# I have a cat...



## ~Saphira~ (Apr 25, 2012)

I'm really wanting to get a GSD puppy next month, but I am worried about one thing.. I have a cat.

An adult cat, who is rather territorial and very crotchety in her old age. (She's about 13 years old now, although she still plays in the yard and climbs up the fence no problem) 

Anyways... every time I look up anything that has to do with dogs and cats living together, they always say stay away from GSDs, because they have a high prey drive. However, I have seen a few people on here who have cats, and don't seem to have problems with it, and I'm wondering how that is.

I'm not really worried about the GSD eating* my cat, since I can most likely train it to leave her alone if I'm consistent. What I'm worried about is that my cat will overreact if the puppy follows or sniffs her, and scratch the puppy. Then the vet bills, and then the chance that the puppy will be angry at the cat and hold a grudge...

(* eating as a figure of speech. Not necassarily literally eating, just harming.)

Anyways, I am rather clueless on the subject. I went to a cat forum to see what they had to say on the subject (I just read posts, I didn't ask questions on my own) Most of their advice seemed to revolve around the point of 'making sure the dog knows the cat is _yours_"

So... what would you do in my place? Would holding the cat on your lap/having someone else hold the cat on their lap when you first introduce the puppy to your household be a good way to show the puppy that the cat is 'yours' 

or would you go a different route entirely? Just curious to see what people think, please no confrontations.


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

Just redirect the dog when it's focused on the cat. You make it more exciting and fun to play with you rather then mess with kitty. If the cat swiped the pup I'd just consider it a lesson learned and clean the affected area; odds are the pup won't mess with her again after that. Doesn't necessarily mean a vet trip either unless the cat got the eye. Just keep an eye for infection. I don't understand this "make sure the dog knows it's yours" nonsense.


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

My gsd got herself scratched by a cat when she was 8 weeks old - she learned to somewhat respect boundaries from the experience. We live with two cats now and she still gets smacked from time to time, but for the most part the cats avoid her. She DOES corner them/bark at them trying to get them to play, and that can be pretty irritating.


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## ~Saphira~ (Apr 25, 2012)

Okay... thanks!

Yeah... I was confused about that too. When I looked on the cat forums.. no offense, I like cats... but they all seemed rather airheaded XD


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## chloesmama2 (Feb 18, 2012)

My mom has a fairly mean cat and when we brought our puppy here she was only 4 weeks old, the cat scratched her once and now she knows to stay away from the cat. They learn quickly and are very smart to know what to play with and what not to. The same thing goes for people who live where there are lots of skunks,after being sprayed once they know they don't want to mess with them again.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

If you have an older cat I would recommend adopting an adult gsd who is proven with cats. It will be a lot easier on your cat and you won't have to deal with any of the new puppy stuff either. 

I made a big mistake when my cat and dog were both older and I adopted a 5 month old puppy. He was way too much for my two and I actually had to keep them separated a lot of the time. Rafi, however, was a young adult who was living in a foster home with 4 cats and I got to observe him with the cats before deciding to adopt him. He was really calm around them and he was excellent with my cat when I brought him home (and also respectful to my older dog).


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I have 5 cats, the oldest one is 7, but 4 out 5 of the cats LOVE the dogs..it is a very weird situation. The puppy was 3 months when I brought her in, she is now 7.5 months old, she barks at them-they ignore her, then she starts really talking She paws them, they paw her..I have witnessed her chasing the cat one way and then the cat chasing her back the other way. I do have one cat that does not care for dogs, he does hiss and swat at her, the GSD doesn't understand why he don't want to play and she will talk to him then go lay down. She has never tried to hurt them and at the end of the night they sleep together Hopefully you can be as lucky, but it can work


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i've had GSD's and mixed breeds when i had cats and in
time everything worked out just find. don't let the pup
overwhelm the cat.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I have 4 cats, (5 until recently) all indoors, the oldest two were (lost one / are, 20 years old..so they've been thru a few dogs here. I then have two that are 7 years old and one that is 4 years old. 

All have been brought in as kittens, and have been around atleast 4 puppies at different times. They all end up 'loving' each other, no problems.

Just monitor and have an escape route for the cat if necessary, (I have a room that the cats can always escape to if they choose, with a baby gate leaving a few inches for the cats to go underneath but the dog cant")


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

If introduced as a puppy any dog should be able to learn that cats are not 'prey'. The cat may not be interested in being friends with the pup at first as a puppy's energy can be a bit overwhelming for an adult cat, but as long as the cat (or cats) have a safe place to escape to where the pup can't get to, they will generally work out the relationship on their own. 

Our 6 month old's best friend is an outdoor cat who lives on our back porch ... He's a neighbor's cat who has basically adopted us, so we give him food and he has a crate on our porch where he sleeps most of the time. 









Our 2 indoor cats are not quite as friendly with the puppy, but they tolerate her and have plenty of spots where they can get out of the puppy's reach when need be. She chases, barks at, and annoys our indoor cats, but they can and do take care of themselves.


