Chow Chows and cats?

Training and behavior topics, guidelines, and tips for Chow Chows.

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panty hamster
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Chow Chows and cats?

Post by panty hamster »

I've found your forum while researching the chow chow breed. I've chosen to join your forum because I appreciate the generosity, patience and all around sense of kindness that you discuss your pets with. I do not currently own one as it would be inappropriate given the size of my living space and financial position. However I hope to in future and wish to be prepared by learning about the breed now.

I spent my summers as a child and adolescent on a farm where cats and dogs lived together and got along. I mention this because I think the adage about cats and dogs disliking each other is foolish. However given the tendency for aggressiveness in Chow chow dogs and the mischievous nature of cats I'd like to know if any of you folks have experience with Chow chows living in a house alongside a cat(s). Of course the details of their companionship is relative to their individual personalities. I'd like to know what one might expect in the way of difficulties and if your willing what your experiences have been like.
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chowpups
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by chowpups »

My first chow was raised from a pup of 12 wks with 2 cats. One cat got along famously with our chow and the other cat (older more set in her ways) didn't care to be bothered..The one that got along with our chow was about 2yrs old and she would curl up inside the dogs legs to sleep.. they were best friends. We always gave the cats a room with a baby gate so they could jump over and always feel they could escape from the dog (puppy of 1yr plays pretty rough sometimes). Once in a while the older cat would come up to Oneill and sniff her but as soon as Oneill showed a sign of alertness .. The cat took off .. never any fighting just didn't want to be bothered.. but they all lived together peacefully..
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Tippsy'smom
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Tippsy'smom »

I have 4 cats and 4 dogs total(Tippsy and Jasper are mine, the yorkie is my moms, and the chihuahua is my brothers), they all get along very well. I actually had a cat at one point who would eat out of Tippsy's food dish with her. It was quite funny. I always swore Tippsy could eat Li'l Bit for a snack, but she never turned on her. They'd sleep together too, but of course this was my cat that liked to swim in the bath tub and have a bath and go for walks on leash. :lol:

I think if you raise them together they will get along. And if you teach them to get along they very well can. :)
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ilovemysmoothie!
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by ilovemysmoothie! »

I have one chow (Little Bear) and 2 cats (Murph and Lu) and they get together really well! The cats were 3 years old when I got LB, and she was 2 months old when we brought her home... it took a few weeks for the cats to warm up to her (they were standoffish, and kept peeing on her bed and kept batting at her face...), but now there is no issue. Actually... Lu quite often grooms LB!
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Sirchow »

Bramble and our big ginger boy curl up together on her sleep mat every night. I can never catch them because as soon as bramble hears me coming down stairs she leaps up to great me. But I know she sleeps there because there is always a warm bit right beside the cat. \:D/
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Hugo
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Hugo »

Hi
I have 1 Chow, 1 Spoodle and 1 Persian cat. Chow is 8 mnths old and the cat is 15 1/2. They get on fine.
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by roxyroxymychowchow »

I have a Chow Chow and a cat and they are the best of friends! It is so cute to watch them run around and play in the yard together! Sometimes my Chow will start to play a little rougher then the cat appreciates, but I think the cat's willing to put up with it when in return he gets to snuggle up to her at night.
My Chow has also become very protective of the cat and if another dog is ever in sight, she immediately puts herself infront of the cat and let's the other dog know that this cat is not to be messed with.
sockmunkey1969
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by sockmunkey1969 »

I had my cat for about 7 months before I got Cookie. Cookie was 6 weeks when I brought her home so the cat STILL thinks he rules the roost. The cat will just jump up on the bed when he's had enough. It's hilarious to watch them play. Cookie could swallow him whole and the cat will go and provoke her. The cat is declawed and he will sit on the bed and just slap Cookie as "if I had claws I'd scratch your eyes out". lol. Cookie will put her mouth all over the cat, but never bites down. I don't worry about them at all. That cat will not put up with any funny stuff.
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Beowulf
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Beowulf »

