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Subject: introducing a rat terrier to my two cats

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dellagracie

Newbie

11/08/2007 10:55 AM
my bf and i just mvoed in together a week ago and i moved my cats in to the new place with us. his rat terrier has been at a friends house for a week, so that the cats could adjust to the new place. tonight the dog comes to our house for good. my cats have met the dog on two occasions and are terrified of her. any suggestions on how to incorporate our cats and dog family? the dog has never lived around cats, and vice versa. also, i know ratties are genetically made up to chase things? will she ever just be indifferent to the cats? any advice is much, much appreciated! I'm just very nervous for my cats.

Jules

Firehouse Big Dog

11/08/2007 11:02 AM
Our cats just seemed to stay on high places for awhile and the dogs just started ignoring them. Outside my dog chases cats like he wants to kill them. Inside he knows if he he hurts my cats he is gonna be in BIG BIG BIG trouble. Just show the dog that the cats are family members too. It's gonna take time to adjust but it will happen eventually. Took my cat like 6 months to be completely comfortable. She was 10 when she met them and she had never seen a dog before. So it was a big change for her. Could keep a baby gate up in one room if the cats wanna stay in one room away from the dog. One of our cats is new and she doesn't like our other cat. So we keep a baby gate up for her so no one can come in and disturb her, i think she feels more peaceful that way lol

“Photography is about finding out what can happen in the frame. When you put four edges around some facts, you change those facts.” -Garry Winogrand Been a member of rt.com since Aug. 2005

buttonbutt

Newbie

11/08/2007 3:03 PM
No cats here, so I can offer no advice on that front. But want to welcome you to this website. You'll love it here. And I'll warn you this place is addictive. I know lots of folks with ratties and cats and they do just fine. They have a way of knowing how much to "mingle" on their own. If the rattie gets too "pushy", your cats will set him straight with one swift hiss & swipe! Like Jules said, the cats will probably keep their distance for awhile.

DaisysMom

Moderator
<b>Moderator</b>

11/08/2007 3:09 PM
Hmmm...I have two cats, and two dogs - including my rattie, Daisy. This is hard for me to answer, though, because my cats (siblings) are almost 10 and were born when we still had our Rottie, so they've always been around dogs. They do have their claws, though they rarely need to use them on the dogs, as they read the cats' signals pretty well. I would just take it slow and try and give your cats somewhere they can go or get to that the dog cannot. While it's true that ratties can have a high prey drive, mine doesn't bother my cats. I mean, she'll chase and play with them, but she doesn't go for blood or anything. 'Course, they're bigger than she is Good luck and welcome to the site. We'd love to see some pics (include the kitties too) and please let us know how it's going with the introductions.

Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom

Mitzy's Mom

PAWesome

11/08/2007 3:11 PM
Jules has given you good advice. Do your cats have their claws? If so the rattie is probably in more danger than your cats.

Mary Beth, mom to the Lollipop Kids Georgia Foster Mom, www.newrattitude.org Pics of my current fosters: http://imageevent.com/newrattitude/caradoc http://imageevent.com/newrattitude/willow http://imageevent.com/newrattitude/fiona

dellagracie

Newbie

11/09/2007 1:56 PM
thank you to everyone who answered ! i appreciate the advice. yes, my cat both have their claws, so if the dog becommes overbearing, they can swat her. last night went ok, although both cats just hid for most of the night. today, while we're both at work, we have the dog confined to the bedroom. at least that way they can all still smell and hear each other. i'm looking forward to the weekend, so we can spedn time with all three of them. thanks again........i'll keep you posted!

DaisysMom

Moderator
<b>Moderator</b>

11/09/2007 3:42 PM
Please do!!! And don't forget to share some pics

Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom

elfmom

Rattie

11/14/2007 10:12 AM
Hi all- Just adding to the chat on cats N ratties. We have four cats in our home. Only one is actually mine. One is my youngest daughter's & two are my other daughter's. Zoe is getting tutored. So, she's been swatted a couple of times & is learning to give two of them a wide berth. I do think any aggressive behavior toward the cats needs to be nipped in the bud because this kind of thing can get ugly. I'll try to get a pic up soon. elfmom

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