3 years and having been used in some sort of experiments, he had never seen a cat, and was suffering from canine PTSD of some kind. We brought him in, but didn't put him in a kennel. He'd had enough of kennels, we figured. Anyhow, he apparently determined immediately that our two cats were some sort of strange-looking dog, and never gave them another thought. Our 17-year-old elder cat decided that Sam, the rescue beagle was pretty much OK, and now sleeps next to him, although without any physical contact, of course.
Different points of view. Different species. And yet, they manage to co-exist without too much conflict. Neither species really understands the other fully, but they manage to interact at some level and maintain peace. It occurs to me that if dogs and cats can live together, perhaps it is possible that the varying viewpoints on DU needn't result in incivility. Perhaps we should acknowledge our differences, cautiously sniff each others' butts, and co-exist without rancor. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned from dogs and cats living together. I don't know. Maybe we can even extend that into the rest of our interactions, outside of DU, to some extent. Seems worth a try to me.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,674 posts)However, I will hiss at anyone who tries to sniff my butt.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)different techniques to identify other humans. A metaphorical butt sniff, as it were.
Beartracks
(12,809 posts)MineralMan
(146,286 posts)LiberalArkie
(15,713 posts)That decided that my house was a decent place to live. I then adopted a stay female kitten. Velco the dog adopted the kitten and was always around her. She started popping out kittens and I had 17 cats before I could get her neutered. Velcro raised all the kittens. Since I live out in the Ouachita National Forest, the kittens would wonder off and become food for something higher in the food chain. I had 3 kittens and the Moma cat that were survivors.
The youngest cat (male) "Whiner" is partial to dogs and not other cats. Velcro raised him also.
After Velcro died , I picked up a shelter dog, a beagle that I called Buster. Whiner raised Buster to be a very good dog. Buster came down with tick fever, which made him sore a lot of the time, especially cold weather. He went outside one night and the temp dropped to 9 degrees and he did not come back.
Whiner moped around for ever. So I went back to the shelter and they gave me a small black lab. I called him "Sam". Whiner was in heaven again. When Sam isn't out chasing something, him and Whiner are all curled up together.
So I cats and dogs just about always get along together, if given have the chance to do so. A dog raised to be mean though will attack cats in a heartbeat. But I don't believe it is normally their nature. Sam is more afraid of Moma cat than anything else in this world.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)and live with the dog that protects them. Domesticated animals have learned to get along. They get along with us, don't they? Working together in partnership creates loyalty, organically, without forcing it. Learning to rely on someone isn't any different whether it is a dog, a cat, a person, or a mule. I think a lot of people miss out on a great lesson of life because they don't have enough contact with animals to understand interdependence.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)will beat up any cat who comes near him. Go figure.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)is just, well, a dog, and not worthy of much interest.
SharonAnn
(13,772 posts)My cat WILL NOT tolerate other cats in HER house. But dogs? Sure. She seems to say "Meh, a dog. Not worthy of any attention."
Cleita
(75,480 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)would beat up any dog that got within two yards of him, rest his soul, but didn't pay any mind to other cats. He's been gone for a while, but he was a HUGE precious, gregarious guy ... with everything but dogs.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)with all animals even mice and birds. He didn't hunt. He was truly a gentle giant and I still miss him.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Huge dude, but just a wonderful guy.
valerief
(53,235 posts)Those dogs are part of the territory. What I've learned from Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) is a dog's world is her human/s. The cats are not human so are outside the dog's world.
Now, how both distinguish between what is prey and what isn't, I still don't know yet.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Sam, our lab rescue beagle, though, seems pretty interested in Scout, our 17-year-old cat. He follows her around, at times, and appears to be trying to engage her interest. She is non-confrontive with him, but appears more or less indifferent to the dog.
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)MineralMan
(146,286 posts)joanbarnes
(1,722 posts)PS: I will NOT sniff a repukes' butt!