Saw the topic and thought I'd pipe in to share my experiences as well which are, as stated, dependent on the animals themselves. As a general rule, one cat can hold its own with a dog, but a problem may arise if said cat is faced with a pack of dogs. In the event a cat is grabbed by a dog, it can and will twist and will use its back claws to rake (literally tear up) the stomach of a dog, but generally speaking its first line of defense is to escape thus avoid being grabbed in the first place; I've always raised dogs and cats, and never had any issues (though a dog gate or other means of letting the cat escape is a great idea, as is a crate/"den" for the dog should the dog have enough and need a means of escape -- after all, those claws really hurt if used to scratch it, right?). In terms of pairings, I've had a wonderful (parlor) panther (Burmese x American short-hair), who in his 25 years of life helped me train first a Dalmatian and then, when my Dal-pal passed of ripe old age, a Jack Russell Terrier, both introduced to him from puppyhood when he was an adult (and without question it was the cat who was the pack leader, and as such both dogs both knew better than to mistake him as prey, despite both breeds having a prey drive (especially the JRT, who chased pretty much everything including the neighbor’s cat who would visit by dropping over the fence, only to jump right back over when the dogs were out back -- then again, my male cat would likewise chase any animal away, too, having no fear of anything really (he really was something else, and much like the cat above described: i.e., walking on a leash, coming when he was called, fetching, enjoying the bath, etc. That said, the dogs adored this cat, and he them; they played together, slept together and ate together, best of friends, and if the dogs got a bit too rambunctious for him once they grew up, he'd let the Dal know that he had had enough and quietly walk away / shake it off (coming back to curl up with her once she had settled down) and, in the case of the JRT (similar size), he'd pretty much put his paw down and that was also that (then, he'd groom her and they'd cuddle; also best of friends until the end. Currently, I have a (stone) Cougar (Bengal x Chausie) female adult cat to whom I introduced a Chowbrador (Chow x Labrador, male) whom I adopted from a rescue organization in memory of my other pups, and also have no problems (the cougar on seeing the pup pounced on him, sending the two for a tumble which she, shaking her head, jumped away onto the couch leaving the pup saying, "hey, come on back here; that was fun" - no teeth/claws, just a tumble, and within a short while once she realized that the pup was here to stay and her rank wasn't exactly being challenged she let him come near and sniff her (and she sniffed back), and it didn't take long at all for her to "adopt" him and in turn start grooming him; now, about two years later, they too are the best of friends. Some might think that it's a gender thing, so far as the above alludes to as well, and not sure that it has anything in terms of inter species to do with it, but I verily believe that it has to do with socialization and agree that, so long as each animal involved has a "safe" place to go (i.e., dog gate for the cats to have a room/area to escape to and a dog den for the dog to likewise have a space of its own) there shouldn't be any problems; I will also add in terms of the gender idea that socialization is far more important, as is borne out by my family experience so far as I enjoyed the company of a pure bred chow (male) growing up who was, as a full grown dog, introduced to my parlor panther (male) who back then was a kitten, and all of course was fine. They respected each other, each had their space but it wasn't long before the cat started following the dog around as if he were a puppy dog per se (and soon eating out of the same bowl, which was interesting to see, I agree; and yes, at night they would cuddle, the cat would groom himself and also the dog, and there was peace at all times in the house). Having also experienced various dog and cat breeds, thus differing combinations I might also add that, in my experience, depending always (it bears repeating) on the individuals involved and their socialization/training, I have come to believe that chows as compared to say Dals, labs and (especially) JRTs are wonderful with cats, so far as unlike the other breeds they don't seem to exhibit any particular "prey drive" -- i.e., the need to literally chase everything that moves, then chase some more, nor do chows have the same exercise requirements as these other breeds (hence, a wee tad bit calmer), thus leading me to believe that, while all dogs can get along with cats, chows are particularly well suited to meeting/sharing their homes with a cat, as all the other testimonies and experiences by other chow owners as above likewise attest to. Again, though, as with any animal, it's all about the socialization; and as stated at the outset, I am a firm believer that while one cat can handle itself as against one dog, the problem (if any) is if two or more dogs are involved, so as to form a pack. Otherwise, have fun and enjoy the inter-species relations as b/w a cat and a dog (that a cat can be taught to fetch, walk on a leash, etc. is wonderful, but if anyone can tell me how it is that a cat might train the dog how to use a litter box and keep itself groomed now wouldn't that be something (tongue firmly in cheek). Hope this helps; great discussion, and great forum - glad I found it, and cheers!
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moje45
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by moje45 »

I got Jax at 8 weeks and introduced him to a cat I have had for a couple years. She wasn't too keen on him at first, but they have learned to get along. She still scratches him from time to time, but he will just tackle her and lick her. She hates it, but its funny as hell! If you introduce them at a young age they should be ok.
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Cairo »

For those of you who have successfully integrated a chow into a home with a cat, how did you do it? I have a rescue Russian Blue Cat who is three years old. I am getting a 5 month old chow chow today. Our plan is to introduce the cat to the dog while he is in the crate. Then put the dog on a leash and let them investigate each other in a controlled environment. We are just hoping they get along.
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by TyChowgirl »

