Best breed for cats (spaniels/setters)

[peacocksuite]

Looking for personal experience here please rather than their reputation. I've already read about the animal characteristics if each breed.

I am considering getting a dog (I've never had one but partner has had several).

I have two indoor cats that are 9 years old and I am looking for a breed that we can slowly and carefully introduce who would be likely in time be ok with the cats.

The breeds we've shortlisted are cocker spaniels, king charles spaniel or Irish setter. The latter would be our preference but it would be possibly the least compatible with cats.

Please let me know your experiences and advice!

Golden retriever or Labrador, would be my suggestion.

Ime the dog's nature and nurturing matter more than breed.. We have 3 sighthounds and 2 dcats! Get along perfectly fine. Dcats are 12 and 3...ddogs are 10, 10, 4 and 14...

Any puppy that the cats can beat up at first really. We had adult cats and then got two lurcher puppies. The lurchers feared and loved the cats in equal amounts 😂. The cats terrified the dogs when they were puppies, and the dogs never forgot it.

We've a King Charles and three cats. They're all incredibly close. Girl cat is too of the tree and the rest do as they're told. They've a habit of heaping on the sofa tails and paws in all directions.

Thanks all. I am not really that keen on labradors / retrievers which is just a personal thing.

Unfortunately I don't think my cats would be that assertive but I'm not sure! If the puppy was small enough i guess. One cat is very timid but is a hisser and the other is much more chilled out.

Maybe the King Charles Spanel? Cocker spaniels are a bit frenzied, I think.

V timid but a hisser and female suggests the cat is very territorial.

I have a similar cat and she is VERY assertive when her boundaries are being crossed. She lives with boy cat who is the neighbourhood thug but inside the house she is very much the boss.

She has an outdoor territory the size of the patio, looks scared of her own shadow but of the two, you are far more likely to get beaten up by the 'timid' one.

I think your cat will be very unimpressed to be joined by a dog but the dog will know immediately she is in charge.

I have a lab and a Poochon. Neither are particularly great with the cat. Don’t harm her but they do like to have a wee chase when they get the chance. Both introduced as puppies.

The cavalier if it’s out of those 3

but poodles get on very well with cats ime

mini poodles are amazing dogs

Our lab is our cats bestie. The spaniel however is her enemy-constant fighting and chasing.

Another vote for labrador here from personal experience

We have a springer cross and an elderly cat, they get on really well. It took about 6 months though of very careful introduction and close supervision before we were happy enough to leave them alone together. Our cat is absolutely the boss and our dog doesn't even question it!

Spaniels have a high prey drive. Cockers are bred to flush game out so their instincts are to hunt small furries. A show strain rather than working might be less prone, but I have a wcs and cats and with hindsight this was a very poor choice and I should have picked another breed.

Cavaliers might be better, but the breed has a much higher number of health issues than most which means a) if you don’t use a breeder who heart scans and genetically tests their dogs you’re heading for heartache, and b) your insurance costs will be huge. I love them but I am wary of owning one due to the health problems.

You’ve actually picked breeds with quite different personalities tbh. There will be a whole world of difference between owning a setter and a cavalier in terms of exercise and training requirements. I’d focus on what you want out of a dog first and then research breeds which will suit.

Ime all cats will tell a dog what for if necessary, it’s a survival mechanism. My newest house cat as a tiny kitten would stand her ground and hiss like mad if she thought the dippy dog was too close…..before she realised dippy dog was no threat at all.

i have never had a problem with any dog inc sighthounds, i currently have a King Charles x bichon. Getting a puppy should really mean there’s no issue. You need puppy on a lead when they meet for the first time and the cats in a room with the door shut so they can’t run! They will go bonkers and they will remain furious for some time. Over the next few days puppy is likely to get thumped a few times if they get to close but gradually the cats will calm down and the puppy will give them more space.

After the initial introduction in a closed room always make sure the cats have somewhere safe to go that the dog can’t get to. We had a stair gate on the stairs and still have one into the utility room. get feliway plugins

IME, it’s not really prey drive that’s the issue, all dogs have some level of prey drive, it’s how biddable they are.

But I don’t just leave cats to sort it out, that just makes it all more stressful for them.

I leave the cat/a to do what they want and when that’s come and check out the puppy, the puppy is on a longline and I’m rewarding it for avoiding and ignoring the cat.

My current cat is way too timid to leave them to it, she runs, which means they’d chase, but because they don’t get the chance to and we leave it to her pace, it’s usually a good few weeks before she’s about them much and the dog has some commands which makes it all go fairly straightforward after that.

