Cat > cohabitation w partner

[PowderCat212]

Hey all,

I have a 3 year old flamepoint who is my #1. My partner of 4 years if fully aware of this btw. It’s a different kind of love, very paternal re cat.

Anyway, we just got engaged last month. Something I never thought we’do, but feels right.

As weve started talking about the BIG TOPICS, cohabitation came up. In a normal situation, I wouldn’t be against it. But my cat is very interactive and playful... and he has two Great Danes and a large mixed breed dog. I worry about Powder (my cat) getting hurt or not adjusting well to the idea of living in a zoo—he also has two exotic birds and two

I expressed my concerns to Powder’s vet who said he would probably need to have his own room in that kind of situation.

Any experience when it comes to blending furry families? I’m non-traditional, he’s traditional. But we’re both willing to work on a solution. We’re city folk so I’ve introduced the idea of “living together, separately” which is becoming more common in city life... essentially keeping separate apartments.

Either way, look forward to hearing your experience/suggestions.

 

[silent meowlook]

I wouldn’t let my cat live with the dogs. I’ve seen far to many cats hurt or killed by family dogs.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

I've had dog's and cat's live together fine in the past, but they were introduced as either a puppy or kitten brought into the house to a grown cat or dog. I've never introduced entirely grown animals to each other. I'm thinking it could work if the dog's have basic training eg sit, stay, lie down. And I would make sure the cat has lots of high shelves so if needed could get around without having to be on the floor with the dog's. At least until they are used to each other. Do you know if the dog's have interacted with cat's. Is it possible that you could start having the dog's visit on the lead to see how the dog's, your cat react. You could start by just one dog at a time most cat's will go into hiding at first so it will take time. I would definitely make sure about the training the last thing you want is a big dog chasing your cat. But living together separately could be kept on the table especially if finances allow. Good luck hope it works out for you. I wouldn't worry to much about the birds except for making sure your cat can't get into the cage. I'm sure they'll be good cat TV.

 

[fionasmom]

I have always had dogs and cats, specifically German shepherds. GSDs are so eager to please their owner and often accept pets of other species, thereby being very easy to train in this respect.

What comes after "he has two exotic birds and two....." He has another type of animal as well?

You have a lot of work ahead of you and need a lot more information. Unless you know that these dogs are cat friendly, and I mean really cat friendly, not just haven't killed any, you need to protect your cat until this is under control. The dogs absolutely have to be trained implicitly to a command or behavior that will stop them in their tracks if they even think about bothering the cat. My previous GSD was trained to "kitty no no" and it never failed....but he was also a sweetheart.

Tik cat's mum has a lot of good suggestions. Get the Jackson Galaxy type shelving or cat trees that will allow the cat to jump and climb but keep in mind how tall a Dane is if they decide to stand up and lunge. Another angle is that you don't want your cat to freak out to the point where you have some terrible occurrence such as he runs out of a door or crashes through a screen.

How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog – TheCatSite Articles
Best And Worst Dog Breeds To Live With Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Great Danes are considered working dogs and, as such, are not in the worst dog to own with a cat category. Oddly, the articles lists the best dog to be a Pomeranian but my neighbors own one who was rehomed because it killed the family cat which should not have been a shock to them with a spitz breed. While I have not owned a Dane, I think that they do have a reputation as being gentle giants, but you need to know that for sure.

If I have to weigh in here, I am going to say that at the present time your situation has more negatives than positives. This could all change with training, finding out that the dogs are really couch potatoes, etc but for now you don't know. What is your impression of the dogs/birds your partner owns? Would Powder go after the birds or have the opportunity...which is one whole other issue.

When my husband and I met, we each had a house and neither of us wanted to move. We did not live together for years and it all worked out. He was one of 10 kids and liked not having the other 9 there finally, and I was an only child who never wanted anyone in my space, so it was not even vaguely an issue.

 

[bear]

About those other two .... pythons?
I am thinking that possibly the exotic birds are frequently out and about?

I have spoken to others whose long time family dogs, killed their long time friendly cat.
The cat moved wrong and the prey drive took over.
The dogs can howl and cry for 24 hours, yet it does not bring back the cat.

 

[fionasmom]

Something else I do have to say about dogs and cats who know each other is that there are cases of dogs who lived indoors with the family cat, but when both were allowed outside into a yard or garden, especially if the cat left and then returned, the dog did not recognize the cat in the new context and attacked it.

 

[PowderCat212]

Yeah—I meant to say he has two cats but they live outside... one of them occasionally will want to come in, but he’s not interactive.

And my cat is a very playful cat who loves to run circles around my apartment and occasionally play fetch/tag... and he’s definitely not allowed outside.

The Danes are sweet boys, but they can be a little too enthusiastic. And I just worry about, even if they’re playing, an accident happening.

The birds are an African Grey and a Cockatoo. They can probably protect themselves and they aren’t allowed out of their cages unsupervised.

 

[game misconduct]

with enough time and careful effort theres a decent chance i think not to sure about the indoor/outdoor cat infecting your cat with something it got from outside though. i had two large dogs a german sheppard and a big old yeller lab that were both great with our cats once they knew em as pack even as they both slaughtered anything that tresspassed in our backyard snatching em right off the back wall possums,coons ,cats anything. what i would worry about is any cat fighting between the cats it drove our dogs crazy and sent em rushing all crazy around in the house to see whats what. 2 great danes plus a big mix breed dog. thats a couple hundred pounds of big dogs crashing around the house to control should they decide to get involved with the fight. congrats on the engagement hope neither of you has to lose a beloved pet good luck

 

[PowderCat212]

Yeah I think we’ve decided we’d live separately before abandoning pets. That’s part of why we wound up together—big animal people.

It would just be a lot easier if he didn’t have a zoo!