CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Page 1

    Is it possible to have cats and German Shepherds peacefully co exist if the dog was never socialized with the cat at an early age? I have a male who wants to eat one so badly and damn near flips tables to get to them if the cats dont run off and hide soon enough. My male also loves chasing squirrels so I understand this is his natural prey drive. Is there any way to do this without squashing that drive? If anybody has anything that works or think may work please share.

         Thanks,

    Christopher R Moseman

How old is the dog? All of my dogs chase cats, even my own. Though they wont eat our cat they will any others if they can catch them. I have had 3 adults 2 about 9 months old when I accuired them and one 6 1/2. Non of them have harmed my cats even though it looked like they would at first.

How long have you had this dog and how often does he see the cat and on what terms? I'm assuming the cat was there first?

We've got 3 cats at home, one adult GSD, and now a Mali pup.  My GSD would love to chase the cats but when he tries to bother them, we have a little "come to Jesus" talk and his eyes are opened to the errors of his ways.  I personally do not believe that teaching your dog not to chase cats will squelch his drive on the field. 

It's a question of discipline, and you have to decide how far you're willing to go to make it work.  My cats "help me out", so to speak, because they don't like the dog and all 3 stay under the bed and take a nap while the dog is running about the house.  We don't expect them to get along - we share house time in the evening.  As soon as the cats hear the clang of Chaco's crate door, they all come marching out from under the bed and get some loving from Mom and Dad. 

It's a pain to be "the enforcer" because I've got to be consistent.  Chaco has never lost the urge to chase the cats.  The only reason he doesn't because he respects the discipline that he knows he'll get.  He still tries to get away with it sometimes when I'm busy so I've got to keep one eye open all the time. 

I think you can make it work, but that's your call.  My cats are great companions and I choose to put up with the hassle.  Best wishes to you with your own situation!

Yvette

We had a cat for 17 years, he was a wedding present and he went thru the constant parade of new dogs coming in, puppies, a move from CT to GA , old dogs passing away and new furniture which just rocked his little world..

We had a confirmed cat killer, many years ago, got her when she was about 6, back in the American showlines days.. she was the sweetest thing ever until she saw a cat.. actually removed an entire litter of ocicat kittens her owner had bred, that earned her a place out in the kennel before she came to us.

She learned very quickly that the house cat while indoors was not any of her business ever.. after one really successful come to jesus session that left a huge impact on her... there were times when you could tell she wanted him really bad and her eyes would get huge like teacups but she would control herself..... she did get a neighbors cat one night late when I let them out and the cat had come into our fenced yard.... I was able to call the other 2 dogs off but she already had him by that time and that was the end for him... I felt badly, but the cats owners didn't care.. they were splitting up so I buried the cat......made me feel even worse.

Our cat would actually sit in doorways and bat his paws at the parade of GSD's going by him

So, it can be done but it can take some real work.......and watchfulness

I have 5 cats - 3 Maine Coons, a "just a cat" (rescue) and an Abyssinian - my cats have been around all the dogs. Of my 4 dogs (yes, your calculations are right!!), my older girl has helped raise the kittens, my adult male seems to be a cat magnet - they all love him!!! (and he doesn't do anything but roll his eyes - he's a Schutzhund dog too), my middle female LOVES LOVES LOVES to stalk the Aby and the new puppy boy thinks all the cats are moving stuffed toys....

I watch the puppy just because he's, well, a puppy. He has had his nose laid open twice (by the same cat - I'm beginning to think he's not so swift on the uptake). I think that he'll probably lose most of his interest as he gets older. My girl I have to watch - I've seen her go to grab the Aby by her back (like to break it..) She also likes legs... She has a very strong prey drive and I have no doubt that she sees this particular cat as prey (they're very active and move very quickly). I know that on the VERY rare occasions one of the neighborhood cats has wound up in the yard, they all go after it. To echo what others have said - you have to keep your eye on things. I have had my share of "come to Jesus" discussions with my girl - she listens but is watching the cat the whole time. Fortunately, my cats are savvy when it comes to the dogs and know who to stay away from and who they can curl up with.

