How to make a cat and dog friends in an apartment?

People, as you know, are divided into cat owners and dog lovers. But there are also those who just love animals, cannot choose a pet - I want to take care of both of them. And they do not pose the question of whom they should choose as the brother of less: they take both a cat and a dog. For some reason, many breeders are so self-confident that they believe that others have a feline and a dog, and they make friends from the first second. Of course, not everyone is so lucky. And there are many reasons for this.

These animals have radical differences. The common thing in them is that they are mammals that walk on their hind legs and can live next to humans.

Two people cannot always get along together, let alone animals. Dogs, by their nature, can be said to be social animals. To achieve praise, acceptance from a person, they are ready to go to some hardships. Thanks to this, dogs can be trained. Dogs have a flocking instinct, therefore, in principle, they converge with other animals more easily. You saw flocks of stray dogs that are "walking in a big company." It is impossible to meet the same flock of cats: it will most likely be a mother with children.

Cats are asocial animals. Some signs give them an understanding of potential competition, but by and large they do not need a company. They quickly cling to the house, very painfully react to the move.

Seals sometimes seem arrogant, and even if they show affection, the owners think that this is nothing more than flattery with a mercenary purpose. This is not entirely true, because there are breeds of cats that compete with relatives for the attention of the owner. Siamese cats - from this category. As a result, it turns out that the dog is a more welcoming domestic animal.

As already mentioned, the cat gets used to the house, the dog to the owner. And if the dog appears in the house after the cat, she feels that they are encroaching on her territory. It’s good if the cat is already adult, and the puppy is small: as a rule, somewhere the cat shows condescension, somewhere else the completely unintelligent dog listens to the “elder at home”.

There are cases when animals became so friends that they help each other in very difficult situations. For example, a small puppy fell ill: he is sad, lethargic, eats nothing, does not really react to anything. There is a puppy in the village, there is no veterinarian, the owners sadly think - "plague", and wait in tears for a terrible end. But here the cat (in this story we are talking about a Siamese kitty) does not depart from a shaggy friend. Lies side by side, drives away flies and, as if effortlessly, pushes a bowl of water to the puppy. And he starts to drink! And then, just a little bit there. Finally, the dog is recovering. That story has a happy ending: both the outbred dog and the Siamese cat have lived for many more years, and have always been devoted to each other.

The roots of the struggle for food are at the heart of the instinct of self-preservation. Even if there is a lot of food in the house, and each pet’s plate is full, they can seriously catch their hands at dinner.

Little kittens, pulling food from a dog’s plate, gently hit the nose and tell him what he’s doing wrong. This technique has been observed in mothers of cats: they hit the little naughty paw with a paw and purr something, indicating the fact of wrongdoing. The dog, on the other hand, is a good learner of teams; in this sense, it is easier to agree with her.

Incompatibility of characters occurs, as well as incompatibility of smells. But, I must say, rarely. If both pets are babies, and only sniff at the world around them, they will perceive a lot as a given, without unnecessary tantrums.

Partly solves the problem of a clear definition of where whose place. Let them not break the rule by entering each other’s territory, there will be nothing to conflict about. In most cases, you have to negotiate with the dog: the cat is rather indifferent to the commands.

If you have babies at the same time, the problem usually does not arise. They are still very small to see competition in each other's face. Another thing is if the pet appeared in the territory where the second younger friend already lives. Or rather, the first one.

Before you bring a cat into the house, evaluate how the dog reacts to yard cats. If he simply breaks off the leash, so he wants to catch up and lap up the nasty cat, you need to teach the dog the commands "no" or "fu". You can take the dog to visit the people where the cat lives.

It is advisable that before the appearance of the cat in the house, the dog already knew the basic commands. So you will manage it, but the dog, unlike the cat, serves the owner, does not dare to disobey.

A similar algorithm and work with a cat. First, you need to introduce her to a neighbor's dog, look at the reaction. But everything is done, of course, under the supervision of the owners.

Before you bring the puppy to the house, be sure to cut the cat’s claws: it wasn’t enough for the “mistress” to hurt the pet. Since the sounds of dog barking can annoy the cat, breeders often warn the problem: they put the sounds of barking to lose, include movies with dogs, and so on.

Almost all further communication of animals depends on this. To make a cat and dog in the apartment is possible from the first, successful acquaintance. If the dog greets the cat with a loud bark, that one will have stress.

First of all, you need to introduce a cat to a dog.

• In the maximum calm atmosphere. If the cat likes to sleep in the living room, and you brought the puppy to the house, arrange an acquaintance in a neutral room. So, the cat will not think that this “miracle” will now sit in its favorite place, and will not show any expressed aggression.
• Demonstrating your own favor to both. If the dog, who did not accept the kitten very happily, obeys the owner, “proving” something to the cat is difficult.
• Reconcile them can be a common age. If they are both babies, they can even play together. Sometimes animals, strangely enough, are brought together by a common meal. If the owner calls the animals for dinner in a specific voice, by the appointed word, they run together in the direction of their bowls.

The main thing is that the owner tries to evenly distribute attention between the pets. They unite common activities: sometimes these are trips to the country house (not all cats suffer when leaving the apartment, many people love summer outings). Sometimes it’s just watching TV - a cat on the back of the sofa, a dog at the feet, the owner is happy.

If the breeder’s goal is to make friends pets, he will have to follow certain rules. He should not just watch the animals from the side, sighing that a truce is not coming.

Consider what to do to the owner.

• If the owner walks the dog on a leash, it often doesn’t occur to him that a cat can and should be walked. And also on a leash. If the joint walk succeeds, with a high probability it will make friends pets.
• If the cat snuggled in your lapinvite the dog to be near. And he will not be upset by your switching attention, and the cat will understand that such a situation is normal.
• Throw the ball in turn to the cat and dog, if they are still kids, they will be happy to join the game. Maybe not the first time, but they will turn on.
• Do not feed them from one bowl! Everyone should have their own dishes and their own corner for eating.
• Do not let the dog claim ownership of the cat. If she has her own claw-brush, her house and ladder, the dog should know - this is a cat's house, you do not need to touch it.
• If the dog in the game accidentally grabbed the cat (maybe not by chance), do not disregard this. Say “You can't!”, Lock the dog in another room for a while.

Do not feed animals the same thing. Since you decided to support two pets at once, you will have to seriously evaluate the expenses. Different food, different bowls, shampoos and much more.

Friendship must not be imposed on a cat or dog: forcibly locked in a room, forced to play with each other, feed from the same bowl. Gently and unobtrusively show the animals - you are in charge of the house, they must obey. If there are no problems with walking, feeding, grooming, playing games, most often the cat and dog get along peacefully with a good owner and each other.

Think a few times if you can handle such a task. You are responsible for the animal, since you take it to the house.

About how to introduce a cat and a dog to each other - in the next video.