# Our GSDs and cats



## El_rex (Jan 14, 2016)

Lets share some of our feline/canine companions pics!

Rex was only 8 weeks when first introduced to the cat, 1.5 y.o back then. Now, two and a half years later they get on pretty well.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Awww! Great pics! They are such good friends!


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

General and Magheera. She pretends to HATE the dogs, but I walked in on them like this the other day. She puts on a good show for us, but I know she actually likes them!


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## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

El_rex said:


> Lets share some of our feline/canine companions pics!
> 
> Rex was only 8 weeks when first introduced to the cat, 1.5 y.o back then. Now, two and a half years later they get on pretty well.


That is a stunning cat! Handsome dog, too.


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## islanddog (Jun 27, 2016)

Awesome. And your cat is a good teacher. They both look absolutely gorgeous too.


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## Mei (Mar 30, 2018)

I'm jealous lol. Still working on both my cats accepting a dog in the house. One so far has done well, but he won't lay next to the dog. All they've done is touch noses lol.


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

Mei said:


> I'm jealous lol. Still working on both my cats accepting a dog in the house. One so far has done well, but he won't lay next to the dog. All they've done is touch noses lol.


HAHA! That's the way my cat acts 99% of the time. But the other day, General was laying on the bed watching me put laundry away. Once I was done, I got down next to the bed and started petting him. Well, the cat just walked right up there and laid down next to him. I knew my wife wouldn't believe me without proof, so then the challenge was to get my phone without them moving!

Magheera and Arrow have a game where Arrow walks up and tosses the cat around with her nose (Don't worry, she was declawed when we got her from the pound). Then the cat turns around and rapid fire bops her nose. Then Arrow groans at her, walks around the table (to sneak up on her) and the process starts over. It usually lasts about 5 times back and forth for Arrow. But then, 10 minutes later...the cat will walk over to Arrow and start grooming her face...until Arrow wakes up and the nose toss/bop game starts again.


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## Hellish (Jul 29, 2017)

We have come a long way from tense stare downs and cat smacks. Now they lay together and the cat chews his paws. This cat will wrestle with him and give him a beat down if needed.

Of our other two cats, one wants desperately to love on him but that is the one he has chosen as his obsession to herd and chase and she makes THE best noises when she is poked with a snout. And the smallest cat just tolerates him. But they all bring him prey and drop it for him (mice, bats, birds, baby rabbits, lizards, snake...) and then they hunt it with him throughout my house. Usually about 4am. Dog door is a blessing and a curse.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

Mei said:


> I'm jealous lol. Still working on both my cats accepting a dog in the house. One so far has done well, but he won't lay next to the dog. All they've done is touch noses lol.


I'm guessing the reason your cats are reserved is they don't want to feel they have to wash a german shepherd sized dog. That's an awful lot of licking. >


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

There's no doubt who rules the roost in MY house!  The cat's name is Black Jack, and he's very small for a male cat, weighing in at about 10 lbs. Eska had just come back from OVC after being treated for pyometra, thus the shaved patch on her leg. She had also lost a lot of weight during her illness. I think the funniest part of it is he's just doing it to piss the dogs off. Once they have gone past him, he just saunters away! >


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## Mei (Mar 30, 2018)

The brown/tan one seemed as if he pretended couldn't be seen lol.


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## chevyfreese (Apr 26, 2018)

I have had Maggie for about 5 weeks. I have 5 cats in the house...and i am in the process of getting the house ready to sell....this has been fun.....
anyway 1 cat goes outside part time. she is the only one who tolerates Mags atm... Any suggestions on how to get the other 4 out from under the bed???


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## El_rex (Jan 14, 2016)

Thnks for complimenting my cat, he's a character 
I guess the fact they got on very well straight away can at least partly be explained by cat's breed. He's a bengal, and these guys are extremely sociable and intellgent. They are almost GSD's in feline's world. In fact if people who already have a dog, GSD or not and thinking about adding a cat to the pack should consider bengals, they are easy work.
I grew up with both dogs/cats in the household, but cats never went further from just tolerating a dog which was good enough for me.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

In my experience, it has more to do with the cat than the dog. If the cat stands its ground and refuses to run, they will eventually work it out.

