Like a dog with a cat
Like a dog with a cat
The dog and cat are not necessarily enemies. In fact, animals are capable of showing friendship, and not only towards the man who cares for them or representatives of their own species. They may also feel friendship towards representatives of other animal species. In this case, the proverbial "dog with a cat" takes on a completely different meaning.
Despite the frequent misunderstandings accompanying the mutual recognition of a dog and a cat, friendship between them is possible. Naturally, no one said that at first sight they would become close enough to be friends for good or bad. Many factors play a key role here (the most important of which is the age of the animal), which depend not only on the pets themselves, but also on their owners.
The most convenient situation is when the dog and the cat are a puppy and a kitten. Such childhood friendships can last for many years. The little ones, because they do not have a bad experience with the other species yet and are not yet aware of their malevolent contacts. Even more comfortable circumstances are when the dog is an ordinary mongrel or is considered a gentle breed. There are dog breeds that not only do not accept other animals at home, but are simply aggressive by nature and it is difficult to expect any kind of tenderness and gentleness from them.
A comparable situation is when you already have a cat or cats at home, you also want to have a dog. Then it is best to take a puppy, no matter what age our old household member is. If the cat does not attack the new tenant, but shows only normal curiosity, then it is best to leave the quadrupeds alone. Cats defend their territory very much and do not immediately allow a potential candidate to occupy it. The "acceptance" process usually takes about 3-4 weeks. However, as everywhere, also here exceptions may appear and this time may be extended, but also shortened. The worst situation may occur when our old household member is an elderly cat. The most difficult thing for such a cat is to get used to the new situation and it may happen that it will not be able to agree to the presence of an unknown lodger at all.
The situation is similar if the new home member is a cat that will try to win the dog's favor. In such circumstances, the optimal solution will be a small kitten, preferably one that is not afraid of dogs and will not scratch its nose when you first try to smell it, and thus will not discourage it from happening. It is important that the cat has a place to hide when its owners are not present. This will give him a sense of security.
It would be good to try to persuade our pets to get to know each other by enabling mutual contact (eg. calling both pets to one room), but you should also remember that you must not force them to do anything. You should also be aware that both the new and the old householder should feel needed and under no circumstances should one of them feel jealous of the other. How much time we devote to the purr, we should try to devote the same time to the dog. In the animal kitchen, let's put two bowls, and in their bedroom, two beds. At the beginning, animals take some time to get used to the new situation. However, if we are persistent, there is a very good chance that one day we will find our friends sleeping together, cuddled up to each other and not imagining their lives without the other.