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## Sir Bear (Mar 9, 2012)

Just a word from the other side...I was a bit nervous about a gsd for the same reason...Bear doesn't want to eat audrey he just wants to sniff her, but a big bumbling puppy doesn't make my cat (Audrey) very happy.

A word of warning, my cat now pretty much hides all day and seems "sad". I let the dog get close to her about once per day to sniff her and check her out and he gets better about not reacting to her everyday. I think they will be fine eventually but it's pretty heartbreaking watching your cat (who you agreed to care for before you got the pup) seem miserable. 

Just make sure you watch the pup like a hawk and work for the best outcome! Good luck! GSDs are the best!


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## Falkosmom (Jul 27, 2011)

Sir Bear said:


> Just a word from the other side...I was a bit nervous about a gsd for the same reason...Bear doesn't want to eat audrey he just wants to sniff her, but a big bumbling puppy doesn't make my cat (Audrey) very happy.
> 
> A word of warning, my cat now pretty much hides all day and seems "sad". I let the dog get close to her about once per day to sniff her and check her out and he gets better about not reacting to her everyday. I think they will be fine eventually but it's pretty heartbreaking watching your cat (who you agreed to care for before you got the pup) seem miserable.
> 
> Just make sure you watch the pup like a hawk and work for the best outcome! Good luck! GSDs are the best!


Make sure you take the time to give Audrey her own special time, she misses you and wants some of your undivided, safe attention.


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## Sir Bear (Mar 9, 2012)

Falkosmom said:


> Make sure you take the time to give Audrey her own special time, she misses you and wants some of your undivided, safe attention.


We have the stairs babygated so audrey has full run of the upstairs and I do try to give her attention...the pup being so young just requires a lot of me right now and poor kitty gets the short end of the stick. I can't wait until my husband gets home from deployment so we can both give her more attention!


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## TriadGSD (Feb 19, 2011)

i have a cat i had him for 6- 7 yrs he is Declawed so Triad still bugs him but the cat just stays on this TV box i save by the window Triad is tall enough to put his chin on the box but dont really bother the cat unless i tell him to give the cat a kiss but everytime Triad gets close to the cat the cat starts to hiss and sometimes gets a few licks in as well. but the cat tolerates him.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I have a cat who just turned 13 on April 29 

We have had Hans since March 10 and Hans is leashed or in an expen at all times. He is not allowed to fixate on the cat, and he is really good at doing "Watch me" if I notice that he is looking at the cat too intently. 

The cat only runs away if Hans barks, because his bark is LOUD  Mostly cat stays away, and Hans would love to meet him, but we do not trust him yet. In the beginning, per the cat vet's advice, I fed them on either side of a closed door, so they can smell one another, and later on either side of the sliding glass door (Hans likes to eat his raw outside.) 

I let the cat come when he was good and ready. He hid for a few days, but the vet said not to force things. Finally he did show up, and I gave them both treats. I also told Hans "LEAVE it."

Whenever kitty shows up, he gets treats near the dog. He has begun to nap in the room while Hans is in his expen, which is a huge amount of progress. 

They are slowly getting used to one another.


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## gmcwife1 (Apr 5, 2012)

We have a 3 yr old cat we rescued this past July. We have a 13 week old puppy that would love to play rough and tumble with our cat. Our cat is declawed so I was worried about him defending himself. 

But, Max the cat is not afraid of Nita the puppy. We keep a babygate up so Max has half the house he can stay in while the puppy settles down. When the pup gets out of hand Max ducks under the gate and sits on the other side of it watching the pup.

Nita does try to chase the cat every once in a while, but that is as much the cat running as the pup wanting to play. We just redirect the pup and the cat just watches. 

The puppy sleeps in her crate and the cat sleeps with me so the cat still gets his attention


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

I'm not a cat fan, even though I have one.  Tiger kitty is 16 years old now! Pre-dates all the dogs by quite a few years.

Each dog was taught that they do not mess with kitty. Kitty does not like dogs. Kitty wants to be left alone. I insist all dogs leave kitty alone.  If they bother kitty, they get in trouble. Sounds simple, and it really is. Of course, I do manage things. I don't leave the dogs alone with kitty. If kitty wants on my lap, then kitty gets on my lap. If kitty wants to sleep on the couch, then kitty sleeps on the couch and he isn't allowed to be bothered. 

I protect kitty and the dogs know it.


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## ~Saphira~ (Apr 25, 2012)

> I'm not a cat fan, even though I have one.  Tiger kitty is 16 years old now! Pre-dates all the dogs by quite a few years.
> 
> Each dog was taught that they do not mess with kitty. Kitty does not like dogs. Kitty wants to be left alone. I insist all dogs leave kitty alone.  If they bother kitty, they get in trouble. Sounds simple, and it really is. Of course, I do manage things. I don't leave the dogs alone with kitty. If kitty wants on my lap, then kitty gets on my lap. If kitty wants to sleep on the couch, then kitty sleeps on the couch and he isn't allowed to be bothered.
> 
> I protect kitty and the dogs know it.


XD I like that. 



Thankyou for your advice everyone, this is very helpful!


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