[Hostage]

My fiance are planning on getting a dog soon. We are looking at dogs that have known good histories with cats. We also add a cat door to the unfinished part of the basement, so the cats can have their own sanctuary away from the dog if needed. We have two cats, one of which I am not really concerned about. She is your typical cat, who does everything on her terms. She has hissed at our neighbor's dogs and is well, on Prozac. Very anti-social.

The other cat is what has me worried. He is a Maine Coon (largest cat breed), he weighs about 12lbs and looks very large as he has a thick coat, long legs, and large paws (thumbs). He is to big for cat beds. The thing about my cat is he acts more like a dog than a cat. He has to be the center of attention, he is not shy of anyone/anything, and he loves to play chase. I am worried about his enjoyment of "chase". I am worried even if a dog who is accustomed to a lazy cat, goes into the "prey drive/instinct" and takes the game of chase to far. We are looking at labs, so a dog that has 5+ times the weight of my cat my accidentally harm my cat.

I guess my question, does anyone else have a cat who acts more like a dog and is able to play with a dog w/o having the dog take it to far?

-Hostage

 

[L Kathryn]

If your coon is as tough as he sounds and you're getting a puppy, chances are very good that your cat will teach the pup what "too far" is. I've had cats and dogs all my life and I've only ever met one cat that allowed a puppy to take playing too far - in which case, I stepped in and the puppy learned quickly enough. Just don't leave them unsupervised and be prepared to step in if either animal pushes the limit.
I've also met a cat that broke up a play session of four large dogs - sent them into seperate corners and glared at them until they became completely calm. Each animal is different, so be prepared for any outcome. I had a cat once that dissed me for two weeks after I brought home a puppy. Once she forgave me, she and the puppy became best friends.

 

[Fade]

My 3 dogs. all react differently to the cats. none of them will ever injure the cats but they do get to rough sometimes. more then likely a fully clawed cat will injure any size dog and become the boss. ( excluding a few certain dog breeds )

My 70 lb basset hound , the cats just sleep on him he could care less, he even tries to get them to play and sometimes they will.

My 55lb husky is the if you run ill chase you. and he has never harmed them. the cats actually will double team him if he gets to hyper with them and he runs away.

My 84lb pit bull thinks the cats are his best friends and they HATE him. but most of the time they just stay out of his way.

My adopted cats were both declawed so basically are defenseless against the big dogs and never end up hurt.

A cat with all his claws will more then likely beat the dog up and the dog will learn to respect the cats. from my experience with cats they are always in control. are perfectly capable of handling the situation. but like they mentioned above they could be anti social for awhile. if your REALLY worried about it. Get a basset hound Also certain dog breeds could pose a danger to your cats so research any breed before you get them. but u seem to be going about it the right way.

 

[sscott87]

My cat has ruled the house. I got him last March and he was the lone pet till this past November when I took in a stray. Turbo, the original cat, hadn't been exposed to other pets except for 2 other cats at my grandparents' and it took him some time to warm up to being put in his place by 2 larger cats both older than him and more calm. The stray I took in, well, he ruled her and she didn't like to play. She didn't make it long, unfortunately, for health reasons I found out she had when I took her in, so I got my dog, Jax, just after the first of the year. Turbo likes to play. Jax likes to play, too much. Jax has never once hurt him, though does get a bit too excited chasing the cat at times, and I break them up at times before giving him the chance to get too rough, but usually if Turbo truly has had enough, Jax comes away whimpering after being slapped. Just keep an eye on them when they're left free to roam around together, and make sure the cats have somewhere to get away from the dog when they want to.