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)Only the TV remote has caused minor tension in our home
Ice-Shadow and Cat 2.0 (my dad named Cat...at times he doesn't have much imagination)
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)TV remotes are great chew toys, I've discovered.
Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)I don't know where she came from. I came home one day and had this strange cat jump into my arms. She was very friendly and adventurous.
Ice Shadow was a wolf hybrid that we adopted. She had a den that she made under my bed.
She also had a degenerative nerve problem and didn't stay with us very long before crossing over the BriFrost. Ice-Shadow was so sweet and loved playing tug of war and having her ears kneaded. We noticed her nerve problems fairly early as she quickly lost the use of hind legs. She didn't make it to long after that. Hopefully she is having fun on the other side and will be happy to see me when it is my turn to go across.
Sorry, I didn't mean to write a sad reply...
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)They teach us about the value of life, so we appreciate it more, I think.
nolabear
(41,959 posts)They had three kittens named Wynken, Blynken and Nod. Wynken was given away and ever after he referred to the other two as Nod and Not-Nod.
Tyrs WolfDaemon
(2,289 posts)Did Not-Nod ever nod or did Nod not nod?
My dad would have used Nod and Anti-Nod. Then you would just have to worry if they ever touched each other -
nolabear
(41,959 posts)The first thing to help that would be for all of us to feel secure and appreciated and warm and well fed. That we have a valuable place in the world and like the fact that others are doing well too. Your guys obviously feel that way, and you haven't given them any reason to believe otherwise.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Curmudgeoness
(18,219 posts)We are all on the same side, for the most part. Letting little differences get us into a flame war seems petty and counter-productive. We should be able to voice our opinions without biting someone who has a differing opinion. A little growl or hiss is really all that is needed, if that. I have always felt that splitting us up on issues is exactly what the conservatives want....and damn it, we shouldn't give them what they want.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)madmax
(16,612 posts)Thank you, write more like this!
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)I often write posts like this on weekends. Thanks!
riqster
(13,986 posts)Our dog was raised by a cat who has since gone of to his Kitty Reward. This results in some odd canine mannerisms.
Luna the dog is now raising Mads the kitten, which is already showing some potential for odd feline mannerisms.
In a few more generations, we may well have created Dats. Or perhaps Cogs.
But they get on famously right now.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)People should watch them, I guess.
riqster
(13,986 posts)a friends basset hound was adopted by him (as a puppy) into a home with a house cat. The dog to this day thinks she's a cat -- nothing like seeing a full grown basset hound surveying her domain curled up on the top of a sofa. Also, she pounces.
riqster
(13,986 posts)40+ pounds of Chow/Shar-pei/Shiba Inu mix, acting like a cat. Hilarious.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)You and your mixed species family are an inspiration to us all . Getting along sometimes means letting arguments go, and accepting differences. Sometimes, it just means liking someone despite a host of disagreements.
Thanks for this, it was a great post, and a good lesson.
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)site about property management, that's for sure.
fadedrose
(10,044 posts)and you are lucky to have pets that hit if off so well.
I can't help but notice that maybe the pets pick up their vibes from you and your wife, who are lucky to have found each other....
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)as the expression goes.
oregonjen
(3,335 posts)Thank you for sharing this!
MineralMan
(146,286 posts)Thanks.
Warpy
(111,245 posts)I had a spaniel when I was a kid, back when dogs and cats were free range. There was a cat next door and my dog decided to be friendly and sniff her anus. Clawmarks down nose ensued with much canine shrieking and heading for the hills.
Two weeks later, they were inseparable. If they were both outside, they were together.
Some dogs and cats come pretrained to tolerate each other and shelters do introduce unknown quantities to each other to find out cat tolerance by dogs and dog tolerance by cats.
Tell the wife to do this, keep the dog on a short leash and introduce it to a cat known to e dog tolerant. If the dog just sniffs at the cat, it'll be OK. If the dog gets aggressive and has to be hauled back on that leash, get a different dog.