It's Lassie . . . No, it's Tosca!

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by Boemy

Yeah, that's one of my main criteria . . . Good with cats, low or no prey drive!

I've got a high prey drive dog and he's excellent with the cat. Though Dodo does know (hehe that rhymes!) Cat-Fu and she's not afraid to show off.

[Boemy]

Yeah, I know a lot of people who have typically high prey breeds who do great with cats. But for my peace of mind, I want a low-prey-drive breed.

[ToscasMom]

Well you do need to remember that a Collie's instinct is to herd though. Took awhile and some serious threats from the cats to make Tosca understand that they weren't up for being placed in a pile in a spot of her choice. After that, smooth sailing.

[Boemy]

TM, were any of your cats shy? Booster is too curious to be worried by anything except closed doors and cupboards and Shadow is extremely calm, but my tabby boy can be very cautious. (On the other hand, he was the friendliest towards my dog before she died and he has the scariest claws.)

[ToscasMom]

Yes, I had five in the house when tosca arrived. My cat Roni was a bit shy about her at first, but he hadn't been around dogs ever. To him it was like an alien thing. He just lurked and stayed Up High and watched for awhile. The good thing was my cat Mojo and Vinny (RIP) hopped right in and "trained" her for everybody else, like a tag team. At least that's how I saw it. I didn't just throw her in with them though. First few days she was separate but they could see her thru glass. When I saw that Mojo was curious, I let him be with her for increasing times. I made it so the cats didn't HAVE to be with her. After that, it got easier.