Cat + GS = bad idea?

2816 Views 26 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Chicagocanine, Nov 29, 2010

redstrat

Discussion Starter · Nov 29, 2010

Hello,

We have a cat living with us in our suburban house (plenty of space). Thinking about getting a GS. Does this come across as a bad idea? I just don't want the dog to kill the cat after he/she gets older. I heard if the dog grows up with a cat from a puppy stage, he/she will not have any animosity towards that particular cat. Is this true? What do you guys think?

Thanks!

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

Heagler870

· #2 · Nov 29, 2010

I believe it's true. 2 of my dogs were raised around a cat since puppyhood and they both did fine. The one that I adopted was not even a year old yet and never had been around cats, he also did fine with her as well. I would make sure you have your cat crated before you bring the pup home so the cat can get used to the pup. When you bring the pup home you should probably be more worried about the cat hurting the puppy. Unless your cat has been raised around dogs.

KZoppa

· #3 · Nov 29, 2010

if you're getting an adult dog, i would make sure they're been cat tested and are fine around cats. if you're getting puppy i would be concerned the cat would hurt the puppy. HOWEVER, i also wouldnt stop the cat from putting the puppy in his place either. The cat was there first is as such is king/queen as far as animals in the house go. All of my dogs are raised around cats or socialized with them and they do fine. Some dogs will show early on that they shouldnt be around smaller animals in general. However, with GSDs, when raised with them or tested and approved to be around them, will view the cat as a family member and be just fine with them but NOT okay with cats wondering around outside. There's really a great deal. Adults with unknown history should be cat tested and puppies can grow up with the cat around and be fine. Believe me, once that cat whaps the pup a good one, the pup will generally think twice about going back for more. when we brought Shasta home, my cat Titan full pawed, open clawed whapped her a hard one on the nose. Shasta is more respectful of the cats now.

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WolfCrest

· #4 · Nov 29, 2010

I got my dog as an older puppy (like 7 months) and he hasn't had an issue with my cat other than he wants to play and she will beat him up. He's a wimp when it comes to her. She's the boss for some reason and he knows it. My advise is if you get the puppy is if you want it from a breeder talk to them I know the breeders here love to have potential owners asking them questions to make sure its a good match for your home. Also training will be your best friend. I will honestly tell you the best command I have taught my dogs was the leave it command. It's a life saver.

Good Luck

Whiteshepherds

· #5 · Nov 29, 2010

redstrat said:
Hello,
We have a cat living with us in our suburban house (plenty of space). Thinking about getting a GS. Does this come across as a bad idea? I just don't want the dog to kill the cat after he/she gets older. I heard if the dog grows up with a cat from a puppy stage, he/she will not have any animosity towards that particular cat. Is this true? What do you guys think?
Thanks!

I think it depends on how much time you have to train the dog.

We have two cats and two GSD's, they get along fine.(dogs are now 3 & 3.5) The cats were here first.

As puppies we taught the dogs to leave the cats alone or to be nice when they were near them. Not much different than teaching a puppy how to be good with babies. No chasing. No mouthing. No barking. Cats are not prey and they aren't toys.

KZoppa

· #6 · Nov 29, 2010

Whiteshepherds said:
I think it depends on how much time you have to train the dog. We have two cats and two GSD's, they get along fine.(dogs are now 3 & 3.5) The cats were here first.

As puppies we taught the dogs to leave the cats alone or to be nice when they were near them. Not much different than teaching a puppy how to be good with babies. No chasing. No mouthing. No barking. Cats are not prey and they aren't toys.

:thumbup:

Navah

· #7 · Nov 29, 2010

I have three cats and a GSD puppy. Even though she is 8 months old and sees them everyday, she is still VERY curious about them. She has never hurt them, but I would never trust her alone with them. She will still chase them if we are not watching, nibble them a little bit and step on them. I highly doubt out of aggression, but out of severe curiosity.

We have never had anything bad happen and we made sure that the cats have areas so they can get away from her annoyances. Our basement is cat only and guest room is cat only blocked by baby gates. Along with a few higher places and nooks only they can get into (such as we rearranged the living room so the dogs can’t get behind the sofas).

This might be something to talk to your breeder about. I told my breeder about my three cats and I believe she picked a low prey drive dog for me. GSD’s for the most part have a natural prey drive but that’s easily overcome with the right dog and training. If you have a good breeder they will pick out a great dog for you. If they are older make sure they are cat tested. Like any dog, never trust your cats alone with them for awhile.

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redstrat

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 29, 2010

I definitely want a puppy. And I'm not worried about the cat hurting a puppy, she's really tame, sleeps most of the time downstairs. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea if she shows the puppy who's the boss. Now, every time I sit down and she's around, she'd climb and lye down on my lap with admiring look in her eyes

Do german shepherds get jealous all?
Thanks for your responses, guys. Looks like I am getting that puppy because the cat was my only concern

I'm thinking spring time, I feel like it's better to get a puppy in the spring so we can start spending more time outside with the puppy.

DCluver33

· #9 · Nov 29, 2010

My GSD hates cats he wants to kill them. When we first brought dodger home we didn't know how he'd do with cats, the head lady of the rescue didn't know how he'd be either. To this day he wants to kill every cat he sees. He's fine with little dogs though. He's at the point where i can get him to ignore the cat as long as it doesn't run.

