...like cats and dogs...

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#1
OK, so the newest member of the household is a dog, which was met with much consternation and wringing of paws by our three cats, who have ruled the roost for about 3 years. So far there has been no bloodshed, but the introduction of said canine has cause much growling and nefarious secret cat meetings in the upstairs restroom :eek: .

Profiles:

Dog: Josie: 10 month old mixed "frisbee dog" kinda dog, breeding indeterminate, even tempered, medium sized. Mental health: seemingly stable (for now)

Cat 1: Lotta Pussy, age 5: This cat is agoraphobic, spends 23 1/2 hours a day under then bed anyway, but I suspect she may be pulling the strings as the behind the scenes dictator of a puppet regime in a small South American nation. Cats are sneaky like that.

Cat 2: Moxy Furvous, age 3 1/2: Maine Coon style of adopted stray, indoor cat, BIG, but not fat. Seems interested in the dog, but the dog is having NONE of that. Much growling and vertical fur. I suspect an alliance in the future with this one.

Cat 3: Audrey, age 2 or so. Audrey was adopted after being found on the side of a major urban highway. This cat is a stone cold ghetto gansta cat, yo. Now she lives in the country and is the only cat that goes outside. She's fixed but still has claws. This cat is like Sharon Stone in Fatal Attraction: Gourgeous + Psycho. This cat is a speciesist, she straight up hates dogs. I suspect this cat and dog relationship will be the next Israel/Palestine. :eek:

So the point of all this is to see if any of you folks have any "interspecies integration" tips. Forced busing has arrived at Chez ButtGumbo, and I gotta enforce the law.

Can't we all just get along?

Thanks,

Kev
 
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#3
Gotta watch those secret cat meetings.
hmmm.. try putting the cats out and the dog in. That should work :)
 

RD

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#4
I'd say to keep Josie on leash for awhile, let the cats get used to her, let her get used to the cats. I have some dog hating cats as well, and the best thing that I've done with them to get them used to new additions is to just KEEP THE DOG ON THE LEASH. If the cats try to swat at the dog (or even attack like my cats do) at least you will be able to control the dog, and eventually most cats will get tired of swatting the dog and will leave it alone, at which point you can unleash the dog (supervised of course, and provided that she's not still infatuated with the cats)
 
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#5
It takes awhile for interspecies solidarity to occur, but it generally does and the less interference it gets from us the better it generally goes. You've got to do a little supervising and separating when things get too heated, but they generally work things out pretty well.

This is a pretty extreme example, but at one time I had a pair of banty chickens, two white ducks, Gulliver, the giant yellow tomcat, Purdue, the German Shepherd, Morgan the Mutt, and Mickey, the Terrier. You could look out in the backyard at almost anytime and see them all together. If they heard a strange car, they'd all line up (except, of course, Gulliver - cat's DON'T line up) and bark, cluck, crow and quack at the interloper.

Now, DON'T LAUGH! Sit them down and have a little peace conference. Everyone's got to get along. Just pray that they don't stage a coup once they figure it out . . .
 

Debi

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#6
BG.......I'M CRACKING UP HERE....LOVE YOUR DESCRIPTIONS!!


My cat hates everything and everyone. She has been in a very bad mood for 15 years. You'd think..........just ONCE....you'd see her kind of feeling mellow. NOPE!! :rolleyes:
 

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