Do cats have a predisposition toward hating dogs?

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-Lost - 16 Sep 2007 03:14 GMT

I wondered if cats have a predisposition toward hating or maybe not
getting along with dogs?

Otherwise, I think the stray kitten we found may have had some hard
times with the jerk stray mutts in this neighborhood.

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ensoul - 16 Sep 2007 04:06 GMT

> I wondered if cats have a predisposition toward hating or maybe not
> getting along with dogs?

no, I don't think so...I've had friends with both animals that co-
exist just fine, sometimes there little spats...but I have 2 cats and
they do it..any multiple pets in household will have that at
times...maybe not fish, I'm loopy been sick

plus there's the experience that a cat has or hasn't w/dogs
if they've been chased or harassed, of coarse and if they've had no
experience

then again when was kid I grew with a very gentle dog, Murphy..I would
sleep using her as a pillow, but she would kill a cat anytime she
could, then again Murphy was Springer Spaniel supposed to be my dad's
hunting dog, she was gun shy got slighly clipped by a bullet..hell I'm
gone shy & never had that happen

So the bred can make difference and the experience's of the cat and
then there's the owner's and how they treat their pet's

there's no black & white answer, shaded of gray just like life

: )

if you know someone with a dog that likes cats and there many that
do..perhaps you could slowly introduce them
maybe not then they would think all dogs are good...oh my making no
sense at all..time for bed

couldn't help you any, sorry

lynn

And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything,
you risk even more.
~Erica Jong

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-Lost - 16 Sep 2007 04:34 GMT

Response from ensoul <Lensoul99@aol.com>:

> On Sep 15, 10:14?pm, "-Lost" <maventheextrawo...@techie.com>
> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> and they do it..any multiple pets in household will have that at
> times...maybe not fish, I'm loopy been sick

Bettas are the first thing that come to mind. I have two, Ronin and
Cracker and I THOUGHT I had given them enough room between their two
aquariums, but then I noticed they stared at each other constantly
flaring their gills. Luckily I got hip to it quick enough to move
them farther apart before my poor fishies gave each other heart
attacks.

> plus there's the experience that a cat has or hasn't w/dogs
> if they've been chased or harassed, of coarse and if they've had
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> to be my dad's hunting dog, she was gun shy got slighly clipped by
> a bullet..hell I'm gone shy & never had that happen

I had a dog similar to that, a Doberman that my mother found when I
was a young child. Her name was Maxine and she killed at least 3 to
5 moles per month. I used to beat her with a soft foam bat that I
had and my mother says she honestly believed Maxine loved it.

> So the bred can make difference and the experience's of the cat
> and then there's the owner's and how they treat their pet's
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> couldn't help you any, sorry

Oh no, you helped just fine. I just wanted a little insight into
what this kitten may or may not be going through.

Thank you for your time, Lynn.

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cybercat - 16 Sep 2007 04:10 GMT

>I wondered if cats have a predisposition toward hating or maybe not
> getting along with dogs?

Yes, they are natural enemies. Or so they say. Seriously, I think
cats raised with friendly dogs from youth do great with them, but
cats that are not fear them, instinctively. Dogs are programmed to
chase cats, or at least it seems like an instinct to me. What exactly
is going on?

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-Lost - 16 Sep 2007 04:45 GMT

Response from "cybercat" <cyberpurrs@yahoo.com>:

>>I wondered if cats have a predisposition toward hating or maybe
>>not
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> chase cats, or at least it seems like an instinct to me. What
> exactly is going on?

See I always heard the same thing. Enemies from birth or whatnot,
but at the same time I know of SEVERAL cases of puppy and kitty love.

Well, we sort of fell into this stray kitten today and believe it or
not NO ONE would help us shelter the animal. The pound euthanizes
their animals after 4 or 5 days if they are not adopted and we
really wanted a "no kill" policy if possible. The only animal
refuge we have was full and well, that was the end of our options.

So we decided to keep her.

Anyway, we have 2 dogs so here is what I did to make things easier
on everyone. I went to the pet store and bought some pig ears to
keep the dogs busy while the kitty surveys the land.

This worked quite well, whereas before this every time they walked
past her she hissed loudly, arched her back, you know... the usual
"I do not like this situation" posturing. With the dogs not even
bothering to look up though, she merrily pranced right beside one of
them.

My spouse and I left for the evening to have dinner and when we came
back we started the acclimation process again and this time no
matter what, the kitty would NOT have it.

On the bright side, she is ALREADY litter box trained! I know, it
amazed us too. I bought her a litter box, filled it with litter,
and plunked her down in it and she pawed it for a good minute or so
and then had herself a grand ole' time. She is the SWEETEST thing
in the world and does nothing weird or out of the ordinary, but she
simply does NOT want to be near these dogs.

I am afraid though she is going to have to learn to live with them,
otherwise she will be asked to leave and I hate to think of what
would happen to her at the only place that would take her.

So basically I just wanted to know if this was something I could
help her through or if it was a lost cause.

It seems I have my answer. Stick with it and she will eventually
understand my doggies love her too.

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cybercat - 16 Sep 2007 04:56 GMT

> Well, we sort of fell into this stray kitten today and believe it or
> not NO ONE would help us shelter the animal. The pound euthanizes
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> So we decided to keep her.

Bless you. She will be a total joy, I bet. I have never had a kitten!

> Anyway, we have 2 dogs so here is what I did to make things easier
> on everyone. I went to the pet store and bought some pig ears to
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> bothering to look up though, she merrily pranced right beside one of
> them.