Every dog is different. my BC/Aussie was never raised around cats and she's fine with them she wants to play, her and my cat would play together it was pretty cute. Molly (the mix) hates having her tail touched and my cat would sit on the couch and bat her tail as she walked by and molly would spin around staring at me like I was the one touching her tail lol.

Whiteshepherds

· #10 · Nov 29, 2010

redstrat said:
I'm thinking spring time, I feel like it's better to get a puppy in the spring so we can start spending more time outside with the puppy.

And depending where you live, so much easier not to fight with ice, sleet and snow while you're housebreaking them.

redstrat

Discussion Starter · #11 · Nov 29, 2010

Whiteshepherds said:
And depending where you live, so much easier not to fight with ice, sleet and snow while you're housebreaking them.

I think we are on the same page here! I'm in Mass

KZoppa

· #12 · Nov 29, 2010

redstrat said:
I definitely want a puppy. And I'm not worried about the cat hurting a puppy, she's really tame, sleeps most of the time downstairs. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea if she shows the puppy who's the boss. Now, every time I sit down and she's around, she'd climb and lye down on my lap with admiring look in her eyes Do german shepherds get jealous all?
Thanks for your responses, guys. Looks like I am getting that puppy because the cat was my only concern I'm thinking spring time, I feel like it's better to get a puppy in the spring so we can start spending more time outside with the puppy.

yes GSDs can be jealous.

Runswithdogs

· #13 · Nov 29, 2010

We adopted a year old GSD and had 2 cats already, and she is um...well, I think she would at the very least like to play chase and chew with them at and the worst, play chase and eat. We keep them separated unless we're supervising, and then we keep a leash trailing on the dog and have baby gates with a cat door so the kitties can run.
I've heard from almost everyone who got their dog as a pup that they accepted cats with no problems when raised with them.

Lilie

· #14 · Nov 29, 2010

My GSD has a very high cat drive. We have two barn cats who tease him daily. We have only gotten now to the place where I can keep him from chasing the cats. However, if I don't catch it before the chase begins, I can't stop him. He is only 14 months old and getting to this point was challenging. We work on it every day.

But please note the cats are not house cats therefore Hondo wasn't introduced to them as such. When he was a puppy, the cats would attack him. He found out quickly that if he started the chase they would run. If I had nipped it in the bud in the beginning, we wouldn't have this problem. Lesson learned.

clearcreekranch

· #15 · Nov 29, 2010

My gsd puppy lives with 4 older house cats. I never leave them unsupervised, but he doesn't want to hurt them, just play with them......which could result in injuries. As long as you are diligent and watchful, should not be a problem.

LaRen616

· #16 · Nov 29, 2010

There are 3 cats and 3 dogs in my house.

One cat is a 9 month old kitten and she loves all 3 dogs. She grew up with them.

The 2 adult cats hate 2 of the dogs because they will chase them. They do not mouth or hurt them though. They were there before the dogs came.

Chicagocanine

· #17 · Nov 29, 2010

I got Bianca at 4 years old and I had 7 cats at the time. She was raised with cats in her previous home(they had her since 8 weeks) and she has been great with my cats from the start, even though 4 of them were rambunctious older kittens when I got her.

will_and_jamie

· #18 · Nov 29, 2010

Our GSD and Golden grew up with our two male cats. Hannah (GSD) leaves the cats alone for the most part. When we have our front door open and she's looking through the storm door and spots our neighbor's cat, she flips out. She hops up, hackles raised, and barks like a fool. Strange because she's perfectly fine with all cats indoors that she's exposed to. Our Ragdoll cat, Albert, chases her down and backs her into corners probably because she goes up to him when he's sleeping and likes to lightly gnaw on him like she's looking for ticks or something. Our Golden likes to put Albert's head in his mouth for some strange reason.

Zan

· #19 · Nov 29, 2010

I've had 3 GSD's now, raised with cats. I think it's much easier with a puppy - the cat will teach it who's the boss. My 15 week old pup loves to play/chase her kitties, and she's pretty mouthy with them but she will back off when they've had enough. Plus it helps that they can "fly" up to higher ground.

One thing I've noticed, if the cat runs the dog will definitely chase it. My older cats would just hop away, but the young ones enjoy the chase game. I think that's why pup is not as interested in chasing the tennis ball as previous shepherds.

LaRen616

· #20 · Nov 29, 2010

will_and_jamie said:
Our GSD and Golden grew up with our two male cats. Hannah (GSD) leaves the cats alone for the most part. When we have our front door open and she's looking through the storm door and spots our neighbor's cat, she flips out. She hops up, hackles raised, and barks like a fool. Strange because she's perfectly fine with all cats indoors that she's exposed to. Our Ragdoll cat, Albert, chases her down and backs her into corners probably because she goes up to him when he's sleeping and likes to lightly gnaw on him like she's looking for ticks or something. Our Golden likes to put Albert's head in his mouth for some strange reason.

So your Ragdoll enjoys your dogs?

My Ragdoll absolutely LOVES my dogs. She thinks she is one. She wrestles and cuddles with them. It is the cutest thing ever. :wub:

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