Cats and Kerries

Summarized from discussions on KerryBlues-L Newslist
by Kelly Gardner, huntinghousenm@YAHOO.COM

Joxer

Excerpts from some of the posts follow, but in general, here are the main points that I gleaned from the responses I received:

Socialize your Kerry as much as you can--with people, other dogs, and with cats.
Obedience training is a must.
Make sure your Kerry knows who is boss (you)--be firm but always kind and always consistent.
Always monitor the Kerry and cat when they are together. Don't leave them alone together until you are 100% positive the Kerry will not go after the cat, understanding that you may never be able to trust your Kerry to be alone with your cat(s).
It depends on the dog--some Kerries are mellow enough to be able to co-exist peacefully with felines, some aren't.
Make sure the cat has places to escape to that are inaccessible to the Kerry.
Kerry's are sensible, smart dogs. Give them credit. If you don't freak out and if you handle things calmly and firmly, you have a better chance of a successful integration.
Kerry's are born to chase and kill smaller animals. You may be fighting a losing battle against deeply ingrained instincts.

Excerpts from responses:

"I really think I would resist introducing a KBT PUPPY into a 16- YEAR old's [Kerry] life, .....I truly don't think there would be a kind, innocuous way to do it and the puppy will take so much of your time away from your old friend. "

"We had an older and a younger cat when we got our Kerry when he was 4 months. the older cat was 'dominant' in the house -- clearly helped [the Kerry] understand this somehow -- and, most important we later realized, NEVER ran away from [the Kerry]. He ignored the dog, sometimes slept cuddled up with him, they co-existed. the second cat was scared of [the Kerry] and let him know in a passive aggressive way --AND also ran away and so [the Kerry] chased, thinking it was play. it became a serious problem in our house. we finally realized he needed to be in a one-animal family to be happy and found him a place where he was blissful with a work-at-home woman who
put all her attention on him. when the older cat became older and weaker (he had diabetes) [the Kerry] was sometimes too rough with him. the cat began to not run, but certainly move, away from him and [the Kerry] would 'chase'. We would never have a cat with this Kerry, or another, although if it was unavoidable we would have a cat place out of reach of the dog and be more vigilant from the beginning with absolutely consistent and firm training so that when we are present we can move the dog into 'working' mode where he is (almost) consistently obedient."

Joxer "When I got my first Kerry I had a resident cat. Everyone said I would be compelled to give up the cat. That was not an option so I proceeded to get the Kerry It turned out fine....I simply put them together and watched being certain they both (the cat and Kerry) knew we loved both of them. There were hisses and some chasing (cats are very clever and quick at hiding) and I had the fun of showing my snapshot of the Kerry and cat laying side by side on the sofa....new residents usually are the ones who feel they need to adapt if the cat is introduced and supervised time for both ...for a while. I feel certain all will work out."

"I think if the cat has been around dogs before and is not frightened of them and doesn't run-- and has a place to go to that the puppy can not get to -- she or he should be alright-- they seem to create their own hierarchy as a group or pack and respect each other. As far as the claws -- trust me the surprise of the hissing and spitting was enough to set the puppy on its' heels real quick. [Our cat] never used her claws on the puppy she did bat at her a couple of times but the big thing was the noise factor ."

"My first and second Kerries--both introduced to a cat for the first time at age 1--were expected to respect my cats as members of the household that weren't leaving. I've had cats all my life compared to Kerries that joined my life in '89. It was fortunate that my first two were mellow enough to respect other life forms. I've not had a problem. All my other Kerries have grown up with cats in the house. They are so sensible as a breed that even though they have a strong prey instinct, they should respect that cats are family members. Especially when coming in as pups. This should be a much easier introduction that an adult Kerry. Pups will try to play, and this will probably be the most troublesome thing for your oldster. I'm sure he will get the picture soon enough."

"I have 2 twelve year old cats who had not lived with a dog for a long while. I got [my Kerry] when he was 10 weeks old. Now, I have never had a problem before introducing cats and dogs. The first few days might be interesting, but the dogs have always learned. I have successfully introduced a cat chasing Golden, a German shepherd and My older Scottie. But I have never seen the tenacity of this Kerry. He has never hurt the cats, but always chases them if he even thinks he can get away with it. He is always corrected, I put him in sit stays when the cats walk by, but he always tries again. [M]y big tom, holds his own. He swats and hisses and [the Kerry] always backs down. [M]y fat female, is a nervous wreck. She too will swat and has never been hurt, but is clearly freaked out and skittish. Granted, she has always been on the neurotic side. Now I am hoping that since the dog is now a year old, he may eventually give up, and I am committed to all the animals, i.e. no one is leaving. I love my puppy and I've had these cats for their entire lives. On the bright side, occasionally we let [the Kerry] up on the bed with the cats and everyone hangs out peacefully with us at night."

"I would not try to introduce the cat and the dog personally because you are at risk of being bitten. I would make sure the cat has somewhere safe to hide. I would let them make friends on their own. I would teach the commands "gentle" and "leave it" so that the puppy knows there are some limits. I would wait for them to discover their own magic and surprise you with a friendship that will probably develop."

"IN GENERAL, Kerries don't do well with cats. Of course, as with any generality, there will be
exceptions to this."