In your original question, you asked if the dog could be around cats if he hadn't been socialized at a young age. Sometimes, yes, sometimes, no. Depends on the temperament of your dog and how hard he is and how much prey drive AND if he has been taught to channel his prey drive to balls and tugs, instead of small animals.  if he flips tables to get to the cat, WELL, how much would you like to risk your cat?

Having said that, I had a confirmed cat killer kennel dog that one of my cats made friends with at age 10. The cat just didn't run and the dog seemed to not know what to do. I had many "come to Jesus" confontations with this dog early on in her life, none of which worked when she was off command. She could do a down stay for 15 minutes with the cats walking by, but the minute I let her up, watch out.

As a professional dog trainer for clients with dog/cat problems, I use obedience, channeling the prey drive to toys, etc, some of which works and some of which doesn't, depending on the dog's temperament and of course, how hard the client trains.

When I got my dog, she chased cats. She was a year old, give or take, from an unknown background. Five years later, she still WANTS to chase cats, but knows better. She lays down and stays when the cat is around. The cat knows she wouldn't dare hurt him after I give her the command. He walks right up and head butts her. She will tolerate him, but she still doesn't like him, she whines whenever he's around, and if I let her, she will follow him around watching with distrust. I would NEVER leave them in the same room unsupervised, but we've made big strides.

My sch dog allows our cat to eat some of his food when I put his food bowl down, whenever the cat wants (the cat is free fed evo cat food, but likes to snmack on the dog''s food!) .  My GSD backs up, wags his tail and allows the cat to eat as much as he wants. My prior sch dog was also very friendly to this cat and used to play with wild rabbits in the yard, never hurting them.  Both GSDs had extreme prey drive, were super sound,  anmd one from working import lines and the other from import showlines.  Interesting, toward the end of Capt. Von Stephanitz's classic book on the GSD, he included photos of shepherds laying down in the yard with other animals and commented about their docility towards humans and other animals.  This aspect of correct GSD temperament has always impressed me over the years.  Anything less than this was incorrect temperament.  Neither of my sch dogs were raised around cats.  They have been smart enough to know they were favored pets in our family and saw no threat at all.  And both have been great family protectors, yet good around friends, family and children.

yes, their is a good chance that your gsd can be socialize w/ cats. just this last year i got a kitten, my gsd was 3 yr. old at the time. My gsd definity has prey drive, he chases squirls and rabbits, etc. When i first introduce the kitten he did want to chase and get his mouth on it, after a few hours of me holding the kitten and telling my gsd to be easy with him and allowing him to smell/touch the kittens, he knew that is not to be harmed. friendly chasing happens alot, with the kitten, now cat, starting the chase ( he bait my gsd). They actually sleep together, it's very cute. 

Also when the cats out, l'll tell my gsd " where the Cat" and he'll track him, flush him out of a bush or tree and herd him it to the house. It's a strange relationship, but a good one.

My female Tasha (now passed away) had a high prey drive, but she helped me raise a litter of kittens I fostered from a feral mother. She was very good with the. Guess her mothering instinct kicked in over the prey drive. When we wanted to get them in in the evening, same thing as above, we'd tell her: "Where's Tabby? Where's Flynn?" and she'd go off after them and chase them into the house. The male would let him take his whole body in her mouth, and chomp on it, while he went at her with all 4 paws (claws sheathed!). I often was afraid they were hurting each other, but if I grabbed her collar and told her to stop it, the cat would just lie there, and make no effort to get away.

When I adopted Ranger, I was told he would kill cats. His introduction to Shadow resulted in a wild chase through the house, which ended with the cat clinging to the venetian blinds for dear life. 

Here's what their relationship looked like after 6 months:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/Sunsilver/IMG_1058.jpg

So, yes, it can be done, but I think it depends very much on the dog's prey drive, and previous experience. Some dogs may never be 100% trustworthy, though as others have said, usually the cat senses that and will avoid them. And most cats are very well equipped to protect themselves. I had a tabby cat I rescued from the back alleys of Edmonton who would routinely take on my neighbour's Irish wolfhound, and send it packing with its tail between its legs! Another time, he took on a fully grown GSD and GSD mix, and was more than holding his own against the two of them, when I stepped in and pulled him away. He took the fight to them, too, when he could easily have escaped under the nearby cars!