Five Tips to Owning a Cat and Dog Together

Are you contemplating the idea of owning a cat and dog together but have heard that they do not get along? Remember the Tom and Jerry cartoons where the dog and cat never got along? It’s true that some dogs and some cats just cannot live together due to the whole prey versus predator relationship. However, other dogs and cats do live in perfect harmony and may even have a close relationship.

Here are some tips on owning a cat and dog together.

First, if you already own a cat and want a dog, put the dog in a room away from the cat. Your cat should be allowed to roam the house, examining the house for clues about the new household member. Once your cat learns of the dog, they’ll want to approach him or her and learn more about it. Once comfortable with this new companion and vice versa, then it’s all right to let them spend time together in the same room of the home.

Second, if you are introducing a new cat to a dog home then you might need to take some precautions because many dogs are territorial. Trained dogs don’t usually attack so make sure you train yours. Still, exercise some caution when introducing the cat. Make sure your dog is on a leash while he or she gets used to the feline. Once the dog is no longer aggressive to the new household member is when you can release him or her from the leash.

Third, when owning a cat and dog together, always introduce them as young as possible. Make sure you get both of them before they are both over four months old. When they are this young, they don’t usually see each other as “arch” enemies. They can actually form a bond at this age and be the best of friends.

Fourth, once your animals are used to one another, you should always treat them equal. Give them the same amount of attention. Feed them at the same time but never in the same place. Why? Dogs can tend to eat cat’s food sparking the cat’s rage just a bit.

Fifth, make sure to keep some sort of baby gate or kennel handy to break them apart of they do end up fighting.

Owning a cat and dog together isn’t hard to do but taking precautions to ensure each other’s safety is a necessity. Remember the natural order of things is cats are the prey and dogs are the predators.