# leaving dog and cats alone together



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

A dog you would never leave alone with another dog ever but has lived with cats for years with no issue would you leave alone with your cat or cats? Mine have got along for years any aggression is always from the cat, I would never leave my dog alone with another dog. My dog hates being crated when alone now shes close to 4. Its a HUGe area the cat can easily get away if the dog gets on her nerves. But when I come back they are both usually on the ground anyway. I would never do it with another dog or a bird or something. I just never seen any kind of aggression from the dog? Only licks.


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## NTexFoster (Jul 18, 2013)

We have 3 dogs and 3 cats in the house. Only issue is keeping the kitty boxes blocked away so the dogs don't visit the buffet of treats the cats leave behind.

Kaiser is learning that if he approaches the cats slowly they'll tolerate him right up until he gives them a nice slobber lick or he gets to aggressive with the sniffing.

We don't have any issue leaving them all together. But the cats have their towers and the upstairs is blocked away from the dogs when we aren't here. So the cats can hang out upstairs without the dogs, but they are all generally down stairs together.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

I put a cat box in a special electrical room and a chair in front of it, yes I HATE THAT she will stuff her face in it lol disgusting

I can't leave my dog alone with my other family members dogs like jack russels Or staffy because once in a blue moon something sparks but nothing no aggression no reaction not even a bark has she ever done towards the cat


the cat has smacked and hissed and clawed her up before just like a typical calico but she never really cared even, the reason why the cat did it is because my dog was licking her too much or licking too rough or too hyper to see her.


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## Sunstreaked (Oct 26, 2010)

We leave our 3 yo dog with our 12 yo cat all the time. We have a 2 story house and block the stairs with a piece of plywood to prevent the dog from getting into the litter box and allowing the cat to "escape" anytime the doggie licks become too much! Eva was brought in at 6 weeks though, so she grew up with a cat in the house.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i only have 1 dog now . in the past i've left my
dog, cats, bird (Cockatoo, sat on top of his cage
and would fly to the banister and walk it to the 3rd floor), 
gunea pigs, snake (in cage), etc. alone. i had chickens
and rabbits and my dog never bothered them when he 
was in the yard with them. i would only leave my animals
together.


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

In general, most people i know do this. However, things do happen accidental or not, and I dont know if it would be worth the consequences. 
When we are gone. My dog is crated (For other reasons), the widdle beagle gets the downstairs to herself, with or without cats and there is a gait blocking the upstairs so the beagle cant go upstairs, and the cats have upstairs, downstairs and outside options. 
My friend lets her 2 GSD's and her 2 cats loose together. However when she came home one day, her cat was bleeding on the ground. She thinks they attacked it. However, she brought it to the vets and it had a seizure. So the vet said that it probably had the seizure and because the cat was acting funny, that is when the dogs attacked it. Which would make sense, being the dogs never attacked a cat before. Wouldn't expect that situation to happen, but it did. And i honestly don't "blame" the dogs for going after a cat acting really weird (having a seizure). The cat did live though! And she still keeps them loose together, with one dog crated.

So it defiantly is a debate! A lot of people i know keep them loose together, and they are fine. So it is totally up to!


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## PixelGalileo (Sep 19, 2013)

In my experience with both GSD's and Huskies
Both with high prey drives.
if the dog is brought into the home as a puppy and reared with cats
Then usually they get on fine
However if you bring a rescue into the home with cats
Then invariably the cats become fast furry food.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

another strange thing is if the dog or i am gone the cat flips out from being alone and will wait by the door clawing but if the dog is there or me shes calm and normal lol

mine has really high prey drive towards other cats and animals just not this cat I think because she grew up with her. I know she cant stand another dog or larger animal touching the cat either.


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## PixelGalileo (Sep 19, 2013)

pets4life said:


> another strange thing is if the dog or i am gone the cat flips out from being alone and will wait by the door clawing but if the dog is there or me shes calm and normal lol
> 
> mine has really high prey drive towards other cats and animals just not this cat I think because she grew up with her. I know she cant stand another dog or animal touching the cat either.


Oh yeah even if a dog has grown up with cats and is good with them 
the neighborhood Cats are still fair game and will become nommage


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

you hear a lot of horror stories of people comming home to dead or ripped up dogs when left alone, I hear the rare one about a cat but not often at all. Once the dog and cat bonded at least. I tell my dog to knock it off if shes pestering the cat too much. But when I am gone they just kinda lay around. All the foolish stuff starts when I am there and both are excited to see me. Ive seen my dog give the cat those tiny nips before also seen her try to put her foot on her back. But when the cat gets pissed my dog will bolt. I think she wants the cat to chase her.


Do any of your high drive dogs doo goofy things like this?


