Most of us consider dogs and cats to be enemies, and for many of the readers the question how to "reconcile" the sides is quite urgent, because often cats and dogs have to live in one house. Here is what German zoopsychologists suggest.
"Many people think that a cat in the house is easier than a dog care, since dogs are more sociable and permanently need contacts with living creatures, whereas independent cats don't need such. Yes, a person may keep both animals. But before this he should get to know that relationship between these two totally depends on their "inborn nature". Most of dogs are hunters. Some like terriers, dachshunds and husky were through the ages being selected by unsurpassed hunting qualities, therefore it is in their genes to chase and snap a potential "game". Cats are hunters too. They descend from redoubtable felines and still have the habit to chase and catch a small prey. As a rule, a cat is a dominant towards a dog (and sometimes even a human). But if the hierarchy was reversed, a large sized dog may do harm, since running cat is an involuntary stimulus to chase it. A dog's bowl may also represent danger. But a cat is able to stand for itself too and seriously wound the offender, especially if it is a small dog or a puppy.
People are used to ascribing an endless feud to relationship between cats and dogs. But sometimes between the "foes" lies mutual affection. Should it be regarded as "friendship"? An outstanding expert of animal behavior Konrad Lorenz wrote: "From my personal experience a true friendship between animals of different species is extremely rare. For this reason I called the present chapter "Truce", not "Friendship between animals" or something like this. No doubt that mutual tolerance is not the same as friendship. Even when animals have similar interests (e.g. they play together), as rule, one can't say they have a true social cohesion, let alone lasting friendship". However, is it possible if not to make them be friends but just do so as to avoid conflicts between these two beloved domestic animals?
Many people ask: a cat or dog one should get first? There is no single opinion. After all, the owner is hardly to have an opportunity to choose. As a rule, most people already have a dog or a cat and want to get one more "beast".
What is the best age to introduce animals to each other? Of course, cubs easier get together. If you already have a cat and you are going to have a dog, take a puppy (3 to 12 weeks old).
The ideal is situation when in your house lives an adult dog that is nice, or at least, indifferent to cats. Take a kitten and let him from time to time meet the dog. The first contact should apparently go under your control. Let the newcomer sniff around and get used to surroundings, while the "host" gets used to the baby's smell. Don't compel the contact, pushing the pets towards each other, since they commonly study another animal from a distance. At first feed both the cat and the dog in one room but in the opposite corners (to make them get used to each other's smell and associate it with something positive). However even if your cat and dog will later eat from a single bowl (the dog's, as a rule), you should feed them separately.
If the dog wags the tail and by typical postures invites the cat to play, you may be sure, the dog is in sympathize with cat. Strike the cat, since such dog's thrusts are most likely not comprehensible to it. Later the cat will learn how to join the game.
The cat may display its' sympathies with the dog by biting the dog's tail or using it to sharpen claws. Cats adore warmth and quickly grasp that a dog is a living "heating pad", therefore they often lie beside the dog or even on the dog. Animals that got used to each other take care of their "friend": wash, clean ears, and sleep together.
In some cases the truce between a cat and a dog doesn't come. Then it's not bad if "foes" try to avoid each other. But incessant conflicts increase the chance for both sides to be injured, therefore if pets are irreconcilable, you must separate them or do your best to isolate from each other.
the material prepared by Vera Shaurova (Kurgan, Russia)
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).