[Mugflefusysef]

We have 2 cats. One that is 10 years old, is declawed in the front, hisses at every animal, person, and shadow on the wall. Its just her crotchety nature. The other cat is turning 4, and he is a very sweet cat and affectionate with humans. He has all of his claws, and he is who scares me the most. Even though he is a sweet cat, when we brought our new pup to meet him, he HISSED and looked like he was raising his front paw to swipe! And that is so surprising because its the first time in 4 years of owning him that he has EVER hissed.

The Pitt puppy is so young and sweet that I really have no worries about her attacking the cats at all. He seems more interested in just getting to know them and play. But im very very very afraid of the 4 year old swiping and taking out an eye or worse on the puppy. Especially when we are not at home and the puppy is crated. Do you think the cat could get his paw in the cage and hurt him?

[BoomBully]

I don't think the cat will go that far out of his way to hurt the puppy, but cats can be evil creatures.

As I'm sure you've heard pit bull's are well known for dog aggression/animal aggression. It is very possible that your puppy matures into a dog that does not like the cats at all, some dogs even outright attack cats that they've been raised with their whole life.

There are things you can do to facilitate the best cat/dog household as possible, there are no guarantees like everything else in this world though! I would discourage the puppy from being rambunctious around the cats and I would not FORCE interaction between them and I definitely wouldn't allow the puppy to try and "play with" the cats if they were not interested. Use a leash and treats to teach the puppy to be quiet around the cats, not to chase them etc. Generally because the cats do not seem happy about the puppy, I'd be working on teaching the puppy to ignore the cats completely. Maybe then the cats will quiet down, maybe not.

I'd do this by giving the cat some wet food to keep him in one place for a short training session. I'd have high value treats for the puppy, liver, cut up dogs, cheese etc. I'd stay at least 10 feet away from the cat eating and work on quiet commands like sit, down, stand, watch me, having the puppy completely ignore the cat.

When cats run it incites your dog's prey drive, some dogs will just chase, others will complete the act, which is shaking the crap out of whatever they caught after chasing it. Avoid finding out what kind of puppy yours is by desensitizing him to your cats antics and crate when unsupervised like you are already doing.

[AnIInWon]

I just keep my cat separate from my dogs. My AB, Basset Hound and APBT pup like the cat and do not bother him much. My adult APBT is on a mission to catch and kill the cat. To keep my cat safe he has his own room that is a dog free zone and contains his litter box and food dishes. I let the cat wander around at night when the dogs are crated and during the day if the dogs are in the basement family room because we have a pocket door we can close to keep the dogs with us and the kitty can safely wander around upstairs.

[Mugflefusysef]

I don't think the cat will go that far out of his way to hurt the puppy, but cats can be evil creatures.

As I'm sure you've heard pit bull's are well known for dog aggression/animal aggression. It is very possible that your puppy matures into a dog that does not like the cats at all, some dogs even outright attack cats that they've been raised with their whole life.

There are things you can do to facilitate the best cat/dog household as possible, there are no guarantees like everything else in this world though! I would discourage the puppy from being rambunctious around the cats and I would not FORCE interaction between them and I definitely wouldn't allow the puppy to try and "play with" the cats if they were not interested. Use a leash and treats to teach the puppy to be quiet around the cats, not to chase them etc. Generally because the cats do not seem happy about the puppy, I'd be working on teaching the puppy to ignore the cats completely. Maybe then the cats will quiet down, maybe not.

I'd do this by giving the cat some wet food to keep him in one place for a short training session. I'd have high value treats for the puppy, liver, cut up dogs, cheese etc. I'd stay at least 10 feet away from the cat eating and work on quiet commands like sit, down, stand, watch me, having the puppy completely ignore the cat.

When cats run it incites your dog's prey drive, some dogs will just chase, others will complete the act, which is shaking the crap out of whatever they caught after chasing it. Avoid finding out what kind of puppy yours is by desensitizing him to your cats antics and crate when unsupervised like you are already doing.

Thank you for all of this info!

I just keep my cat separate from my dogs. My AB, Basset Hound and APBT pup like the cat and do not bother him much. My adult APBT is on a mission to catch and kill the cat. To keep my cat safe he has his own room that is a dog free zone and contains his litter box and food dishes. I let the cat wander around at night when the dogs are crated and during the day if the dogs are in the basement family room because we have a pocket door we can close to keep the dogs with us and the kitty can safely wander around upstairs.

