positive dog and cat stories please

[Ponymadchild]

Hi everyone
Im looking for some positive posts only please to reassure me - not advice
We have been looking to adopt a dog for a while and had been putting the feelers out for a cat friendly rescue since we have a cat that could be dog tolerant with the right dog
We decided on an animal rescue in cyprus mainly because they always cat test due to having a lot of cats at the sanctuary. we were shown three videos of a very small 2 year old mixed breed (smaller than a cat) who was very calmly sitting and ignoring cats in different situations so we adopted him! He’s now with us and lovely in so many ways ( we are having a few settling problems but we expected this) however what we didn’t expect was for him to growl and lunge at our cat when he walks past. This has happened twice now and while we have been doing keeping them separate doing gradual introductions the growling continues. he doesn’t have much of a bite on him and weighs .5kg less than the cat but his snarls are still quite scary . oddly when the cat is still it’s not so bad. We are now working on positive reinforcement and getting a trainer involved but i’m v upset about it. it’s very early days - two weeks in - so i’m hoping that eventually the dog will realise he and the cat are in the same pack. Please please send me any stories you have of cats and dogs living happily together when initial introductions didn’t go well. please note not looking for advice - just lovely happy stories !!!

It's really normal that dogs tolerate a stationary cat but not a moving one. The faster they move the more tempting! The cat determines the relationship - if your cat is a runner then it will be much harder. A dog might be fine with one cat and not another. Definitely work with a positive reinforcement trainer, and get baby gates on every door so that the cat can always get away if there's a slip up in managing their interactions. It is early days, but preventing encounters that reinforce behaviour you don't want is crucial. So dog on lead, and treats on you at all times to reward calm looks and behaviour. Reward the cat too as it's stressful for them!

Also for anyone else reading, don't adopt from abroad. You just don't have the rescue support and back up should you need to unfortunately return the dog. Not a dig at you OP, but this isn't a mistake anyone else should make if they can avoid it.

Whizzingwhippet as my post says twice i was looking only for positive posts and stories not advice or lectures - we know what we have to do and had had several videos and facetimes where our dog was non reactive to moving cats. i appreciate you wanted to give advice but had you read my message properly you would have seen i was looking for positivity. Instead you’ve chosen to use my post to preach about dog adoption abroad - can’t think what your motivation for doing this was but hope it made you feel good as so far it’s just us on this thread and you’ve made me feel awful. please stay off peoples threads if you’re just going to make them feel worse. hope it was worth it

Wow, overreaction much! By all means continue to seek only positive stories. I can see they are flooding in. Potentially if you had listened to advice before now you'd be in a better situation, but clearly that's not the way you approach things. I hope it works out for you and your animals.

I grew up in a cat/dog household, but our cat, a tortoiseshell female called Biddy, very much bossed the dogs. It usually only took one light swipe of Biddy's claws to teach a new dog to respect her. We were a multigenerational family and Grandma had her own living room upstairs. She also liked small dogs as pets. If the cat was at the top of the stairs the dogs used to whine for someone to come and move the cat so they could go upstairs. It was a matter of mutual respect rather than liking, but cat and dog got along fine. It is very early days for your pup and it will be weeks before you truly see what their character is like, but I'm sure your cat will get used to the dog given time. Enjoy their interaction while they sort themselves out.

We have had three cats and two dogs in some combination or another and all have got on. Not friends but generally just ignoring each others existence. However they have been pretty much problem free from the beginning. I wouldn't be happy if I was told a dog was 'cat tested' only to find it growled at the cat. That doesn't sound like a :cat tested' dog to me.

To start with we had one adult rescue cat and we then rescued a Bichon Frise that had been used to breed in a puppy farm. She had never seen grass or sky before never mind a cat. She got too close to the cat in the early days, the cat batted her across the nose and they were fine ever since.

Unfortunately that ddog died only a few years later. We then ended up with two more cats (we are the kind of people the cat distribution system seems to love).

We then rescued a dog from Romania (although was already in this country when we got him). Despite having had quite a traumatic life up to this and living on the streets fighting over food he couldn't care less about the cats. In fact in the early days if the cats were looking at him while he ate he would walk away from his food and let them have it. He doesn't do that anymore mind but doesn't mind them at all. He doesn't even chase cats, birds etc when outside off the lead.

Tbf though, I do think @Whizzingwhippet is correct to post about adopting from abroad. Yes it’s no longer relevant to your situation, but this is a public forum and if it means someone reads it and puts a few minutes more thought into their decision then the post was worth it.

i agree as well, it depends on the cat. Most cat/dog relationships are cat led. If the cat runs the dog will chase. If the cat is used to dogs they will ignore, then the dog has nothing to react to.

give it time. I’ve never not known a cat and dog in the same household to settle down. We’ve had dogs and cats together all our lives. Our current cat isn’t particularly keen but will sit just out of reach when we have visiting dogs. No dramas. Eventually she will decide if she wants to come down and assert her superiority.

I have rescue cats (from the UK), and rescue dogs (from Spain). Careful introductions, care while newbies settle in, and general ongoing common sense, and all mine get on fine. Some take longer than others, some settle with each other right away. Patience, calmness and positivity are key.

Purplecatshopaholic thank you - this was the kind of thing i was hoping to hear while waiting for the positive reinforcement trainer to start with us. We have never had a situation before where cats and dogs don’t get along eventually but these days when you google it seems to be very doom and gloom which is making me feel very low so was looking for something to cling to this will work. our cat is pretty punchy and usually approaches danger but something about our pint size 4kg rescue gives him the heebie jeebies so he’s suddenly nervous and i am concerned that this won’t ever turn around even if the dog does behave himself and not growl. we have all the precautions in place and doing the right things but just need to know there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

@Whizzingwhippet yes there are a few now as you’ll see plus i grew up with dogs and cats so this is a shock to me that such a small cat friendly dog has become so guarded and upset over the cat on arrival. we already have the training booked and gates in place - there’s a lot of assumptions to your post and i think when someone asks for positive stories perhaps consider they are already getting the advice from somewhere and just came here for some feel good happiness to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

@Bunnybigears thank you. The sad part is the cat was approaching initially and since we’d seen various videos of our dog lying by cats and actually seeming scared of them we didn’t think he would growl - both times he has growled he’s been behind a gate but for a teeny dog he’s quite menacing (as small dogs can be - think chihuahuas snarling !)

@BrownOwlknowsbest thank you thank you! this is kind of words i need to hear. i hate seeing any animals upset and to think ive done something to affect these animals forever not to mention my daughter who loves both makes me feel awful x