Do your pets get along?

R

red_mct

Cathlete
I have three cats and a dog and I am having some inter- and intra-species issues. Two of my cats are males and they are constantly vying for dominance. My female cat IS actually the queen and growls much like a lion if she is not getting her way. I don't know how to get the two males to knock it off. Just a minute ago, one of them kicked the other one off the windowsill (and through the curtains).

My dog is a pug and... dare I say it, not always that bright. (SO cute, though!) The cats drive him crazy and he just wants to chase them around, which he often does. They are declawed so I don't think he can be seriously hurt.

My question is, will they ever adjust or is it likely we will always be living in a jungle here?

Marie
 
Marie, when I had a cat my pug was scared to death of her. It was so cute--he would inch closer & closer to him, & as soon as she noticed him he would turn tail & run.

Now I just have the pug (5 years) & an old mutt (15 years). They don't really fight & the old mutt just kind of tolerates him. But they're really jealous of each other. Whenever I give them both the same thing (pig ears, rawhides, whatever) they'll swap like every 5 minutes until the toy is devoured.
 
My gut reaction is "definately Jungle living";-)


I have two cats. Used to have three, but my maine coon up and died of a heart attack at an early age. He was much too sedentary. The other two are one male and one female.

The female thinks the male is a royal bother and doesn't understand why he needs to be here.:7

The male only has issues when he has to go to the doctor.:p


I got a serious feeling of deja vous all of a sudden....hmmm.
 
Marie,

They will adjust! I used to have 2 dachshunds, bless their dear souls. They were about 6 or 8 years old when I brought home 2 kittens. At first, the younger dachsie tried to kill the kittens. I was horrified and didn't know how the situation could possibly be resolved. It was about 6 months before I could allow the kitties to be around the dogs without supervision. The dog that was so aggressive? He and the cats became best buds. He would hold the cats down with his paws and lick them all over. It was so adorable! I used to be afraid that he would get a hairball--LOL! they used to curl up together and nap. I sent some pictures to work with my husband 2 weeks ago so he could scan them for me. If he manages to get to it I'll put them up on my picture trail.

Michele
 
It's jungle living at my house!!! Have to separate them all the time. I think the girl loves her separation time, while the boy just gets lonelier... they are 4 year old littermates.
 
How long have they all been together, and how old are they? If they're still young, it's probably just youthful exuberence and they'll grow out of it. If they've been like this for a few years - sorry, you're stuck with a jungle for a while.

When I was growing up we had a cat named Bootsie who was the self-proclaimed king of the neighborhood. He used to greet people at the door as if allowing them access into his domain. He was one cool cat. My grandmother always had dogs. One day, she brought over her two dogs - a lab mix and a dalmation. Boots was laying on his brisket on a wooden rocking chair (of course on a soft cushion) and the dogs were ALL excited to see a cat, so they raced over to him. Boots just simply extracted a paw from under his chest, calmly swung it at the dogs, stricking the dalmation and both dogs ran away, yipping in fear. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I swear Boots just kept calmly rocking back and forth.
 
I have a boy and girl litter mates and they fight all the time. He loves her to death and she will let him clean her face cause she likes it. They get jealous of each other as well as over my DH and me for attention. She weighs half of what he does. She is the boss. She swipes or jabs at him just for looking at her and when it comes to quickness, well, she is gone before he is finished shaking his head in confusion. Love them both and glad I have two even though she wants to be the ONE.

Vote is for JUNGLE!
 
>
>My question is, will they ever adjust or is it likely we will
>always be living in a jungle here?
>


It depends. I have more experience with dogs, so can't help much with the cats. But with the dog chasing the cats, I'd work with him on letting him know it is unacceptable. Teach a leave it command, teach a solid recall, put him in a timeout if he chases, etc.

My pets (4 dogs) get along for the most part. As my lab has aged, she gets picked on a bit more often. Mostly talking, no wounds...but whoever picks on her gets a timeout. It's unacceptable in my house.

Occasionally, the two Vizslas have a squabble, it's all words and I let them work it out. It never escalates into anything else.

Colleen
 
This summer we adopted a 18 months old mutt from the shelter. He is an indoor/outdoor dog mainly because he is housetrained and small (33 lbs). One of my outdoor dogs is always hunting him down, running him over if it's time for him to go inside. She is jealous for any petting he is getting and seems to get even after he received affection (also they all get the same attention/petting).

Once inside, my indoor cats hunts him, waits for him around the corner, in dark places, just to jump on him when he is least expecting it. He usually asks to go into his kennel and to be locked in, so he can rest peacefully.

Animals are so, so human sometimes x( .
 