At this stage, i'm not worried about the Pitt puppy hurting the cats at all. She's too gentle and mellow. I'm afraid that the cats will do some damage to the puppy. Scratching an eye out being the worst possible scenario of course.

[LxtdK9i4]

I wouldn't worry about the cat seriously hurting the puppy. In my experience letting the pup get a face full of cat claws tends to deter them in the future from bothering the cat (at least this has been the case with my dogs when they pushed the cats too far).

K9Love had great advice and I can't add much more. Just always supervise and start teaching your pup right now that cats are off limits. It may not make much difference as your pup matures but it is a start!

BTW, "pit" only has one "t"

[Mugflefusysef]

I wouldn't worry about the cat seriously hurting the puppy. In my experience letting the pup get a face full of cat claws tends to deter them in the future from bothering the cat (at least this has been the case with my dogs when they pushed the cats too far).

K9Love had great advice and I can't add much more. Just always supervise and start teaching your pup right now that cats are off limits. It may not make much difference as your pup matures but it is a start!

BTW, "pit" only has one "t"

Haha thanks for the spelling help!

[AnIInWon]

At this stage, i'm not worried about the Pitt puppy hurting the cats at all. She's too gentle and mellow. I'm afraid that the cats will do some damage to the puppy. Scratching an eye out being the worst possible scenario of course.

You'll be surprised how fast that pup will grow. By about 5 months of age a pup could easily harm a cat. Even just playing and not trying to. Heaven forbid the pup actually tries!

But yeah, Pit pups tend to play very rough and intensely with each other and other animals. They can take a lot of punishment. I wouldn't worry about the cat hurting the pup.

[Mugflefusysef]

You'll be surprised how fast that pup will grow. By about 5 months of age a pup could easily harm a cat. Even just playing and not trying to. Heaven forbid the pup actually tries!

But yeah, Pit pups tend to play very rough and intensely with each other and other animals. They can take a lot of punishment. I wouldn't worry about the cat hurting the pup.

Thanks!

[Tribas4u]

I have two 10-year old cats and adopted a 1 year old pit mix. We've had a few issues but generally it's gone smoothly.

I know you're not worried about the dog hurting the cat, but you should train the dog now that the cats are off limits and not playmates. When I brought the dog home, I kept her on a leash for the first couple days and when she so much as looked at a cat wrong, I snapped the leash and she understood VERY quickly that the cats were off limits. I also taught her "leave it" immediately so I could tell her to leave the cats alone instead of having to use the leash.

The bigger problem I've had is with my meaner of the two cats. He likes to block the stairs and swat at the dog trying to pass. It scares the dog and she'll come running back down, but I'm worried that one day she'll just get sick of it and snap at the cat. The cat hisses a lot at the dog too, but generally keeps his distance. I did start using a spray bottle on the cat if he was blocking the stairs and not letting the dog pass - that's just a showdown waiting to happen. The other cat is a lot friendlier and doesn't mind sitting next to the dog, but the dog occasionally decides the cat needs a slurpy lick from a dog, and the look of abject horror on the cat's face is just hilarious.

[Mugflefusysef]

I have two 10-year old cats and adopted a 1 year old pit mix. We've had a few issues but generally it's gone smoothly.

I know you're not worried about the dog hurting the cat, but you should train the dog now that the cats are off limits and not playmates. When I brought the dog home, I kept her on a leash for the first couple days and when she so much as looked at a cat wrong, I snapped the leash and she understood VERY quickly that the cats were off limits. I also taught her "leave it" immediately so I could tell her to leave the cats alone instead of having to use the leash.

The bigger problem I've had is with my meaner of the two cats. He likes to block the stairs and swat at the dog trying to pass. It scares the dog and she'll come running back down, but I'm worried that one day she'll just get sick of it and snap at the cat. The cat hisses a lot at the dog too, but generally keeps his distance. I did start using a spray bottle on the cat if he was blocking the stairs and not letting the dog pass - that's just a showdown waiting to happen. The other cat is a lot friendlier and doesn't mind sitting next to the dog, but the dog occasionally decides the cat needs a slurpy lick from a dog, and the look of abject horror on the cat's face is just hilarious.