Out of those three, I would say the King Charles. Personally there is no way I would have a cocker spaniel with cats.

Our Springer and cat live happily alongside each other, the cat is very much in charge however! If she wants to sit where he is she bats him out the way

We were very careful about introducing them when he was a puppy, her food and litter tray have always been behind a stair gate so he can’t access them and she has the run of upstairs overnight while he’s downstairs.

You’ve actually picked breeds with quite different personalities tbh. There will be a whole world of difference between owning a setter and a cavalier in terms of exercise and training requirements. I’d focus on what you want out of a dog first and then research breeds which will suit.

I agree with this. Those three breeds are so different.

I would also say that CS and setters, in particular, can be very highly strung and a tad timid. If you're placing them in a house with another animal that is potentially not friendly (hissing - usually territorial?) then you need to be prepared for the potential behavioural issues that stem from that.

Ultimately, if you're not 100% sure how your cats will react please don't do it. Introducing new pets needs to be done really carefully and over time (It's really not like the YouTube videos where someone rocks up with a Golden Retriever puppy in a basket and the other dog/cat is immediately it's best friend). I know you've said you know it takes time...but worse case scenario is they never get on (9 year old cats who have never lived with a dog...) and you spend the next 6-7 years keeping them apart.

My cocker spaniel and cat get on, although my cat is very relaxed in nature anyway, my dog knows no different as the cat has been here since she was a pup. They curl up together and the dog even shares her water bowl with the cat. Id say I'm in the minority though and lucky that they do get on

This is my life.

Stair gates everywhere. Cats basically live upstairs. They eat and sleep up there. They are total cuddle monsters but never come in the living room now so we only get the cuddles at night. Dog has been here since he was a puppy, believe me we read all the guides to introducing puppies to cats and did it so carefully but his prey drive is so strong, he has never been able to learn not to chase. The only thing we can do is prevent it which means total separation and planning the house for this. It’s exhausting and my cats also go outside, so they still have that escape from him. If they were indoor cats I think they would be very very stressed even living in areas of the house he doesn’t go in.

I either wouldn’t do it until your cats are no longer with you, or I would get an adult rescue with a proven history of living with cats. You just don’t know how a puppy is going to be. In hindsight I wish I hadn’t got the dog as the cats were here first and the mental load of managing the set-up is huge, but I am where I am now and this is my life. I wouldn’t do it again.

Have had two spaniels with cats. One a cocker and one a springer/lab cross. Both were fine with the cats - introduced initially as puppies. We always made sure the cats had a part of the house they could get away from the dog. And crate trained the dog so that they had a safe place. Though the newest kitten sleeps in there.

The lab cross has a higher prey drive in my opinion. Could be the lab or could be that he's an idiot.

My own personal experience is having a springer and a cat and this was fine. They got along wonderfully and we once came in to find the cat in the kitchen side, feeding the dog the defrosting meat for dinner. That springer came from a family friend who also had springers around cats without issue. But all show strain.

However, the same cat also lived with a terrier mix without issue, so may have just been a very chilled cat!

I had a show line cocker spaniel and a cat (cat came first) with no issues. But we already had a dog, which I think was very helpful. Cockers can be absolutely batshit for a few years, which may drive most cats round the bend.

Have you tested your cats with dogs? I currently have a cat and am looking to get a puppy, we’ve had dogs visit the house a few times to see how our cat reacts (he’s not impressed, but he’s also not scared, hissy, etc, just finds a high perch and watches them carefully).

I was also going to say that your shortlist consists of three very different breeds! Do they really all fit your needs?

I have successfully introduced an Irish setter into a house full of Siamese cats. The cats very quickly showed the puppy who was in charge with a smack or two on the snout (no scratches) but after a week or so they were all snuggling up together on the sofa. As long as the dog is a young puppy I don't think you'll have any problems provided you introduce them carefully and allow the cats to assert themselves.

I’ve got…drumroll…a working terrier with an elderly cat. She loves him. He ignores her. She has been trained to leave him alone (calmly, slowly, with treats). He is very laid back and has lived with our last dog…which was a sighthound terrier cross! He ALWAYS has the choice to retreat if he wants to but generally we don’t let her bother him.

Most puppies brought up with cats will be no threat. I know all kinds of breeds living happily with cats. It does depend on the cats more than the dogs. I’ve had three cats and two dogs and all have varied. Dogs and cats will have a playful relationship which some cats tolerate or even like (my little girl cat did) and some won’t.