# How do cats and dogs get on if they are in the same house together? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 4, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072 "2020-06-04T21:01:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/21 "2020-06-05T04:07:22Z")
Hey 2 of that variety of dog are visiting me, at the moment, \*\*Kenobi \*\*. Chihuahuas. Not near as smart as Jerry, though. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/22 "2020-06-05T04:12:04Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Hey 2 of that variety of dog are visiting me, at the moment, \*\*Kenobi \*\*. I thought they lived on your lap, not in a hole in the wall, Beck. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/23 "2020-06-05T04:41:48Z")
I have three dogs aged 12, 4 and 1 and two cats aged 11 and 9. The cats have always lived with various dogs and the younger one kinda thinks she IS a dog–loves her doggo friends and rubs against them and plays with them. Watching her and the young dog play “Swat The Head” is a sketch–the cat taught the dog that paw swatting is a thing so now he swats her right back if she fusses at him. Older cat is laid back and chill but also weighs 17 lbs and is more than capable of sticking up for himself. Doesn’t usually take more than one or two interactions for a dog to comprehend that the big cat is best left alone. He likes friendly dogs though and will play and head butt the dogs and not get offended when they shove their noses into his butt. They do that. Basically they’re all part of a family and get along like any other set of siblings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/24 "2020-06-05T04:49:56Z")
Our 12-year-old cat is mostly indifferent to our 2-year-old dog, except when the dog jumps on the cat wanting to play. Also, our cat was used to having a bowl of food out to nibble on all day, but our dog is not sufficiently well-trained to refrain from scarfing up any cat food that we leave out. So now we keep the food bowl out of reach of the pets and the cat comes up to us meowing for another bite of food every 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/25 "2020-06-05T07:34:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Depends on the cat and the dog. They usually learn to get along, cats learn to get places a dog can’t go. But occasionally one or the other won’t put up with it. I don’t know if they’ll play together outdoors, can’t recall seeing that. Usually cats get to roam free outside while dogs are more restricted. > [@Telemark](#): > > The often get along just fine - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFPTe9vOIkc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFPTe9vOIkc) That’s funny; we had a big, neutered tom who pestered and pestered one of the dogs (girl) until she gave in and let him snuggle with her. They were about the same age. He pursued her like the guy at the bar she accidentally gave her real number to. Years ago, we had an 80lb Pit/GSD cross, who had a wonderful puppy ethic. She would play with tiny (8 wk) puppies, and let them pretend to pin her neck. She played with the cats too, and there was one in particular who loved to play rough with her. One day, he (9 lbs of him) did a flying tackle at her flank, and she fell over. I thought it was odd that he hit her that hard, right before it dawned on me that _she took a fall for him_. This was back in the mid 90s, or I might have a video, but I will never forget it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/26 "2020-06-05T15:08:04Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > our cat was used to having a bowl of food out to nibble on all day, but our dog is not sufficiently well-trained to refrain from scarfing up any cat food that we leave out. So now we keep the food bowl out of reach of the pets and the cat comes up to us meowing for another bite of food every 20 minutes. Feed the cat on a shelf, cabinet, or other bit of furniture that’s out of the dog’s reach but not too hard for the cat to jump up onto. It may also be much easier to train the dog not to bother the cat’s food if the cat food is up on even a low table that the dog could reach with moderate effort, as opposed to just putting it on the floor. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Years ago, we had an 80lb Pit/GSD cross, who had a wonderful puppy ethic. She would play with tiny (8 wk) puppies, and let them pretend to pin her neck. She played with the cats too, and there was one in particular who loved to play rough with her. Years ago I had a cat and dog combination who loved to play rough. The dog would grab the cat and run off dragging the cat with his head half in her mouth. The first time I saw this I ran out in terror, screaming at them. They both stopped and sat up and looked at me – ‘what’s the matter, Mommy? We’re having fun.’ I eventually managed to get used to it; there was never any sign of injury whatsoever, and the cat was clearly initiating many of the games. I had to warn visitors, though: ‘when you see the dog killing that particular cat, that’s not what’s happening.’ I had several other cats at the time. Not surprisingly, none of the rest wanted to play this game, though they were all more or less friendly with the dog and some of them quite friendly with her. She never tried it on any of the other cats, to the best of my knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/27 "2020-06-05T15:36:21Z")
I see dog & cat friend videos every day on Reddit, and my heart aches wishing my Grady could get along with a kitty. I know he would love to play with one, and curl up with one. But he’s met cats exactly twice and has maimed cats exactly twice. Something in his little pea brain does not let him not want to kill smaller non-dog animals. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/28 "2020-06-05T15:48:25Z")
Great stories!!! we usually have 5 or 6 dogs, and 4 to 6 cats, split between 2 houses on the same semi- rural place. It does take initial effort, introductions, safe spaces for everyone to get used to each other. My recent addition, as of this past 6 months is a large(18lb) male tabby, he was so ornery and mean at first, that we almost returned him to the rescue org.:eek: I mean like scary bobcat mean, just no fear of even the large dogs. We thought he would hurt them, as he would attack them on sight, and growl this hideous growl… I kept him in a large cage near the bed, and walked him on a leash to learn his boundaries. Seemed to take a few months…time flies around here. Now? He is like the diplomat of all beings… gets along with everyone, sleeps with the dogs, likes all the cats, follows me around all day at work here. Most peculiar. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/29 "2020-06-05T16:15:00Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Ummm, did anyone read the OP?Well, first of all, Tom and Jerry were a cat and mouse. Cats eat mice. They don’t ordinarily eat or even kill dogs. > > But were you serious about the bolded part… do you think pets walk each other? Go out on the street and put leashes on each other? That’s something only humans can do. And with or without a leash, a dog being walked by a cat might just run away. > > Or were you just messing with us and no one noticed you slipped that in? [Walkin’ the dog. I’m just a-walkin’ the dog.](https://youtu.be/BcTgabIixTY) ---
**Author:** ![Deltree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Deltree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deltree)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/30 "2020-06-05T16:29:30Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Cats rule…Dogs drool. > > Just sayin’ One of my cats drools. Vet can’t see any reason why, but there it is… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/31 "2020-06-05T16:48:47Z")
My first dog, we got as a puppy, at the same time as one of the cats. She very quickly taught him that she was bigger than him, and he never forgot that, even as he grew to 80 pounds. Later dogs (gotten at about a year old, when they were close to their full growth already), there was a bit more friction, but it was eased by the fact that there were many places in the house where the cats could go but the dogs couldn’t follow. If a dog was being too, well, doggish for a cat’s taste, the cat would just run under a cabinet or on top of the fridge or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/32 "2020-06-05T17:02:10Z")
Sometimes they get along too well, and you get catdog. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072/33 "2020-06-05T19:09:01Z")
You really can’t predict. Our dogs generally got along with our cats, especially our first dog – she was best friends with one cat in particular, Noel. Then she died, and we got Lexi. Welll, this time around, Noel HATED Lexi for some reason, and on one occassion, would have beaten the living shit out of her if my mother and I hadn’t caught them in time. (As it was, my mother was badly bit trying to separate the two) She was just a very dominate cat. After that, Lexi pretty much avoided her. Some CATS don’t get along with each other – I’ve had ones that absolutely loathed one another. And then I’ve had some that are buddy-buddy. It really all depends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cats-and-dogs-get-on-if-they-are-in-the-same-house-together/855072.md?page=1)