I have 1 cat and 1 dog. They do not get along. My cat is 18 years old and is the queen of the house. She gets anything she wants. She hates dogs now and always has, even though we have had dogs ever since she was born. We had 2 outside dogs until 2 years ago when one got out of the yard and was run over. We then let the other dog start coming into the house. I think she would play with the cat, but the cat will not hear of it. They have fought many times, but neither has been seriously hurt, just a few scratches on the dog's nose. The cat knows the dog is scared of her. She will lie in the middle of the living room which means the dog can't get from room to room as she is scared to pass by the cat. It is actually quite funny. It looks just like the cat does it on purpose. After 2 years of living in the house together, the cat still hates the dog and lets her know if she gets too close.
 
I have the same problem with my 2 cats,( which I took in after they wouldn't leave my new GRANDSON alone)... We call it "Animal Planet". They are both fixed females and have lived together for about 3 years. Anyway, the "sounds"that come out of these two cats when they are fighting are "just not normal" as my 12 year old daughter says. I haven't been able to figure it out either. When it is really bad I break out the catnip,and that calms them down a little. I REALLY hope it stops someday. Peggy
 
My pets get along too well. LOL! Speck is always humping the cat and Speck licks the insides of Stinky's ears..EW! However, Stinky does not like Speck taking her bone from her and will let her know she doesn't like it either. Speck likes to tease Stinky as much as possible. Both dogs sleep together in their kennel....but Speck does demand her space from Stinky and our cat...get too close and she growls at them.

Charlotte~~
 
I have 5 cats (yep, I'm the "cat lady down the block!").

Bobsie is a very affectionate cat, and likes other cats. She washes Simon and Scooter every morning. She doesn't get along with Mandy and Rascal as well, but it's not her fault!

Simon is very laid-back and accepts everyone, and just avoids drama.

Scooter is VERY jealous and homicidal-sounding (make that "felicidal") when I add a new member to the household (I'm at my limit now, so no more!). But he pretty much gets along. He used to not like Bobsie washing his head very much (but HE likes to wash MY ears), but now he actually seems to like it, and sometimes purrs when she does. He wrassles with Simon from time to time.

Rascal just avoid drama. He's not affectionate with the other cats, and will walk away if they are too close for his comfort. He likes to play with them sometimes, but his "play" is a bit too rough for them (he's BIG!).

Mandy likes me, but not the other cats. She pretty much avoids them, and jumps off the sofa if they come up. I got an "attack cat" sign just for her! She will whack other cats that get too close, or lunge at them and grab them by the back of the neck. But the other day, she was sitting on a hemp cube/footstool with Bobsie.
 
""Boots just simply extracted a paw from under his chest, calmly swung it at the dogs, stricking the dalmation and both dogs ran away, yipping in fear. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen.""

I had to laugh at that Christine! I have a 16 yeat old cat and a 2 year old German Wirehair. The cat weighs 5 pounds, the wirehair weighs 45 pounds. The cat is definately the boss. She set the rules when we brought annie home at 8 weeks old. The cat is by far the best dog trainer in the house, as she's the only one annie will consistantly listen too. It's hilarious.
 
mine get along slendidly!

i had a cat... we added a dog.... the cat didn't like the dog but tolerated her. added another dog... kassie still tolerated the dogs.. no snuggling (although they would sniff each other and all get on the bed together!

fast forward to just 2 dogs :(

i knew tyler missed cats (his baby days were spent with cats) so about a year after losing kassie.. we added 2 cats... they cats would sleep with the dogs.. wash the dogs faces and paws...

jasmine took to sleeping ON tyler's crate.. so we ended up buying her a bed an putting it up there! the dogs knew not to chase the cats! the cats play fight! but also sleep together (and apart!)

it's a love fest!

sadly.. we are down to 1 dog and 2 cats (lost tyler day after thanksgiving to kidney disease)... the cats (especially jasmine) still love to wash brie's face and paws.. and they sleep together on the dog bed that is in the computer room!

so it is possible! but i think it depends on the animals and their personalities!

(p.s. tried to add a second cat when it was just kassie.. and she had no part of that! ended up having to take amber to NY and let her live with my mother!)

-------------
cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
I find the animals so amusing to watch. And cats that rule are the funniest of all. We also had the world's dumbest cat. She was sweet as pie, but a box of rocks looked smart in comparison. When she was a kitten she would climb my leg (whether I had on shorts or long pants), fall asleep and promptly fall off my lap. She would also run from the kitchen, through the dining room and into the livingroom at full speed - and run head-first into coffee table. Boots used to just look at her in amazement. The funniest thing she did though, was to hide behind to portable dishwasher (remember those?) on the way down to the basement, and when someone would walk by to get to the basement (it was furnished) with the best animal hunting insticts, just straight up into the air. I just never got that... lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top