Unfortunately, Shea got aggressive toward cats even though she was fostered with them and had lived with them most of her life. Maybe being jerked around was a contributing factor; she had been returned by someone who lived in an apartment and found that she barked when left alone all day. That wouldn’t have been a big deal for us in itself, but being cat friendly was a non-negotiable. Hopefully they find a home for her that works.
My family had to rehome an adopted dog for that reason once. (The cats were there first, and there were more of them.)
He went to friends of my parents, who did not have cats. They did have three kids, but the dog was great with humans of any size. Just couldn’t tolerate anyone feline.
That’s a shame, but you did the right thing. If you already have cats (or another dog) they deserve to live in their own home without fear. Even dogs who have become accustomed to cats are a gamble. They’re under a lot of stress they may have not encountered before: new people, new home, new rules…it’s a lot to handle.
We wanted to adopt a dog, but we needed one who would be compatible with our adult cat. We couldn’t find one after a long search, so we adopted another cat, a kitten. Their first several months were a bit difficult, but the kitten mellowed when he reached a year old, and they are pretty much friends now.
We told the rescue organization the best match would be a couple where at least one of them works from home. She would start whining as soon as I left for work, although she would eventually be ok. The issue with the cats was the big thing, and we figured there was probably something we didn’t know (she was supposedly good with cats everywhere else she lived).
I volunteered at the Anti Cruelty Society in Chicago.
Part of the process of adopting pets out was asking if the person had current pets and, if they did, they had to bring those pets in to see if they could get along together.
We can argue about best ways to go about adopting out pets but ISTM it is super important to make sure a new pet will get along with the ones you already have before brining them into the family.
We all want a good result but it does not always happen.
It’s the nature of most dog breeds to chase cats. Not all dogs do this, I’ve seen some that completely ignore cats, but many do, and a dog may appear to get along fine with cats until one day their chase response is triggered and the cat is cornered, or worse.
Puppies and kittens that are raised together tend to get along for the most part, but there are no guarantees, and you can’t easily “train out” an instinctive drive like that strong.
I have a Parson Russel Terrier that chases anything small and furry and if he catches it he pins it to the ground. That’s what they were bred to do back in the 1850s. I’ve tried to discourage him for 9 years now and haven’t even made a dent in this behavior. If a squirrel crosses his path I need to hold the leash tight until the squirrel finds a tall tree nearby.
Oh, so sorry to hear that, but it’s totally understandable.
My two previous herding breed dogs, as well as my current one, love to chase cats outside (squirrels, opossums, and raccoons too) - they were always on leash but would try as soon as they saw one, but they never did that with our cats we have in the house. Somehow they knew the difference. Not all dogs do, and it can be a difficult thing to train them not to do, and risky as you can’t always be right there to avoid a dangerous situation.
I hope you find the perfect cat loving doggo to replace Shea with.
We wonder if an older dog might be a better match for our older cats. One was fine with Shea, but the other wasn’t. Shelters in our area used to do tests with animals who could be living together, but they don’t anymore. Many years ago we brought our Lab to the shelter to meet an eight month old kitten, and it seemed to be love at first sight for both. That cat lived with both dogs we’ve had, and loved both.
Our last dog was half Australian Cattle Dog and half Beagle. We thought it wasn’t going to work because she wanted to chase the cats. We called the rescue organization to tell them it wasn’t working, but by the time they were able to find a foster she had figured out that chasing cats wasn’t ok, and stopped cold turkey. Squirrels and rabbits she always went after outside, but when she encountered outdoor cats in the neighborhood she was more friendly with them than with some other dogs.
Yeah, our dachshunds like to chase furry critters, too. Our previous boy was fine with cats who just sat there. He’d walk up and try to make friends. That earned him a cut on his nose one time. Funny thing – cats don’t like having their butts sniffed. But if they run? He will chase them. He eventually went blind which he adjusted to very well. Since he couldn’t see the fleeing cats, no more chasing.
Our current boy has to be held tightly on leash, because he’ll chase any squirrel anywhere…into the street in front of a car…very dangerous.
My family had to rehome my brother’s first dog, a Samoyed we’d gotten when she was an adult. For the first few months it was ok, she was just really low energy. One day in the spring we found two of our ducks’ only duckling dead. But you know, ducklings are fragile, so we didn’t think much about it other than it being sad.
Less than a week later she killed all the ducks and chickens. Every single one.
We found her a home with no birds.
Maybe by a dog. Cats offer their butts for a sniff by other cats or favorite humans all the time, and they do the sniffing, too, given a butt to sniff.
Dillon the Villain is a Carolina cur. Supposed to be a great hunting breed for squirrels and rabbits.
He doesn’t like gun hunting
He’s very gun shy.
And he runs like a deer. I’ve seen him leap over a picnic table and pretty high fences.
“Cat” the barn cat and “Hari” the garage cat are a stand my ground pair. They just give him dirty looks if he comes over to play.
If they ran I guess he’d chase.
Not really sure.
You did the right thing surrendering Shea. He’ll find a home, I’ll bet.
My parents had a gun shy beagle named Sparky. Tater Head the cat had taken up on the farm, and wouldn’t leave. Our previous dog had tried to chase him off, but he’d just come back and rub against the old dog. Dad tried to take him a few miles down the road, but he came back. Sparky played with him constantly, but never really hurt him.