Some say that cats and dogs do not get on or do not like each other.

If you are the owner of both a cat and dog (or more than one cat and/or more than one dog) how does the cat and dog get on (or how do your cats and dogs get on)?

If you no longer have a cat and dog together how did your cat and dog get on (or not get on) when they were with you?

Perhaps you have a cat but no dog. If so what is your cat's reaction if a relative or friend visits with his/her dog? If you have a dog but no cat what does your dog do when s/he sees a cat in the garden or in the street?

Maybe you became the owner of a a kitten and a puppy at the same time (or about the same time) and both of them grew up together and get on fine?

Please vote in the poll at the top of this page and/or comment in this thread? Thank you.

I have a dog and two cats.

The dog was planned, but the cats were accidental i.e. they arrived as abandoned kittens from a nearby flat.

My dog was about 7 years old when they moved in and has always been gentle with them - she actually mothered them a bit when they were very young. She'd groom them and snuggle up with them and would be anxious to find them if they weren't around. They are now 8 years old and she's 15 and they still cuddle up together.

The cats are still cautious with other dogs who visit and generally keep their distance. The dog clearly regards all cats as potential friends/playmates and looks interested and waggy if we see one when we're out and about. When we're at the vets she gets a smiley happy look on her face if a cat comes in

So my experience of dogs and cats is very positive!

What a lovely dog. Good of you to give a home to the two abandoned kittens.


It is marvellous to read that your dog likes cats and that they obviously like her to.

I have a cat and a dog. Not too dissimilar to maybe's experience, my dog Sammy was a planned rescue and she was about 12 years old when I got my cat Yoshi. Yoshi on the otherhand was not intended he was found as a stray kitten.
I knew Sammy was already great with cats as she had experience with my sister's two cat. These cats hated and feared dogs but she actually brought them around to where the cats accpeted her presence without any fuss. And Sammy proved to be brilliant because even when they went defemsive and attacked in fear she would pprefer to run and NEVER retaliated.

So I took the stray in for time in the hopes of finding an owner. I did eventually but's that another story) Yoshi was about 12 weeks old and his first reaction to Sammy was to hiss. But I made the introduction gentle on his behalf. (Like I said Sammy is immacullatly behaved with cats) and he quickly got used to her. Yoshi ended up wanting to do everything Sammy did.

They are not the most demonstraive of pairs but they get along just fine. Like an old couple comfortable with each other. Although I have to say Yoshi is a bit more cuddlier towards Sammy then she is to him. He likes to follow us on walks and encourages Sammy to chase him on occasion or pounces her in mock attack outside. Sammy is like so chill about it.

Sammy is 17 now and Yoshi 5 and sadly Sammy has a few health problems now but they are still good together. I'm worried more how Yoshi will react when Sammy goes. Unlike Sammy who gets on with all cats and most dogs, Yoshi is a bit anti-social. He runs from dogs and has no interest in interacting nicely with other cats. (There was one exception and the kitten did all the work to make friends. But the owner moved.)

It is good of you to give a home to former stray kitten Yoshi.


How fortunate that your dog had some experience of cats before Yoshi arrived.


What a shame. It is always nice if cats have cat friends living nearby.

I have a Border collie and 3 cats. When Barney, the dog moved in we already had one cat and they became playmates pretty quickly. Our second cat is a stray who moved in and he adored Barney from the start and sleeps curled up with him and tends to follow him around a lot. Our third cat took a bit longer to get used to him but they play together a lot now and seem quite comfortable with one another.

I looked after a friend's dog for the weekend last year and when it snapped at Barney our oldest cat came flying out of the kitchen and attacked it

Yea my cat did once, she did really try to kill me that time

So your first cat did not mind a second cat moving in?