I brought my 3 1/2 month old chow puppy into a home with a 10 year old male and 2 year old female. At first, the younger cat hid all week and the older didn't care and still did his thing. Since then the tables have turned a little. Tu typically just doesn't want to be bothered and Indy is quite curious with Ty and they'll play together a little. The dog will mouth the cats on ocassion and we've corrected him. He'll also chase them at least once a day, but I may add that the younger one sometimes chases back and tends to provoke the chasing so while she's hissing and raising a paw, she seems to be playing too. They all get along quite peacefully. How I introduced them was I put up a baby gate in our living room blocking him off from the rest of the apartment for many months giving the cats free reign of the rest of the house and a place to run to. I also crated him at night so that the cats could continue to sleep in bed with us. They warmed up eventually, but naturally you're going to have a lot of hissing and batting, barking and chasing until they work it out. Ty never seemed agressive, so I just watched them closely and interjected when needed. I crated him also when I was away or again left up the baby gate to give the cats a place to hide. Going off of what Beowulf said, I think that being raised around cats at an early age typically works, and that perhaps Chows are actually well suited for cats because they are very catlike themselves. Actually, Ty will play with Indy using his paws to bat back at her before he mouths most of the time and he flops and rolls the same way they do. They pick up a lot of mannerisms if they haven't already had them built in. Did I mention he plays with the cat toys? :)
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Ursa's daddy »

We have a house with 4 cats and 4 dogs, and there is no dog/cat issues. Cat to cat is another matter. My 75+ pound male will stop and wait for human back up if Chelsie, our Persian, is at the top of the stairs. She is the queen of upstairs and commands respect. Yoda, my white cat was found by my two chows, and they helped raise him. Yoda will sleep with Ursa. Malachi, my male isn't too keen on Yoda, since Yoda likes to pull his tail if he is sleeping. Yoda is a bit thuggish, and will rush dogs when he feels they are intruding on his territory. If he is in a mood, he will slap Maggie, the rat terrier. We had a Siamese cat that Malachi used to carry around in his mouth. She must have like it, because she was quite capable of inflecting bodily harm. She would also push him away from his food bowl if she wanted to have a bite. Some of it is the dogs, and some of it is the cats. My dogs don't see the cats as competition, so they tend to ignore them most of the time. The cats have their own feeding areas which the dogs cannot access. The baby gate or other fixture that gives the cats a private space is helpful. At one time I had a 1 ft high piece of plywood that blocked one bedroom doorway. The dogs knew they were not to cross it and wouldn't. Both my dogs were young when they were introduced to cats. Ursa was just 6 weeks old when I got her, and China, my Siamese, found the little bundle of fur a curiosity. The next year when I got Malachi, he was about 3 months old, and young enough to follow Ursa's lead about the cats.
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Penelope »

I brought a puppy into a house with a 9 year old persian cat, and the result was my dog was fine with all cats, but the cat HATED the dog and basically would never be in the same room with it. Eventually my Dad took my cat in because she was miserable.

Here is a video of my chow and my friend's kitten though, they were the best of friends! Although in the beginning I was more worried about my chows eyes then the cat... But they played nice :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66lW97R-UfE
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Re: Chow Chows and cats?

Post by Confuzzled »

Chow Chows and cats. I have a rather weird "problem".

When we got Skadi, the cats were 3 years and 2 years old. They avoided her initially because she thought bulldozing straight into her new pack mates was how one showed affection. She got over it and now they "tolerate" each other. The older cat isn't bothered by her, but isn't exactly interested in playing with her either. The most she will do is playfully smack Skadi on the head if she happens to walk past said cat. The other cat is more of a one person cat and prefers attention from no one else but me, so he's not big on trying to befriend a Chow Chow. The problem however, is that now at a year old, Skadi has firmly accepted it is her responsibility to protect the pack.

I live in South Africa, so the animals are allowed outside all year round. We do close them all in the house when we go to bed though. But in any event, this cat likes to go wondering around our secure complex at night. Skadi hates this. If she can see him from the gate, she will sit and whine and get really agitated. The biggest problem we've had though, is that Skadi tries to stop Tybalt from leaving. She goes for him when he runs for the wall and it pretty much looks like she's trying to maul him. No matter how much we reprimand her about this, she is adamant that she needs to prevent Tybalt from leaving the yard. Luckily, Tybalt has gotten pretty good at scouting the yard before madly dashing up the walls, but sometimes his judgement is still out and sometimes he gets a very annoyed Chow Chow bolting across the yard to stop his escape.

Skadi leaves him alone when he's at home though. She's not aggressive towards him, doesn't try to play with him. Pretty much leaves him to his own devices, but the minute he wants to go adventuring on his own...
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