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## Sookie (Aug 28, 2013)

pets4life said:


> you hear a lot of horror stories of people comming home to dead or ripped up dogs when left alone, I hear the rare one about a cat but not often at all. Once the dog and cat bonded at least. I tell my dog to knock it off if shes pestering the cat too much. But when I am gone they just kinda lay around. All the foolish stuff starts when I am there and both are excited to see me. Ive seen my dog give the cat those tiny nips before also seen her try to put her foot on her back. But when the cat gets pissed my dog will bolt. I think she wants the cat to chase her.
> 
> 
> Do any of your high drive dogs doo goofy things like this?


My dog Hayden, a whippet mix, had a high prey drive for rats, squirrels, rabbits, but I never let her chase them. She was about a year and a half when I adopted her as a rescue, and I slowly introduced her to my cats. It only took about 2-3 weeks before I was comfortable leaving her off leash around my cats. When the cats growled or hissed at her she would sit immediately - really funny! She would only get hyper when Sunny would get in crazy-cat mode and race around the house - then she would try to join in and grab a cat toy and toss it in the air for Sunny. They were super adorable together. But she never nipped at her. When I was young, we had a another rescue, a Rottweiler mix, who was absolutely crazed and he would put his mouth over our cat's head or neck. Never hurt him, and he and Muffin would cuddle up together, but it was unsettling to see. I think it was his way of being affectionate, as though Muffin were a small dog he liked. 
Hayden, btw, loves all cats now - she has a favorite red cat in my folks' neighbourhood she always greets on walks by bowing to, and George comes out and rubs against her - cute! But I'm very careful with dogs and cats and would only let them alone together once I am sure the dog has no interest in chasing the cat or barking at it. I'm currently going through a slow introduction process with my new rescue, Sookie, and my four cats - she is making good progress now! How long did it take yours to get along?


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

Sookie said:


> My dog Hayden, a whippet mix, had a high prey drive for rats, squirrels, rabbits, but I never let her chase them. She was about a year and a half when I adopted her as a rescue, and I slowly introduced her to my cats. It only took about 2-3 weeks before I was comfortable leaving her off leash around my cats. When the cats growled or hissed at her she would sit immediately - really funny! She would only get hyper when Sunny would get in crazy-cat mode and race around the house - then she would try to join in and grab a cat toy and toss it in the air for Sunny. They were super adorable together. But she never nipped at her. When I was young, we had a another rescue, a Rottweiler mix, who was absolutely crazed and he would put his mouth over our cat's head or neck. Never hurt him, and he and Muffin would cuddle up together, but it was unsettling to see. I think it was his way of being affectionate, as though Muffin were a small dog he liked.
> Hayden, btw, loves all cats now - she has a favorite red cat in my folks' neighbourhood she always greets on walks by bowing to, and George comes out and rubs against her - cute! But I'm very careful with dogs and cats and would only let them alone together once I am sure the dog has no interest in chasing the cat or barking at it. I'm currently going through a slow introduction process with my new rescue, Sookie, and my four cats - she is making good progress now! How long did it take yours to get along?



lol I have seen these 2 hunt together but the thing is the dog will swallow mice the cat catches or just chomp prey up, The cat wants to eat it slow but the dog will eat it so fast and the cat gets so pissed because the mouse was there one second then just vanishes lol My dog does these wierd nips like they dont make contact with the cat? I tell her no when she does it though. But the cat will correct her also. She does it if we leave and the cat is waiting for us at the door. and the dog is happy to see her. She nips me like that also in the past. You cant really feel it. 

My dog has caught a lot of things in the yard even raccoons, my cat has caught rabbits and squirrels before in the past. Once a grouse. But she eats the whole animal. I de worm them and de flea a lot cause of that.


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## Sookie (Aug 28, 2013)

pets4life said:


> lol I have seen these 2 hunt together but the thing is the dog will swallow mice the cat catches or just chomp prey up, The cat wants to eat it slow but the dog will eat it so fast and the cat gets so pissed because the mouse was there one second then just vanishes lol My dog does these wierd nips like they dont make contact with the cat? I tell her no when she does it though. But the cat will correct her also. She does it if we leave and the cat is waiting for us at the door. and the dog is happy to see her. She nips me like that also in the past. You cant really feel it.
> 
> My dog has caught a lot of things in the yard even raccoons, my cat has caught rabbits and squirrels before in the past. Once a grouse. But she eats the whole animal. I de worm them and de flea a lot cause of that.


Are the nips that don't make contact like air snaps? Because Sookie air snaps a lot - not at cats so much, but just when excited or happy - I don't think it is an aggressive thing, more excited for Sookie. Hayden caught a rat one time - it was disgusting, but she didn't eat it, and I think that was her only kill. Sookie doesn't seem to have much interest in chasing animals; she has seen lots of rabbits race around in the fields but is more interested in scent tracking - she is nuts for finding things! But a couple days ago she "found" a dead mouse in the driveway that our outdoor cat had obviously killed and left... I managed to see what she was interested in before it went in her mouth  There is a badger passing through our yard now every night and I hope she doesn't decide to start chasing with him... Do your animals get along outside together fine then?