If the cat runs, it triggers the dog's instinct to chase, which makes it much harder. With my first cat, I did supervise very carefully, as the dog tried to kill the cat when they first met. Before too long, with me correcting the dog every time he wanted to chase the cat, they became the best of friends and would even play together.

One of the cat's favourite toys was the twist ties you use to close bags. I have never laughed so hard in my life as when I saw my big male GSD holding one of those ties in his mouth, and shoving it in the cat's face, trying to get him to play tug! It was hysterical!!:rofl:

Oh, and yes, my black and tan female is pretending to ignore the cat. It's all part of what's known as calming signals, which is what I originally posted this video as an example of. The sniffing the floor, the bowing and stretching, the going to get a drink of water...all part of a dog's way of telling the cat 'we mean no harm and we don't want to fight.' Unfortunately, few cats know how to speak 'dog'! :grin2::grin2:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-behavior/703658-body-language.html


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## MiikalLK (Jan 29, 2018)

This is Alvin with our dog Grimm. We adopted Alvin in the fall and the two of them became quick friends. We have another cat that spends most of the spring summer and fall outdoors and she gets along well with the dogs. Our old lady dog doesn't care about the cats, but our new puppy has made Alvin nervous so he hides alot right now.


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## Mei (Mar 30, 2018)

Sunsilver said:


> In my experience, it has more to do with the cat than the dog. If the cat stands its ground and refuses to run, they will eventually work it out.
> 
> If the cat runs, it triggers the dog's instinct to chase, which makes it much harder. With my first cat, I did supervise very carefully, as the dog tried to kill the cat when they first met. Before too long, with me correcting the dog every time he wanted to chase the cat, they became the best of friends and would even play together.
> 
> ...


Ya, one of the cats is the problem still. Mei will get down, do the whole I'm not a threat and just wanna play thing. Mei doesn't like that the cats are allowed on things and shes not. She'll start whimpering sometimes and then sigh lol.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Sunsilver said:


> In my experience, it has more to do with the cat than the dog. If the cat stands its ground and refuses to run, they will eventually work it out.
> 
> If the cat runs, it triggers the dog's instinct to chase, which makes it much harder. With my first cat, I did supervise very carefully, as the dog tried to kill the cat when they first met. Before too long, with me correcting the dog every time he wanted to chase the cat, they became the best of friends and would even play together.
> 
> ...


That is freaking hilarious!


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> That is freaking hilarious!



And of course, since cats don't play tug, the cat had NO IDEA what he wanted, and would just back off! If the dog persisted, he'd get scared and run away!


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## chevyfreese (Apr 26, 2018)

Right now i have a baby gate that splits the house cats have one side, maggie the other. I just hope they all become friends before i get a farm in a few months!!!


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

chevyfreese said:


> Right now i have a baby gate that splits the house cats have one side, maggie the other. I just hope they all become friends before i get a farm in a few months!!!




I have the baby gate method going here at my house too. Dogs on one side, with access to entryway, living room, dining room, kitchen and dog door to the dog yard. Cats on the other side of the gate, with access to mud room, tv room, my bedroom and bathroom. I have 2 guest bedrooms and a bathroom that is behind a French door and off limits to all animals. 

Works for me! It took awhile for the cats to figure out that jumping over the gate lands you in a pile of GSDs. They never go over it now. The dogs generally don’t mess with the gate, even if a cat taunts them from the other side. When I leave the house, I do shut the regular door just in case. 

Only Scarlet is good with the cats, so she gets to come in the tv room (where the gate is installed) and hang out. Some people would probably think it’s a pain to separate the dogs and cats, but it works for all of us.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)




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