Cross Breeds

why dogs and cats are annoyed by each other`s presence?

Public Comments

1. That's not always the case..I grew up with a dog and two cats in the household, and the cats used to crawl on the dog and snooze away.
2. A dog is a cat's natural enemy (since dogs can hunt cats in the wild) I myself have two cats and two dogs (one is a puppy) they get along fine. Sometimes my puppy will get a little too aggressive with the cats but the cats let her know! It only took about 2 weeks for both cats and dogs to get along. My orange tabby Leo gets along great with my yellow lab Gracie. They are best friends and will sleep together in Gracie's dog bed =]
3. They often aren't. Many dogs and cats get along very well. The reason dogs chase cats: Because they run. Many dogs have strong prey drives and will chase ANYTHING(not just cats) that runs. The reason cats don't like dogs: Cats don't like other animals in their territory that they aren't used to. It often takes a long time for cats to accept a new animal in their home. ALSO: Dogs are silly, hyper, and "undignified" animals, cats like their home to be calm, quiet and cater to them.
4. You obviously have never owned a cat and dog together, and therefore go by childrens cartoons. ;) I have 3 cats and a dog. One of these cats is happiest when with the dog. He purrs, rubs against her, brings her 'presents' etc. And the dog tends to lick his face and treat him like a puppy. They were both fully grown when introduced to eachother and the dog was a stray, the cat was kept indoors by a breeder who owned no dogs.
5. My cat is 3 years old and I've had her since she was 6 weeks old. When she was 1 year old, my husband and I got a dog from the Humane Society. The two are about the same age. Our dog is a greyhound mix. As she was only about 6 months old when we got her (and adorably awkward-looking), they didn't know what kind of dog she was. They told us Labrador Retriever... Well, now that she's fully grown, it's obvious that she's part greyhound. Our cat has despised her from Day 1. Our dog, despite hours and hours of obedience training, cannot overcome her strong predatory instinct to chase our cat. She's never hurt her. Ever. She corners her and barks. Sometimes, our dog licks our cat. The cat hates it. Natural enemies, I guess.
6. My Siamese thinks he is a dog. He lays on the floor with the dogs, he drinks out of the toilet, he sleeps at night curled up next to a dog. My cats & dogs are very close, they don't annoy each other or fight or nip or scratch. The Belgian Malinois will get to playing too rough sometimes and we'll hear someone meow pretty vehemently... but she just looks at whichever cat like she is saying "Oh whatever, I was just teasing." and she walks away. I think a good majority of it is how they are raised together. My cats & dogs are so close in age they went from puppies & kittens to dogs & cats together. The Belgian is also the oldest and likes to assert her "Queen attitude", for the most part it gets ignored.