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

Like lil air snaps she does it to me sometimes also when shes so happy to see me, you cant feel it she does not fully close her mouth I dont think 


Not like the kind of air snaps a dog will do to another dog, or the hard air snaps a dog will do at a person in protection training when they are trying to bite them its like those love nips not a CHOMP gator snap lol


I still tell her NO when she does it because I don't like to see teeth around the cat, her jaws are so big, she does it once in a blue moon when shes soo happy excited to see the cat after a long day out and the cat is waiting by the door


outside i never let my cat in the yard before i sold my house because my dog was wayyy to intense and territorial back there, When my dog starts barking the cat gets scared and bolts. But we have come back many times and the cat was waiting on the front step. I dont like them interacting outside much because im scared the dog might think shes another cat. She doesnt like strange cats around at all. But my cat hates other cats also.


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## katro (Feb 26, 2013)

I leave Ralphie alone while I'm at work with our two cats. He's not crated and the cats aren't confined either. Our older cat appears to be higher up in the pack than our younger cat so old kitty & Ralphie pretty much ignore each other. James, however, is a brat and will mess with Ralphie. They play, but if it gets too rough, James will run away (there are plenty of places in our house where either cat can go and can't be reached by the dog, if needed). Ralphie has never shown a high prey drive for either of the cats, but he does show it for rabbits, squirrels or cats that we see outside on our walks, so I'm pretty sure he knows that OUR cats are HIS cats/part of his pack kind of thing.

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## katro (Feb 26, 2013)

Just had to share this pic of the three of them. I'm tempted to setup surveillance cameras throughout the house to see what they all REALLY do when they're home alone... Lol

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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

pets4life said:


> A dog you would never leave alone with another dog ever but has lived with cats for years with no issue would you leave alone with your cat or cats?


No. I value my cats' lives too much to risk even a 1% chance of something happening.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

I would leave them alone together if I had witnessed their interactions prior and I was confident nothing would happen. We got Bunny, my Shepherd/Husky mix from the shelter and we crated her in the beginning but she was so good with the cat that we were not concerned once we started uncrating her. Jazz is still crated during the work day but that has nothing to do with the cat. He tends to create arts and crafts projects for himself when left loose


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## DobberDog (Jul 29, 2013)

I can leave Emmett out with the Peanut Butter (our cat) but wouldn't leave Angel out with PB. Both dogs have been raised with PB and PB rules the house. He will chase the dogs down if they piss him off. Angel however hasn't learned that PB isnt playing and I think would injure PB trying to play with him. So right now, just to be fair, both dogs are kenneled unless someone is home. 

Our old GSDs were fine with cats in the house though. The dogs didnt bother them and the cats didnt mess with the dogs.


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## Montu (Oct 9, 2012)

Currently have 1 cat and dog for 2 years now (used to have 2 cats 1 dog)...they are getting along better than ever with no problems...they are left alone together for as long as needed


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and all get a long great.

They are together (loose) all the time and we have not had any issues. Same when I lived at home, cats and dogs co-existed together. Never had any issues.

I do however, have a room blocked off for the cats with their litter, food and water. They have lots of high places to go to get away from the dogs if needed.

Most of the time when I come home the cats are sleeping on the back of the couch and the dogs on the couch.


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## capolini1226 (Sep 16, 2013)

I may not be able to add a relative post because at the time I have a Siberian! I grew up with GSD and had a GSD/Malamute as my last Dog, but never had any Cats!

I do know this, it depends not only on the breed but the Dog itself. Yours seem to get along well with the Cats.

For me, when I learned this about Siberians I was a little surprised and shocked, mostly because I was ignorant of the breed!

What I learned is that A Siberian can be raised with a Cat and get along for an extended period of time. Then, one day you come home and your poor Cat is dead!

GSD is obviously a different breed, but I am sure if they wanted to they could do the same!

I hope I did not scare you, I am sure you can get some more relative input from GSD owners on here.

Good luck

Ciao,,,,,Roberto

CAPO "COCHISE" MAZUR-b.12.26.2010-SIBERIAN HUSKY
COCHISE VON MAZUR-5.27.82-5.20.97-GSD/MALAMUTE:angel:
BARON VON MAZUR-6.5.65-7.20.77-GSD:angel:


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## capolini1226 (Sep 16, 2013)

Montu said:


> Currently have 1 cat and dog for 2 years now (used to have 2 cats 1 dog)...they are getting along better than ever with no problems...they are left alone together for as long as needed


 Great pic.!!! That is proof!

Ciao,,,Roberto

CAPO "COCHISE" MAZUR- b.12.26.2010-SIBERIAN HUSKY
COCHISE VON MAZUR-5.27.82-5.20.77-GSD/MALAMUTE:angel:
BARON VON MAZUR-6.5.65-7.20.77-GSD:angel:


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