It's interesting you say that, because it seems that a lot of people on this forum prefer to train their dog not to go after the cats, instead of training the cats not to go after the dog (or training both). My father in law has 2 pits and 2 cats and 1 of the cats swipes at the pits all the time. And thats when the Pit goes after the cat. Maybe im just biased but Cats seem like such antagonizing bastards.

[LxtdK9i4]

Maybe im just biased but Cats seem like such antagonizing bastards.

Not biased at all. I'm much more a cat person and I totally agree that they start shit just to get the dogs in trouble. While I don't trust the dogs alone with the cats they have been taught that no matter what, you don't go after the kitty. I also stop the cats from antagonizing the dogs when I see it.

[Tauntenue]

In my household, the cats are the boss. Or at least Jasper is.

I would make sure that they are supervised at all times. With my dog Pandora, she would only try to attack on of our cats (Poor Max). So we kept them seperated. I would also make sure your cats have a doggie free zone so that have somewhere they feel safe if they do not want to be bothered.

[aideriimibion]

So much has already been written on this subject but all I can say is WHY WHY WHY is this even necessary. Obviously you have a cat that doesn't like the dog or anything else and is essentially defenseless. In a matter of a few weeks you will have a dog that can kill the cat easily and even accidentally. So again WHY

The fact you are worried that any cat may harm your sweet, gentle pitty poo puppy is an indication of just how little you know about these dogs. It seems you haven't thought much about your pit bull and what he will actually become in 40 weeks, what the nature of these dogs is, and the changes you are in store for. Just how much thought went into getting that cute little puppy you have? This statement
"The Pitt puppy is so young and sweet that I really have no worries about her attacking the cats at all. He seems more interested in just getting to know them and play. But im very very very afraid of the 4 year old swiping and taking out an eye or worse on the puppy. Especially when we are not at home and the puppy is crated. Do you think the cat could get his paw in the cage and hurt him?"
demonstrates such a complete lack of understanding and forethought, that if I could communicate with your cats, I would warn them to get out of Dodge. Not because you have a pit bull and cats but because you have little understanding of the dog you have, and no experience trying to deal with it and other animals period. Please read all the stickies on this website and educate yourself on that cute little puppy of yours. Puppies are puppies for a few months but then you wind up with a dog, and in the case of this particular breed, a whole lotta dog.

[AntonioMQ]

My pups 7mo's that's growing up with 4 cats... It took a few mo's for the cats to see that the pup here to stay too, the oldest cat about 10years was the 1st to make friends, then they all started to like the pup. The pup did take a lot of cat swats, and they all have claws. They still once and a while swat at her, but it's only if she's going wild, running around like crazy(she more then likely deserved it) but other then that their fine, always sleeping on the couch together, no prob's!!! She's learning more n more to play nicely with them. She'll put her paw on the cats back, but dose it really slowly and gental,, soo cute. When I take her on walks she dosnt give cats a 2nd look. I think it's better for these dogs to grow up with cats, this way their use to more then just dogs... Like every thing else, it just takes time. If the dogs not playing nice make sure you let her/him know what's the right n wrong way to play with cats. Good look

[Tribas4u]

Not biased at all. I'm much more a cat person and I totally agree that they start shit just to get the dogs in trouble. While I don't trust the dogs alone with the cats they have been taught that no matter what, you don't go after the kitty. I also stop the cats from antagonizing the dogs when I see it.

I get really exasperated at the cat when he does it. The fact that Amy has never chased the cats is frankly a miracle, and yeah I hope my training helped but I think we've just been lucky. I want to tell the cat "are you really this effing stupid? she could snap you like a twig!" but he's like honey badger, he just don't care. So he gets a spritz in the face, and now he just keeps his distance and glares at me when I play with the dog.

[aideriimibion]

Read the donkey post. How much do donkeys weigh? What can a pit bull do to a donkey? Five years of harmony then 1 dead donkey, 1 injured donkey, 1 dead pit bull all because of 1 stupid owner. Don't be a stupid owner.

[AnIInWon]

Donkey post? I missed that one. Where is it?

[LxtdK9i4]

Donkey post? I missed that one. Where is it?

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthre...ttacks-donkeys

[AnIInWon]

Thanks!