We I tell people I have both dogs and cats I often am asked how in the world they all live on the same floor without bloodshed. Well, I can’t speak for anyone else’s situation, but I can tell you why I think ours works out pretty well.
The theory in our home leans heavily on the side of nurture in the nature vs. nurture debate.
Piper came to live with me when she was about 6 months old. She was the only pet in the house and enjoyed her role as only child for nearly 9 years. As an indoor cat she didn’t have much socialization with other animals so I knew brining Ares into the picture was going to be a big adjustment.
As a 6 week old puppy, Ares was essentially a blank slate as far as socialization goes. I kept Piper and him separate for the first week or so and let them get to know each other through scent on the other side of doors. When then did meet face to face, Piper still wasn’t exactly welcoming. She had not had to share her space with another animal for so long that she wasn’t too tolerant of an excited, bouncy puppy. But Ares learned (for the most part) to respect her space and be submissive to her. It didn’t matter that she was a cat because this was all he knew.
When Chaos came around, introductions were a little smoother. Piper had been living with a puppy for a few months and had grown accustom to his behavior and her role as the dominant creature. Since Chaos was only 7 weeks old and we had already been socializing Ares, the boys bonded almost immediately. As pack animals, dogs take to pack order easily and Chaos quickly learned that Piper was queen and Ares, although his playmate, was also boss to him.
Little O was born into rescue. He was fostered with 4 dogs and a half dozen rats for the first 4 months of his life. When I brought him home I kept him in his carrier and sat it on the floor for the other kids to sniff. I was shocked at the good energy they had and how calm everyone stayed. As soon as O got to meet his new siblings face to face it was funny to see how comfortable he was with the dogs. He had grown up thus far with dogs so he knew dogs. And the dogs had grown up with a cat so they knew cats are friends not food.
Piper actually took longer to make nice with O than she did with the dogs. He wasn’t up on his cat social skills since he hadn’t been around cats, but he learned he could hang with Piper and play with the dogs.
As far as nature is concerned, my dogs are both part of the terrier family. They are hard wired to give chase and pick things up with a hard mouth. Sure from time to dogs the dogs will chase the cats. Usually they know better than to bother Piper but if they do she reminds them. Little O doesn’t view being chased as a predator/prey act. He goes along with it as play and won’t take off and try to hide. Instead he generally allows himself to be caught.
I’ve read that a prey drive can be ignited even in dogs generally docile around smaller animals if the animals starts to run and tries to hide or makes noise when they put their mouth on them. I’m of a mind that because my dogs were raised with cats as puppies and the cat they most often chase thinks he’s a dog, there is no prey drive going on, just simple play. If they use a hard mouth on him he meows or stops playing. This is what puppies do when they teach each other not to nip. If one puppy nips the other too hard he will lose his playmate so he learns to lighten up. The same principle seems to have worked with O and the dogs.
Dogs and cats can live harmoniously together. Piper may have already been set in her ways when the boys came along but because we gave her time to get used to them before shoving them in her face, she has learned to live (mostly) peacefully with them. Ares and Chaos learned early on that cats are not prey and being raised with dogs, O learned that he doesn’t need to act like prey.
We’ve never had any bloodshed among any of our furbabies. They get into squabbles once in a while, but don’t all siblings? They’ve learned to work things out without anything ever getting out of hand. And that’s more than I can say for many human siblings I know!
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