DU folks with dogs AND cats...

[WillParkinson]

How possible is it that a puppy:



and a kitten:


can wrestle around and play (with play biting, etc) and neither one will get seriously hurt?

We've been yelling at Bailey to leave Cider alone only to find out that Cider has been instigating quite often himself.

We don't think that Bailey would hurt Cider intentionally. Is it possible they can continue to roughhouse and not get hurt?

[Richardo]

1. Yes. Our cat Seabiscuit pounces on the min schnauzie all the time

The cat's fight-and-flight (not fight-OR-flight) response will kick in if things get too rough. A swift cross to the muzzle and a scamper to an inaccessible location.

[demnan]

2. Sure

I had a tabby kitten years ago and he was "adopted" by a female Beagle we had and those two could play like crazy. This was before digital pictures but I had pictures of them where it looks like she's eating his head. They never laid a scratch on each other and doted on each other as adults and elderly animals and greeted each other every day.

[WillParkinson]

3. YES! That's it!!!!

Bailey does that. He'll 'grab' Cider by the head. When I first saw him do it I just freaked.

Now I see that it's not too abnormal.

[Solly Mack]

4. Mine play together all the time..even roughly

and seldom hurt each other..and never seriously. Just a few scratches when my one cat wasn't in the mood to play.


My tabby was good natured about my sire teaching his puppy how to tackle and then sit on a cat. The cat just laid there...

They will all curl up and sleep next to each other...but then my sire grew up with cats.

[TX-RAT]

5. Absolutely

My dogs favorite buddy is my yellow cat Jerry Lee.They've been buddies for over 10 years. They don't play like they use to.

[sui generis]

6. Tinkerbell and Jazz

are quite the pair -- they have a nightly wrestling-match-to-the-fake-death on the bed that usually ends when the first critter is thrown off the bed by the other, and it's pretty evenly matched so it's not safe to place bets. Tinker is a hairy chihuaua (looks like a red fox) and Jazz is a black American shorthair alley kitten. They are learning "rules" -- the cat is going to stick your puppy and your pup will squeak so the cat learns to be careful playing with claws. The pup will bite just a bit too hard and the cat will howl, so your pup will learn to be careful with play bites. And both of them will learn how to throw a perfect half nelson -- just wait and see.

My critters also play "tag" occasionally -- I mean, like, Tag You're It, okay now you chase me.

So yes it's healthy and normal - although your pup will eventually outweigh the cat significantly and they'll probably wrestle less often.

[LTR]

7. Don't declaw your cats

It's a mechanism to keep the dog in check.

I have a dog AND cats. They tolerate each other, but have not gottne to the point of playing with each other.

[koopie57]

9. I use to freak out about

my cats and dogs rough housing, but if they meant business they would have killed each other by now. In our house, the dog runs, the cat chases it and the other dog hangs on the cats tail and flies along behind him. I always watch to see if they are in the "playbox" position. (that is what I call it). If their front end is low and the back end is up, that means they are playing or want to play. if I don't see that, I break them up.

Oh and please, if you have any compassion whatsoever, remove that picture of the old battle-ax bush or at least put some clothes on her, and a bag over her head, and a muzzle, and duct tape to make sure tha bag doesn't come off ...

[WillParkinson]

10. Thank you!

Misty and Heidi have no interest in playing with the cats...however, Cat, Star and Dot have no interest in playing with the dog and Bailey thinks they should ALL want to play with him because he's fun.

[boobooday]

8. We had the same thing

We were freaking out -- our 40lb dog and a kitten about the size of your hand when we brought her home.

It's crazy -- they wrestle, and romp, and it would scare the hell out of us, but somehow he never hurt her. Now they are the best of friends. In fact, the cat is obsessed with the dog, and follows him everywhere.





http://www.wgoeshome.com

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

11. Will, they are beautiful... yes, have always had cats and dogs

until right now due to tragic circumstances.

If they get along at all, they can be great playmates.