Did the stray cat just come in to your home demanding food or was it hanging around outside waiting to be invited in?

when i got a new puppy she was adopted by my cat who still cleans her and wont let us go for a walk unless he comes with us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdAod20rZf0

No we found him in our wheelie bin! We've no idea if he was dumped, or managed to get in there somehow looking for food, but he was in quite a state, very underweight and matted plus he had a nasty jaw injury. We took him in, got him treated and advertised everywhere in case he had an owner but no-one ever claimed him. We actually only planned to foster him for a couple weeks till either an owner, or new home was found but of course we got too attached.

Our first cat wasn't best pleased at first and we had some fights between them, but they've gradually got used to each other. Strangely enough though they were both instantly friendly with the third cat when we got him.

My cat loves upstairs my dog lives downstairs

No they don't get on :P

Our dog was seven when stray cat walked in and took up residence. Dog being very docile (and a bit stupid tbh) accepted her with no trouble.

She well and truly ruled the roost until sadly pts two years ago.

A remarkable video recording on the link in your last posting to this thread Dave.

Perhaps the third cat became a sort of unifying force .



I hope that all kittens, cats and/or any other animals which get into wheelie bins manage to get out of them before those bins are emptied. Thank goodness you spotted the poor kitten in the wheelie bin. Full marks for giving him a home.

The same problem exists with some compost heaps in gardens - hedgehogs have been known to live in them. Which is not good because they risk their lives when those compost heaps are set on fire if no check is made for animals inside the compost heap before the fire is lit. For a long time a relative provided meals for a family of stray cats and kittens who had decided to live in their compost container in the garden. The felines have since moved on but they were well-fed during their stay . They did not seem to wish to become domesticated.

Sorry to read that your cat is no longer around. She was clearly a great cat and it was good of your dog to accept her.

I regularly come home to find my dog sleeping on my bed surrounded by cats. The cats don't particularly like each other but the follow the dog around like the pied piper.

It's a similar story here.
We have two dogs and 6 cats. Our Millie(Spanish galgo(a)) and our only male cat are the best of friends.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...type=3&theater

Define 'get on'...

My dog (Bonnie) tolerates the cat (Bella), she lets her live here and roam free, as long as she doesn't touch her or come near her at any time. On the other hand Bella adores Bonnie, she's always brushing up against her lovingly, but Bonnie always moves away quickly as though she's infected with something.

I have a four year old Tibetan Terrier, and a few months ago my sister moved back in with us and brought her 6 month old kitten. They hit it off straight away and are the best of friends! Here's a video of the pair of them together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2tKldp0UeI

We have 3 cats and a rescue greyhound. The cats have been in the house for years and we got the dog in October 2010. One cat hates her guts, hisses when she passes and tries to swipe if she gets too close. One is indifferent and the other will curl up next to her on our bed. The dog does have the odd playful moment and then all 3 cats hate her.... but generally, it's good considering the mogs have never lived with a dog before.

Thats an awesome video

We inheritied a cat when we moved into our house.

A couple of years later we got a dog and there were no real problems.

Thing is, when you do it that way around, you have a cat that's probably wary of dogs in general but will, eventually, learn that this particular dog is okay.
Conversely, you end up with a puppy who grows up thinking that all cats are friendly.
This is okay too cos all it means is that you end up with a dog who isn't bothered about chasing cats.

I think it's more likely to cause problems the other way around.
It worries me that if you brought a kitten into a house where there's already a dog you might, potentially, cause the cat to grow up thinking that ALL dogs are okay and then being attacked by another dog.

It hasn't happened with my two cats, both of whom were introduced to a dog as kittens. They treat other dogs with caution (inside and outside).

If anything, it's made them safer with dogs, as they don't panic and run and trigger a dog's prey drive. What they do is quickly but calmly get out of the way - usually they'll jump up onto something high - and then sit and watch. A dog is much more likely to chase and hurt a small animal which runs, and a lot of dogs are nervous of approaching a cat 'head-on' because they know they can defend themselves with their claws.

My cat avoids all other dogs even though he was introduced to my dog as a very young kitten.