Believe it or not, you can have dogs and cats in the same house; they can live together in harmony, tranquility and respect. But depending on your situation, achieving this harmony could be a bit of a chore. However, here we will teach you how to have cats and dogs in the same house.
Before introducing ourselves to the educational teaching of our pets, we must understand that their behaviors are often more influenced and dictated by their instincts and by their ancestors during the development and course of their lives.
In other words, if our dog has a history of aggressiveness and intolerance even with other dogs, it will be very difficult to get him to live with our cat. It is not specifically impossible, but it is more difficult to achieve this type of coexistence.
In these types of cases, before trying to make our dog live with the cat, we have to work on our dog’s behavior in general to alleviate, control and eradicate those negative emotions.
Something very similar happens with cats, although they adapt more easily to new pets, even if they are from other animal species. Now that these points have been clear, I invite you to read the instructions that you will see below.
What do you need to have dogs and cats in the same house?
- Dog
- Cat
- Food
- Toilet
- Toys
- Towel
- Bedrooms
Instructions for having cats and dogs in the same house
- Understand age differences and what this implies within animal coexistence. In the case of young cats and dogs, when coexistence begins from childhood, it is much easier for them to adapt to each other without any problem and without making an effort to get along. It is even possible that within their coexistence they consider themselves as part of the herd. But in the case of adult animals or when there is a noticeable age difference between one and the other, coexistence can be more difficult and we will have to work more to achieve harmony between the two.
- It is very important that the new pet, whether it is a cat or a dog, has a safe personal space where no one will harm it, not dogs, not other cats, much less humans, no one. In this place you must have water, food and a comfortable place to sleep.
- Let’s unite them by smell. Before even thinking about putting our two pets together in the same room, we have to make them subtly know each other. For this, we will use smell as a tool. Animals associate smell with different types of stimuli. The stimuli we want to create are positive stimuli. To achieve this, we will feed our pets, each one separately, in rooms together; preferably, they will eat in front of the doors.
- We do this so that our pets associate the smell of each other with something positive, such as mealtime. We will do this for a few weeks. If you notice your dog restless during these times, try to reassure him and reward him for his good behavior. In this way, he will understand that this individual on the other side of the door is not a threat to him, and he will associate his smell with something positive.
- We will continue to use smell as a strategic tool to bring our pets closer and get them used to their presence. We will caress our pets with a clean towel. We will use this towel to pet both animals. In this way our pets will be able to smell each other indirectly, and they will relate this aroma to something positive, which in this case is caresses.
- When approximately a month has passed since the arrival of our new pet in the house, we will take the individual who already lived in the house, to the room of our new pet. But, we will do this without our pets meeting there to prevent them from feeling threatened or there is tension. In this room where we used to have our new pet, we will feed our other pet who we are trying to get used to the new member of the family.
- In this way, you will relate that place and that presence with something positive as we have mentioned before. From now on we will try to feed our pet in this place, but we will always avoid the presence of our new pet while our old pet eats here. Once it finishes eating, we can return our new pet to its place. When our other pet is no longer there, its scent will still remain, getting our new pet used to the old one. It is ideal to feed our new pet here, once the old one is no longer present.
- We can do this for a couple of weeks. If you consider that your pets are not reacting negatively to the partial presence of each other, we can advance their meetings. After approximately two months of subtle olfactory training, when the reactions are positive, we can already make our pets know each other in the same place, but this is done with great care.
- In a large room, we will be with our two pets without forcing them to be together. Ask a friend or family member to cuddle your cat, which should be across the room quite far from the dog, which should be on a leash around its neck so it doesn’t run or bother the cat. Meanwhile, you can pamper your dog, trying to prevent him from barking, as it could make the cat uncomfortable. If the two continue with a favorable behavior, you should reward them, but in case the behavior is negative, you should distract them and try to calm them down. You can also switch roles and you can pamper your cat while your friend pampers your dog.
- You should not use aggressiveness or sold them at this time, because they could consider the presence of the other individual as something negative. We want to prevent our pets from relating to each other with something negative, so once our animals are calm and with a neutral or positive behavior, we will reward them. We will do this for approximately two weeks; it can be more if you consider it necessary.
Tips for having cats and dogs in the same house
- Don’t get carried away by the myth that cats and dogs can’t live together or are natural enemies. This is a lie promoted by the media and generally by the cinema for profit. In real life, pets such as cats and dogs can live together in perfect harmony.
- Even when we talk about rabbits and cats, ferrets, guinea pigs, or even canaries, when we teach our pets to value and respect other individuals, even their instincts can be controlled.
- Take all the time you need. Getting a cat and a dog (especially an older one) to live together can be a bit difficult. But with time, effort and dedication we can ensure that they respect each other and coexist harmoniously.
