Dogs and Cats - Should You Mix the Two Together?

By Carol Waters
Dogs are fantastic and cats are great! How are they when together? This is all going to depend on the two individual animals; however there are some suggested methods to know ahead of time if the two will mix together.

It is first recommended to never get a new dog and a new cat at the same time. Not only would each animal need to get acclimated to the new house, they would need to figure out if the other is friend or foe; this is too much for a pet to handle.

Therefore, once you have a dog or a cat and that animal is a happy and content member of the family, you can then think about getting the other animal. Even if you have your eye on a certain dog or cat, it is strongly recommended to never purchase that animal until you test to see if they will mix well together.

In the best of cases, a dog and cat can be best friends. There are many families who report that their dog and cat play with each other, take naps together and even offer each other food!

However, in the worst of cases, there is an all out war. A dog, by nature and pure instinct, can see the cat as prey. This will trigger a battle that the dog has no control over and in worst cases will lead to the death of one of the animals. Once may assume it is the cat that always would lose this sad battle; however if you bring in a small toy breed such as a Chihuahua and put him together with a large cat, there is no telling what may happen.

Therefore, it is recommended to slowly introduce the dog to the cat. It will be your job to sit back a bit because the answer as to how they will get along will be to what degree they notice each other.

If they act as if the other is as interesting as a doorstop; you are in luck. They may ignore each other for now, but may become very good friends.

However, if the dog stares at the cat, this is the first sign of trouble. The more intense the stare of the dog, the more dangerous the situation can become. If the dog is looking at the cat and does not take his eyes off of her, he is deciding if she is prey or a threat.

If the dog stands still while doing this, and stares without moving his body, he may strike. If he is completely silent, does not move and the stare is strong, you must remove the cat immediately. If the dog does have this reaction, it would take an enormous amount of training for the dog and feline to get along; and this can end badly while you are attempting a pairing. It would then be suggested that that particular dog is just not a "cat person"!