Conference misery::feline_v1

    You might also ask in CANINE.
    

       I don't think you'll have much of a problem... I currently have 10
    dogs---ranging from a 6 pound male mixed through 3 Beagles, to a Yellow
    Lab and up to an 80 pound mixed breed male that looks like a
    Rottweiler. They live very cozily with 5 cats...and the two best
    friends of all 15 of these are the smallest female cat--my own
    'special' girl--"Cookie", and the 80 pound male dog... She loves
    nothing more than to sit by his head while he's stretched out on the
    couch and wash his face with her tongue...while he lies there softly
    groaning in happiness..
    
      You may have a confrontation or two, but remember, your cats are
    ARMED...and the dogs are not...and the cats will not hesitate to use
    their claws...but they'll only have to do so about once, and the dogs
    will suddenly become VERRRRRRY smart...
    
      We've introduced both new dogs and new cats periodically, and we've
    not ahd any real problems....
    
    
    JM

    Hi
    I've never had a dog, but I've heard, that dogs eyes are extremely
    sensitive to cats claws (not that ALL eyes aren't, but dogs even
    more so). My mom told me this when I was a kid, so....?
    
    anyway, you might want to ask in canine, 
    Bon

I've always had cats and dogs...primarily, you must let the dog know that
messing with the cats is NOT ACCEPTED.  After awhile, they will get so
used to each other, you will wonder what the fuss was about.  Kittens and
puppies grow up together very well - as playmates, at least until the
dog outgrows the kitten.  One caveat:  if you ever see your dog pick up
a kitten and toss it into the air, you have a VERY big problem.  the dog
is treating the kitten like FOOD and will kill the kitten if allowed to
get to it.  This is a dog that should not be allowed around small animals
of any kind....it has learned to hunt them.  if a puppy, you can retrain
it with very close supervision of the interaction of the dog and cat,
and very strong reprimand IMMEDIATELY when the dog attempts to pick up
the cat....NEVER leave them alone together until the dog stops attempting
to pick up the cat after extended periods together.  If the dog is an
adult (over 8 months of age), I would not plan on having a cat in the
dog's lifetime.

    
    > If the dog is an adult (over 8 months of age), I would not 
    > plan on having a cat in the dog's lifetime.
    
    I disagree.  I place kittens with two families who had dogs.  In one
    case it was a golden retriever - 10 years old and in the other a 
    mini poodle 3 years old.  Admittedly in the first case, Kelly, had
    had a feline housemate before, but in Hughi's case (#2) he had 
    never had a cat.  What happened is that Hughi was very curious and
    would chase Charli around.  Charli (who had never seen a dog) would
    only hiss if Hughi came to close - if Hughi persisted then Charli
    would take a swipe at him.  Charli's preference was to climb to the
    top of the cat tree Helene had bought for him, or jump on top of
    the cage - in other words, get out of Hughi's reach.  He was only
    aggressive if cornered.
    
    I think that introducing cats and dogs *requires* supervision, and
    just won't work in some cases, however, I would not make the blanket
    statement that an adult dog will NEVER accept a cat.
    
    Nancy DC who's have limited experience with this.
    
    

    
    OK, fwiw, the 2 big cats in my house were there before the current dogs
    but we had dogs when we got them.  Kenda was a puppy when she came to 
    live with us and never had a problem with the big cats.  Then we added
    Duegar, a rescue dog who had survived by eating hay, dirt, and small
    animals before we took him.  He did mouthe the two big cats but their
    attitude saved them.  They just sat there, they're used to being
    slobbered on by Kenda.  Duegar decided it was easier to eat out of
    a  bowl.  Then enter Miss Eff a shelter adoptee, pretty near to being
    on her way to heaven.  She spent her hospital time in a large cage in
    the middle of the dining room and everyone got used to her that way. 
    By the time she was fully recovered she was "no big deal to anyone".
    And finally Mal came home!  It has been a hard road with her and the 
    dogs.  She is small, still a kitten and Duegar just didn't know what
    to make of her.  We did the cage bit and watched him constantly.  We
    also used Bach flower remedies (for jealousy and intense behavior).
    After about a month all animals are left loose in the house while we
    are at work.  no problems, I've even seen Duegar sleeping on the 
    same bed with Mal.  Most of their confrontations have developed
    into a special teasing relationship that they both seem to enjoy.
    Duegar was 19 months old when we got him.  He will be 4 in October.
    Not every dog can adjust to a cat, and vice-versa but with patience, 
    understanding of animal behavior, and time it can usually work out.
    Understandably ours is not your average house-hold.  Most people would
    be smart enough not to take in such problems.:')  I just seem to
    attract them and in all honesty I love the challenge!!"')
    
    MaryAnne

clarification:

my comment about not planning on having a cat during the dog's lifetime was
focused on the case where you have a dog that treats the kitten as PREY.  If
the dog is picking up the kitten and tossing it about, AND the dog is over
approx. 8 months of age, RETRAINING is never going to be totally reliable.
A dog that evinces this behavior has learned (probably from the dam) to
hunt for food - and the small animals like cats and rabbits are the target
prey animals for domestic canines in a feral situation.  Once a pup has
learned to view cats as prey, he/she must be retrained during the ideal
"training window" for canines...or the training will not necessarily be
reliable and the dog would not be an animal I would trust around cats or
rabbits.

Luckily, the hunting skills, while instinctive, are NOT targetted to
KILL unless the dog LEARNS to kill.  Most canines don't learn that and are,
therefore, perfectly safe with cats and rabbits - many even become best 
friends with them.  You only have to worry about a dog that knows the cat
is PREY....and that is obvious very quickly.

FWIW, I've lived with dobermans and weimeraners and lots of cats all my life
and I've never had a problem.

    
    I just re-read the base note.  Have the dogs ever been exposed to cats
    before?  How did they react?  My guess is that the cats will probably
    be bigger than the dogs.  You might try the crate method that I use.
    Borrow or rent a large wire dog crate and place it in an area that is
    out of the way of major activity but affords the cats a chance to see
    what is going on.  This will keep them protected from the dogs but 
    gives all a chance to sniff and get comfortable with each other.  Once
    the dogs seem to loose intrest in the cats you can open the door and
    see what happens (you may want to introduce one dog at a time this way)
    Always supervise until you feel comfortable with the progress and
    always make sure there is someplace for the cats to get away from the 
    dogs.  You may find that the cats like the crate.  Miss Eff refused to
    give hers up, it's still in the dining room.  CAUTION....make sure
    the wire spacing on the crate is small enough so the cats cannot get
    a head stuck.  Good Luck!
    
    MaryAnne

    These three dogs are Yorkshire terriers (very small) who have never
    lived with a cat before.
    
    I've taken Tawny and Tigger over there a couple of times (while they
    were in their kitty carrier) and let them see "what a dog is".  The
    dogs have come up to the box and sniffed and acted as if they were
    curious, but no growling or anything.
    
    I guess what really concerns me is that my two kittens are still very
    skittish.  They were abused and my vet found them abandoned.  They've
    come very far, but still don't know what or who to trust...just me
    (for the most part) because "mommy feeds them"!
    
    The dogs fight amongst themselves every so often (and I mean FIGHT!!).
    They growl, bite, chase, etc.  They never hurt each other because
    someone always steps in to break it up.
    
    I might try to cage idea (-.1).  They'll be arriving at my mom's in
    their new kitty carrier that has a grate across the front so that they
    can see...I'm just so worried about my babies!
    
    Thanks everyone for all of the great advice so far,
    
    Diana