Cat and dog...bad idea?
Discussion
Hello all,
We have a two-year-old Maine Coon house cat who has always been very skittish. He never comes to you for cuddles and when you do pick him up he always wants to get away asap.
My wife wants a dog, prefarably a west highland terrier. Now the thing is, on the few occasions the cat has been introduced to a dog (one a rescue dog which went for him, the other a relative's big working Lab) he has run a mile.
We thought a puppy would be better so the cat could show it who's boss, but we've read terriers of any type are probably not the best with a cat.
Anyone been in this situation?
Any help appreciated
We have a two-year-old Maine Coon house cat who has always been very skittish. He never comes to you for cuddles and when you do pick him up he always wants to get away asap.
My wife wants a dog, prefarably a west highland terrier. Now the thing is, on the few occasions the cat has been introduced to a dog (one a rescue dog which went for him, the other a relative's big working Lab) he has run a mile.
We thought a puppy would be better so the cat could show it who's boss, but we've read terriers of any type are probably not the best with a cat.
Anyone been in this situation?
Any help appreciated
I think you'd struggle if it were a rescue dog but if introduced properly a pup might be ok.. To give you an idea - Our two terrier crosses will chase and try to kill any small moving object (apart from dogs) if i dont whistle them to snap them out of it. So it is hardwired into their heads to hunt/chase.
We have a 7yr old Westie, had him from a pup, we also have two cats.
Westies are a chasing breed, one of our cats encourages him, the other is not at all keen but they all co exist quite happily. Westies don't give up easily so I'm not convinced the cat would teach a pup who's boss to be honest!
It can work, our dogs aren't allowed upstairs or on furniture so the cars have dog free areas, the cats get fed up high too.
Westies are a chasing breed, one of our cats encourages him, the other is not at all keen but they all co exist quite happily. Westies don't give up easily so I'm not convinced the cat would teach a pup who's boss to be honest!
It can work, our dogs aren't allowed upstairs or on furniture so the cars have dog free areas, the cats get fed up high too.
I just think it's how a dogs bought up. MIL has always had cats and dogs so they just get used to each other as one another are introduced. I don't think she gave it a second thought.
Cats are gone now but she has a yorkie, which was raised with cats. He loves them, more comfortable around cats than dogs. Even strange cats he'll go up to, they seem to trust him and get nose to nose.
Cats are gone now but she has a yorkie, which was raised with cats. He loves them, more comfortable around cats than dogs. Even strange cats he'll go up to, they seem to trust him and get nose to nose.
Can definitely work with careful introductions and preparations but I'm not sure I'd go with a westie (for the cats sake as well as some of the health conditions of the westie!), a breed that comes to mind of similar size is a cocker spaniel (show, not working) from a good breeder, they can be great dogs and poss not so strong on the chase instinct.
Go on the International Cat Care site and you will find some great info regarding introducing resident cats to puppies.
That said we have a whippet and a Maine Coon (our last whippet was 5 months old when rescued and lived with 4 cats in relative peace!) It's ashame your kitty is skittish, not a usual trait of a Maine Coon.
As you can see Bryn (whippet) and Lucy, get on quite well...most of the time
Go on the International Cat Care site and you will find some great info regarding introducing resident cats to puppies.
That said we have a whippet and a Maine Coon (our last whippet was 5 months old when rescued and lived with 4 cats in relative peace!) It's ashame your kitty is skittish, not a usual trait of a Maine Coon.
As you can see Bryn (whippet) and Lucy, get on quite well...most of the time
As said, if your cat's already skittish any type of terrier is gonna have a high chance of causing the cat distress. By there nature they are chassers. Not sure it's gonna be worth the chance.
Have you thought about a labrador type dog, there bigger but much more docile, and as a pup is more likely to learn it's place from the your cat.
Have you thought about a labrador type dog, there bigger but much more docile, and as a pup is more likely to learn it's place from the your cat.
LordHaveMurci said:
bexVN said:
a breed that comes to mind of similar size is a cocker spaniel (show, not working) from a good breeder, they can be great dogs and poss not so strong on the chase instinct.
Our working cocker pretty much ignores the cats, always has done. 
I have had cats and dogs together, maybe I've been lucky but it always worked out. Even when they didn't get on initially they would eventually negotiate a peace treaty. Sometimes based on ignoring each other, sometimes with mutual affection.
Any excuse to post this one, initially they did not get on, very quickly they learned to tolerate each other and eventually were inseparable. The terrier I had at the same time used to tolerate/ignore the cat as he had been spagged across the nose a few times.
Any excuse to post this one, initially they did not get on, very quickly they learned to tolerate each other and eventually were inseparable. The terrier I had at the same time used to tolerate/ignore the cat as he had been spagged across the nose a few times.
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