Calling all cat companions: Can bullies get along with a new cat?

[minibull]

We are considering adopting a rescue cat. Is it possible for our EB to embrace this? Also, is there any possibility of EBs being allergic to cats? Would not want to go down that road...

I'm not really a cat person, but we recently briefly sheltered a cat who we thought was a stray. Buttercup initially chased her into a bush, where I found her cowering & meowing sweetly. We would have kept her had we not found her owners (who think that an open garage is enough shelter for a cat in subzero weather, grrr...). We kept her in a finished basement and brought a harnessed Buttercup to meet her, but she just barked in a desperate high-pitched "I want to play!!!" voice while the cat, safe in Mr. Minibull's arms, gave a bored stare.

Mr. Minibull loved having cats in the past and has always wanted another. We had nixed the idea because I'm allergic to cat dander and am sort of grossed out by the concept of, "I'll poop in my litterbox, dig around a bunch, then walk on your kitchen counters." However, that playful little cat managed to steal my heart and although I know we can't save all the homeless animals, it would be great if we could give a home to a relatively low maintenance animal in need and bring some more heart-melting pet love into our home.

Tagging [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION] as I see from this board that she has cat experience!

 

[brutus77]

Do you have a friend perhaps that has a cat? I would field test it first. We had our cat then got Brutus and they learned to get along. Then we adopted Frankie and he absolutely hates the cat. So now the cat lives in the upstairs part of the house and only comes down when Frankie is sleeping. I strongly suggest a field test. Maybe if you con't have a friend with a cat, you can bring Buttercup to the shelter or wherever you are going to get the cat from and see how they react to each other.

 

[brutus77]

Ok I think I totally mis read the whole post. It sounds like Buttercup was ok if you are sure she was playing when she reacted. I haven't a clue what I thought I read. Sorry

 

[cali baker]

how great that you want to adopt this cat, [MENTION=12744]minibull[/MENTION]. I don't have cat experience but have considered adopting one too. Another member i can think of, [MENTION=8944]dieMuttivonBifi[/MENTION], i believe also has some cat-bulldog experience.

 

[JennieS]

We have two cats and adopted Brutus. Brutus thinks cats are toys. We sent brutus back to the rescue because the first weekend we had him he got a hold of our one cats. She was ok, but we knew it was the cats house first. During the week Brutus was gone, I knew i could train him out of it so we invited Brutus back into our home and he's been with us since(about 7 months now). We worked VERY VERY hard with him to get along with the cat.
They still have their moments of arguing and being feisty with each other but this is them.....

it is absolutely possible for your bully to embrace a cat. It's going to take extreme time and patience. We kept brutus on a leash most of the time he was in the house so we could control if the cats came around. it was hard work but totally worth it as you can see. Our one cat LOVES Ruthie and brutus and is around them constantly. She sleeps with them, snuggles, follows...etc.

 

[minibull]

Ok I think I totally mis read the whole post. It sounds like Buttercup was ok if you are sure she was playing when she reacted. I haven't a clue what I thought I read. Sorry

I think you read correctly. Her "I want to play!" bark seemed to reflect her desire to play with the cat like a toy rather than a friend. She has tried to "play" with other dogs and the smaller ones all seem to find it too rough. She just gets into a rough-housing kind of zone when she plays and stopping and saying No only stops it temporarily.

I also worry she might consider a cat as prey as she seems to have a strong prey drive and initially did chase the cat into a bush as she wanted to capture it. Just before the chase they had a 30-second face-to-face encounter when she would lurch toward the cat and then pull back a little when the cat hissed at her. She cornered another cat once and did not seem to understand that the cat could hurt her.

After writing all of that I realize it sounds crazy to think we could adopt a cat with her tendencies but I just wonder if she could get used to one specific cat without hurting -- or getting hurt by -- the cat.

 

[brutus77]

It sounds like it would be more stress for you. Maybe you can get an outdoor igloo so the cat can havr shelter for the winter. My mother used to do this with strays. She would put igloos out and then catch the cats, have them spayed and then put them back and they lived happily in the igloos while not over populating the earth.

 

[Marine91]

We have 3 Bengals and a Tabby. The Bengals will play with Harlea and the Tabby tolerates her. They usually get along fine, but when Harlea gets all uppity and crazy they let her know they won't put up with it.

 

[KMARINO]

My husband is a huge cat lover, he wanted a cat forever but was afraid that Vegas would be to rough. We also adopted from a Siamese Rescue 3 years ago. Jester was 10 months old when we got him. At first Vegas was just curious, but Jester let him know right off the bat who was boss. It took a little bit, but they became friends. They lay together and play together, IF Jester want's too (typical cat) . It is all up to the cat! lol I personally am not a cat person either, but I have come to love Jester. He just fit in and is part of the family now.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, we got our cat Meeko 3 years ago, after our Jack Russell passed away, then a year later we got Dozer and Blossom.
Dozer and Blossom love all animals, kids and people and want to love on them, they think everything and everyone is their friend. Meeko doesn't feel the same way, she runs for the dogs, and maybe it's because they both try to play with her, and it's too much for her, she runs for higher ground, but she will lay in the living room when they are sleeping in the same room. Meeko will sit patiently beside them when they are eating and when they have finished she will lick their bowls. They tolerate each other, they don't fight, but Meeko tends to stay clear of them. She's funny though, at night she jumps on top of their crates, and try's to swat them with her paw, she knows they can't chase her lol. She can't hurt them either because she is declawed.

 

[minibull]

It sounds like it would be more stress for you. Maybe you can get an outdoor igloo so the cat can havr shelter for the winter. My mother used to do this with strays. She would put igloos out and then catch the cats, have them spayed and then put them back and they lived happily in the igloos while not over populating the earth.

Your mom is a saint! We found the owner of the cat so we would actually be seeking a different cat (pretty easy b/c all the shelters here are filled with them, in addition to craigslist ads for unwanted cats people are trying to unload).

But you're right it would be more stressful to have another pet. Buttercup is the light of our lives but I sometimes wonder what I used to do with all the time I now spend caring for her and figuring out how to care for her. Every time I think we have figured it all out she presents with something new.

I am sure a casual observer would think that I'm the pet companion equivalent of the Tiger Mom, but she really does seem to need all these extra things that mutts don't need and she is quite the princess. Our vet said that the EB breed really takes well to pampering, and Buttercup lives up to that reputation. Mr. Minibull recently visited a friend with typical dogs and he was astounded by how different they are from Buttercup. I guess the EB breed is one of a kind!

Thank you to [MENTION=8859]Marine91[/MENTION], [MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION], and [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION] for sharing your cat-bully experiences!