Re: They Can Be Friends

I have a Saint Bernard/Great Pyrenees, Manitou (who is 2 1/2yrs), who loves my cats & they love him...his 2 favorites are Max and Gus. Mani was a little over a year old when Max & Gus were born. They will run across the yard to greet each other. Mani licks them and they rub around his legs! It is the funniest sight to see this 140lb dog and these 10lb cats! When they were tiny kittens, Manitou would sit by their box and watch them (of course only when we were right there) and periodically give each of the 4 big, sloppy kisses. Their mom, Pixie, never had any problem letting my gentle giant near her babies! It is definately a success story!

Re: They Can Be Friends

Note to my previous comment...Pixie was a rescue off of the streets who was very pregnant when we found her. That makes it even more surprising that she was so trusting to let a big dog near her babies.

Re: They Can Be Friends

I have two dogs and a cat. Oli, the cat, was the first in the house hold. He must have been about 7 months when we brought home a 5 old puppy. They got along very well from the start. They were ALWAYS playing...chasing each other around the house. Most the time it was Oli that started it. Oli and Ruby, the pup, were about 4 years old when we brought in another pup, Tre. Ruby and Tre get along very well, of course, but Oli tolerates Tre. He doesn't play with Tre like he will with Ruby. It's sort of sad, but Oli's not one for playing much anymore anyway.
My family noticed when the pets were young that Oli never scratched Ruby. He'd scratch and bite the rest of the family, but he never scratched Ruby. What did we do wrong? :)

Re: They Can Be Friends

When my beloved Yorkie died unexpectedly last year, I went to petfinder.com to find another sweet-natured dog to take with me to visit residents and staff at the nursing home where my mother lived. I adopted Logan, a 1 year-old Schnauzer/Australian shepherd mix, after ascertaining that he had a solid temperament. During this same time, I took in my son's beagle/Airedale mix, as well as a female cat I adopted from my vet. When I returned to the vet in 4 weeks, they talked me into taking an approx. 4-5 week old kitten which had been found abandoned in a church parking lot. The vet nurse recommended that I pay no particular attention to this kitten, but to let all of my new pets socialize naturally. Logan immediately claimed the new kitten, PollyReid as his "pet" and stayed near to protect her at all times. After one year, he continues to do this. She allows him to do whatever he wants w/her, even when he has tried to pick her up with his mouth. They rub against each other frequently and sleep together on the couch. He has NO problem with her eating his dog food even. It's certainly the first time that any of my pets had their own pet.

Re: They Can Be Friends

Sammie, my black lab, and Pounce, a tiger cat, Frisco, an orange tabby, and Karat, an orange tabby, are all best friends. Pounce was adopted from the SPCA first, then Sammie, our dog, then Frisco, again from the SPCA and then Karat, our baby girl. All have adapted with each adoption and have become a really wonderful family. Dogs and cats make excellent companions with each other and with us!

Re: They Can Be Friends

I have always had a dog and at least one cat, right now I have two cats, who were both strays and just "adopted" me.
Mick, my dog, sniffed them alot at first like, what are these things?? Then, after a bit, they all began to sleep together on Micks bed. I have Never had any trouble with dog and cat living together.
Nancy~