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Getting to Know You:
Getting Along Like Dogs and Cats
by Christie Keith

Two friends of mine were getting married, and asked my advice on how to introduce the groom's twelve-pound dog to the bride's thirty-six pound cat. (No, I didn't get that backwards: the dog was one-third the size of the cat.)

There are a million ways to introduce new pets into the family, and at times I have tried them all. I have introduced them on unfamiliar turf, ignored the newcomer and made a fuss over the long-timer, kept them apart, thrown them together, begged, wept, and crossed my fingers. In the end, there are two elements I find outweigh all the others in trying to bring in a new pet: safety and luck.

Just as you don't like every human you meet, animals don't automatically like each other. If you are lucky enough to find that your pets actually LIKE each other, more than half your battle is won.

But what is the best way for this bride and groom's cat and dog to make that important first contact? One promising detail is that the families will be moving to a new apartment together. Neither the dog nor the cat will be meeting on the other's home territory. Another is the relative sizes of the pets. Dogs are actually easier to confine than cats, and it should be fairly easy to restrict their meetings to times they can be supervised for a while, without having to lock up the cat. (Usually it is the cat at greater risk from the dog. In this case, the dog runs a great risk of serious injury to his eyes if he scares the cat. Fears that the cat might eat the dog are, I think, unfounded.)

It is very important that each animal have its own safe spot and its own place to eat. I suggest putting the cat's food and water bowls up high where he can reach them but the dog cannot. The dog needs to be fed in private or while supervised, as some very ugly fights can take place over a food dish, even an empty one. As soon as the dog is through eating, pick up the dish. Be sure that water is available in more than one location.

The cat's litter box must be in a private spot, where the cat can do his business without interruption or fear. I like to keep mine in a closed room with a cat door, so once the cat is in there, he can know he is safe. Even though in this case the dog is much smaller than the cat, the cat still needs this sense of security or he may stop using his box altogether.

Of course with time, many of these rules can be broken. Cats and dogs can learn to drink out of the same bowl or even use the same litter box, if the dog is a tiny one. But in the beginning, you will lay the groundwork for a better future by respecting the need for privacy of each pet, and letting them work out the degree of intimacy they are happy with.

If your dog is bigger than your cat, as is the norm, and if your dog is not familiar with cats, it is essential that they be kept separated. A dog can and will kill a cat that runs from it, and cats can and will blind a dog with their claws. Some breeds of dog, such as the sighthounds, have an unfair reputation as being particularly dangerous to indoor cats. I have not found this to be true. Any dog can be a danger to a cat. Where sighthounds, and many other breeds of dog, are most dangerous to cats is outdoors, especially if the cat tries to outrun the dog. The prey instinct can be easily triggered. This is one of the reasons my cats live indoors, with access to their own private, wired-in patio.

Dogs who chase cats in the house can generally be taught not to do so by the judicious use of a squirt bottle. For some dogs, it is never safe to leave them unsupervised with cats, but it is imperative that the dog and cat never be left alone until you are certain the dog is not going to chase or attack the cat. Every time a dog successfully chases a cat, it is positively reinforcing the habit of cat-chasing. My dog Colleen was so aware of the rule that she actually averted her eyes from the cats. If a cat walked in front of her face, she would look up at the ceiling. "I don't see him, mom, honest I don't," I could almost hear her saying.

Many people just toss the new pets together and hope for the best. While this may work for some, at least after a period of hissing and hiding, the risks are great. It is far better to take time in the beginning and get it right, than have a dead cat or blind dog as the result of that kind of optimism.

Dogs and cats can indeed get along, and even become the dearest of friends. Our Deerhound Tim used to lie there when my mother's cat Misty was using him as a pillow, hour after hour, wide awake, not moving until she finally woke up and went on her way. Then Tim would stretch his giant frame and go out, having done his duty as he saw it. Lillie often slept with my cat Ashley curled up under her chin, and when he woke up she would lovingly lick and groom him.

Not all dog and cat stories end this well, but with a little luck and the proper groundwork, dogs and cats can live happily ever after.

Copyright 2003 by Christie Keith. Used with permission.

Any Day Doggie Treats

2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons dry parsley
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons honey
1 egg
5-6 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in the parsley, garlic, broth, honey, and egg. Gradually blend in flour, adding enough to form a stiff dough.

Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Using small bone-shaped cookie cutters, make biscuits! Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. Let cool overnight. (After we finish baking all batches of biscuits, we turn off the oven, then spread all the biscuits out on one baking sheet and set them in the oven to cool overnight. The extra time in the oven as it cools off helps make the treats crispier and crunchier.)

Makes several dozen small bones that keep and freeze well. We like these biscuits because they're quick and easy and we always have the ingredients on hand to make them. Our boys like them because they're good!

We make our own chicken broth by boiling 1 pound of chicken in 8 cups of water, seasoned with 1 teaspoon thyme, 3 teaspoons parsley, 1 teaspoon celery seed, and one bay leaf, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the chicken and use it for salads or other recipes that call for cooked chicken. Let the broth cool before using it in these recipes.

Doggie Fact

Nose prints can be used to identify dogs, just like humans use fingerprints.

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