This is hilarious. I think it is just her instinct. Since they are not
reacting
with aggression, bet they become fast friends!

> My spouse and I left for the evening to have dinner and when we came
> back we started the acclimation process again and this time no
> matter what, the kitty would NOT have it.

A little time can work wonders.

> On the bright side, she is ALREADY litter box trained! I know, it
> amazed us too. I bought her a litter box, filled it with litter,
> and plunked her down in it and she pawed it for a good minute or so
> and then had herself a grand ole' time. She is the SWEETEST thing
> in the world and does nothing weird or out of the ordinary, but she
> simply does NOT want to be near these dogs.

Hee, she just has healthy instincts. You will find that she is very clean
as long as you don't make the box unattractive to her--in my
experience cats naturally want to go in the box, you have to
screw something up for them to eliminate inappropriately.

> I am afraid though she is going to have to learn to live with them,
> otherwise she will be asked to leave and I hate to think of what
> would happen to her at the only place that would take her.

Yeah, right. :) She's not going anywhere.

> So basically I just wanted to know if this was something I could
> help her through or if it was a lost cause.
>
> It seems I have my answer. Stick with it and she will eventually
> understand my doggies love her too.

Time and gentle patience.

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-Lost - 16 Sep 2007 05:14 GMT

Response from "cybercat" <cyberpurrs@yahoo.com>:

>> So we decided to keep her.
>
> Bless you. She will be a total joy, I bet. I have never had a
> kitten!

Thank you. We have never had one either. We are known by the
neighborhood children as the "people with all those animals" so we
just figured it was meant to be.

>> Anyway, we have 2 dogs so here is what I did to make things
>> easier on everyone. I went to the pet store and bought some pig
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> not reacting
> with aggression, bet they become fast friends!

I am beginning to think they will too. Although the doggies never
did anything aggressive, I think she was just being cautious because
them coming to her to sniff her could have been them coming to eat
her.

>> On the bright side, she is ALREADY litter box trained! I know,
>> it amazed us too. I bought her a litter box, filled it with
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> her--in my experience cats naturally want to go in the box, you
> have to screw something up for them to eliminate inappropriately.

I read everything PerfectPaws.com had to say on the subject and it
basically said the same thing. I specifically liked this FAQ:

"Why does my cat urinate in his litter box but sometimes defecate in
my bathtub?"

So we are definitely going to stay on top of a clean and healthy
litter box as I do not want her in my tub. ; )

>> I am afraid though she is going to have to learn to live with
>> them, otherwise she will be asked to leave and I hate to think of
>> what would happen to her at the only place that would take her.
>
> Yeah, right. :) She's not going anywhere.

Aren't animal lovers so predictable? I knew when I wrote it that she
was not going anywhere. I think because I believe she is going to be
OK here. Calm down kitty... all is well... calm... down...

>> So basically I just wanted to know if this was something I could
>> help her through or if it was a lost cause.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>
> Time and gentle patience.

Thanks for your feedback, cybercat. I appreciate it.

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Richard Evans - 16 Sep 2007 15:54 GMT

>See I always heard the same thing. Enemies from birth or whatnot,
>but at the same time I know of SEVERAL cases of puppy and kitty love.

We have six cats and two dogs and they all get along fine. In fact,
one of the cats, Moe, thinks he's a dog. He runs wiith them, wrestles
with them, lets them maul him, and comes back for more.

We used to do rescue work for cats and have had dozens, maybe
hundreds, and none of them had a problem with the dogs.

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-Lost - 16 Sep 2007 18:06 GMT

Response from Richard Evans <infodex@mindspring.com>:

>>See I always heard the same thing. Enemies from birth or whatnot,
>>but at the same time I know of SEVERAL cases of puppy and kitty
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> We used to do rescue work for cats and have had dozens, maybe
> hundreds, and none of them had a problem with the dogs.

That is great to hear! Mainly because Gabby, so named for her
constant mewing, is fairly adamant on at least hissing at the dogs.

I see progress though. Like her hissing at Pudge 5 minutes ago and
then smelling one of Pudge's paws. Then she bounded down the
hallway.

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K - 18 Sep 2007 15:26 GMT

> I wondered if cats have a predisposition toward hating or maybe not
> getting along with dogs?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
> kidding. No I am not.

I don't think so.

I feel it is all to do with who cares for the dog that makes the
difference. If you have a multiple animal households, then it's the up-
bringing that makes or breaks whether they get along, or not. Mine get
along fine. We also have a great deal of rescue cats, all of whom seem
to fear dogs, but after a small spell with Binky & Pickles, they
realise that dogs are not so bad after all.
K.

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-Lost - 18 Sep 2007 22:53 GMT

Response from K <kittycarer@tiscali.co.uk>:

>> I wondered if cats have a predisposition toward hating or maybe
>> not getting along with dogs?
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> cats, all of whom seem to fear dogs, but after a small spell with
> Binky & Pickles, they realise that dogs are not so bad after all.

Well that continues to give me hope then, because as of today, day 3,
Demon and Gabby are still not doing so well.

Gabby and Pudge on the other hand are already best friends!

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jmagerl - 19 Sep 2007 03:21 GMT

Taking it the other way: We thought we were really going to have troubles
when we brought Mr. Bonkers home and introduced him to Chipper the
cockatiel. Its been 4 years now and the two hit it off right from the start.
They buddy up to the point where the bird sleeps cuddled up next to the cat.
So...no I dont think theres an inherent fear of dogs. ITs learned from
experience.

> Response from K <kittycarer@tiscali.co.uk>:
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Gabby and Pudge on the other hand are already best friends!

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