To ask if your pets are "friends"?

[anotherbloomingusername]

Thanks to the internet, I've seen so many cute photos of people's cats cuddled up together or someone's kitten curled up on their sleeping dog. My pets have never really done this. (Although my cat did used to sleep on top of the hamster cage, I wasn't sure his motives were entirely pure...)

When I've had two cats, they would happily chill in the same room or have a mad scamper after breakfast, but never outright cuddles. And although I've usually found that at least one cat will accompany the dog on his walks and they rub up against each him in greeting, they don't lie down together.

Does anyone have pets who are "besties"? How did it happen?

We have boy and girl miniature dachshunds and they are really best friends. Sleeping all the time snuggled together, can't keep them apart.
When occasionally we need to take one to the vet and another one stays at home, we have howling dog waiting by the door!

My dog and cat have enormous staged fights, running round the house. The dog is allowed to pretend to rip the cat's guts out, while she feints at his eyes and "bites" a back leg when his back is turned. They will sleep near each other, though not curled up together. The dog is tremendously jealous of any attention paid to the cat.

DCats1 and 2 were sisters and hated each other. DCat1’s favourite trick was to sit just inside DCat2’s personal space (not touching), and wait for DCat2 to hiss and run off. Then look at me as if to say “mummy, she swored at me!”

DCat1 also worked out there was no point begging for food, because DCat2 was happy to do all the running and yelling.

DH and I once decided that food bowls with those timer thingys were a really Good Idea. DCat2 sniffed, then looked imploringly: DCat1 figured out how to work the catch. I think they (the bowls, not the cats) may still be in the back of a cupboard somewhere.

DCat1 had a lot of health problems, and at one point was in cat hospital for a month. DCat2’s face visibly dropped when DCat1 eventually came home.

DH and I miss DCat1 terribly since she died, but DCat2 has never been happier.

My dog and cat love each other. They snuggle and play and fight like siblings. Sometimes I find the squashed in the basket together beside the aga looking guilty.

Our dogs are best friends and cuddle up to sleep together. The cat is a different story. One dog loves her and she adores him but she despises the other dog for some reason. She'll happily lie beside one dog but turns into a hissing spitting ball of fur if the other dog approaches her. He's terrified of her. The cat definately rules our home though!

We got DD2 as a companion for DD1, I don't think she's quite forgiven us yet.

He however, adores her, when I took her to the vets for her boosters and left him at home, the neighbour phoned me because he was howling without her.

We have 2 cats. Had the elder one for 3 years before getting the second as a kitten. - they're now 6 and 3. The younger one LOVES his big brother. Literally follows him everywhere, always cuddling up to him, letting the older one groom him etc. The older one puts up with it and they have some adorable cuddles but I get the feeling if the younger one weren't here it wouldn't make much difference to his life! They play fight often.

They did fall out earlier this year when we took the older one to the vet which was the first time we'd ever taken him out of the house (the younger one's at the vet's much more often). Clearly when he got back he smelled different and the younger one became very territorial - cue weeks of fighting the like of which we'd never seen and moments where we genuinely thought we'd need to rehome one of them.

Nine months later they get on just like before BUT with added fighting which is totally sporadic and seems to blow over quickly. I do worry that the older they get the worse this might become though - and we're adding a baby to the mix in Jan!

My mum has brother and sister dogs and they cuddle up together . We used to have a rabbit and it was the dogs aim in life to liberate him from his cage / run and it wasn't in order to be friends , ddog also thinks our pony is a mobile buffet .

Aww so lovely reading these stories :-)

the colder it gets the more my cat and dog sleep together

I have an odd pair, a 4 year old mongrel and a 45 year old cockatoo - both rescues from less than loving homes.

They are inseparable.

OH dear God! MONGREL! Jack Russell/ Shetland Sheepdog cross. I will ask HQ to edit.

I am so sorry, and now officially hate my phone.

We have three cats. Big Puss was a stray, and is quite antisocial. She has no interest in the littlies, if she catches sight of them she will snort at them a bit, then thunder up the stairs and hide on our bed.

Little Boy Puss and Little Girl Puss are besties. Absolutely inseparable. They sleep cuddled up together, trot around side by side, get up to mischief together, and gang up on us. For example, the other night I was making lunches. One would howl until I went to them, then as soon as my back was turned the other would leap up on the kitchen counter and rob turkey from my sandwich. Little divils. Can't hold it against them though, they are seriously cute and hilarious.

Here are mine now in a spectacularly rubbish photo I just took with the computer, they often sleep like this. They fight a lot too. They are litter mates though so have been together FOREVA.

They are called Big and Small, can you guess which is which?

No. My cats hate each other! Won't even be in the same room for too long without a fight.
When they were kittens they used to cuddle

My two bunnies are madly in love. I wish my marriage was as good as theirs.

I love the photos Especially your cockatoo and dog CallMe :) Very sweet!

Here are my girls being friends yesterday, long may it last! The black one is my alpha, the brown is her sister. Black and white is my horny rescue , orange and white is my old lady rescue and the white one at the back with the brown smudge on her nose is the baby who causes all manner of issues in that cage at the moment!

It's the first time I've seen one of the sisters snuggled up next to her without an argument happening!

My pets have some very complex relationships. (*names have been changed to protect the innocent guilty.)

Old Girl only really wants to cuddle with Big Boy (also now sadly recently deceased). They were definitely best buddies.

Feral girl likes to cuddle with Old Girl. Feral will also cuddle with Princess, although only if Old Girl is already cuddling Big Boy. Big Boy is also a suitable substitute cuddle. Nutterdog is becoming a firm favourite now that he has stopped thinking she is always in season. Although if Feral has her way, I am the preferred teddy bear.

Big Boy will cuddle with Old Girl, Feral, Princess (his daughter), Bitchface, Shithead and Crazybitch.

Feral and Megabitch like to pretend that the other doesn't exist.

Feral and Princess will cuddle, usually on my bed with a challenge to see who can get closest to me. Shithead and Crazybitch feel that they need to be part of this challenge, so it's getting crowded.

Princess and Boofhead (brother and sister) will cuddle (unless Princess is in season, in which case they are kept faaaaaaar away from each other). Boofhead will also cuddle with Feral, but will not cuddle with Megabitch (his mother). However, Megabitch can go and cuddle with Boofhead and he won't object too much.

Boofhead and Big Boy (his father) never cuddle. They prefer cuddling the girls, although they do get along.

Shithead (daughter of Megabitch) cuddles everyone, whether they want to or not. Nutterdog thinks that Shithead is wonderful and can't wait until she is over the age of consent.

Heck, Nutterdog thinks all girls are wonderful and they all belong to him. Including Crazybitch (his daughter) who would rather play with Boofhead.

Boofhead and Nutterdog get along as long as there's no girls in season, and when there is, they get to play in separate areas.

Megabitch hates everyone when she's in season and spends some time on her own.

Confused? Try living here!