Do dogs get along with cats?

DEAR PET TALK: Do dogs get along with cats? – Logan, Mr. Wironen’s 4th Grade, Reingold School, Fitchburg

DEAR LOGAN: As you know, every Monday we bring our therapy dog Sarrju and therapy cat Reggie to visit, and they are truly the best of friends. And Keifer, the Bernese Mountain Dog who also comes to visit lives with a sassy tabby cat very happily. Cap Corduan, Keifer’s mom notes: “When I brought Keifer home to a year-old Shiloh, Keif quickly learned who was in charge. He has never learned that he has 100 pounds over Shiloh. Now they do fake wrestling, which Shiloh usually starts.”

Friendship – even love – between a dog and a cat is possible. And the experts agree. According to the American Kennel Club website: “Most dog breeds can live calmly with a cat if they are socialized as puppies and are trained to leave the cat alone.”

However, we have found that an older dog with a calm temperament can learn to live with a cat. And that a cat can adjust to life with a dog. AKC also suggests that two commands: “leave it,” and “stay” “can help keep the peace.  Proper introductions will also help, and it’s a good idea to make sure the cat always has an escape route. Never leave your new dog alone with your cat until you are positive they won’t have issues.”

Numerous people shared on the Be PAWSitive Facebook site that they’d had harmonious dog and cat relationships. For “Reverend Blamo” of New Hampshire, his “three dogs and (at one time) four cats got along great. As a matter of fact our Pit Bull, Shirley is often found napping with Momo the cat curling in a warm, furry ball. However, we find it best for the cats if they have places they can go that the dogs can not. When the pups get excited and playful it may not be as fun for the cats.”

Some dogs have been bred to chase other animals – and terriers may find it difficult to leave cats in peace. Dani Kumpalanian has a greyhound who came from a shelter. Though he was never tested with cats “we’ve found over the years he has mixed feelings about cats when outdoors but is neutral about them when indoors, on the cat’s turf.”

Kyndyl Greyland of Missouri has a service dog, a Collie named Runa who is trained to be calm “and has always done well since meeting her older and now younger brother” cats.

Patricia Steinhauer of Fitchburg suggests that giving the cats escape routes and safe spots, separate feeding stations and litter boxes inaccessible to dogs is good practice.

In short, dogs and cats can defy the cliché – and get along just fine!

Sally Cragin is the director of  Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Visit us on Facebook and call/text questions to 978-320-1335