Boxers and cats?

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Ty Ty

Boxer Booster
My boxer stays with me at my grandmothers alot and we are having trouble with my grandmother's cats and tyson getting along. We keep him in the living room when we stay there so that he cant get into it with the cats, but I really want them to be able to get along so he can have free roam of the house. Ive tried introducing them together with tyson on leash, but it never goes well. He starts jumping around and getting in the playful stance which makes me think he just wants to play with them, but the cats hiss and look very upset. He has zero aggression issues and doesnt seem to want to hurt them. Im actually more worried about them hurting him. One of the cats is a Bengal which is a cross between an Asian leopard and a domestic cat. While its no bigger than a house cat its more aggressive and has chased tyson through the house while spitting and hissing at him. While it is funny to see a 15 pound cat chase a 60 pound dog, I really dont want my dog getting scratched or clawed. So does anyone have any ideas how I might could get them to live in piece together? considering Im going to be staying there for the next month or so, I have to do something. Thanks
 

kathysboxer

Boxer Insane
Boy does that sound like our house!! Tyson wants to play so badly with BF's DD cat, but she wants no part of it. She just pretty much stays away from him. But when we go to "uncle rich's" their cat is declawed, and they have a blast! Not too sure if there really is anything you can do. They may get used to each other, but always the chance not. I'm sure others will chime in soon with some other advice for you.
 

electric1

Super Boxer
I'm sorry, but I don't have any good advice to tell you. I definately can say that ABBY hates cats with a passion. I think that she ever got ahold of one that stood it's ground against her or bowed up and gave her couple of good swats across the nose, it just might change her attitude.
 

claresmom

Boxer Booster
We also have a cat. She is a 10 year old Tonkinese named JuJuBee. She basically lives upstairs in our house and the dog lives downstairs! They do interact occasionally. Clare will follow me upstairs and the cat will watch her very close. A couple times, Clare has come too close and JuJu hissed and actually swiped at her once, but no contact was made. The whole time, Clare's tail was wagging!! She just wants to play and the cat of course does not understand. We also tell Clare to not chase JuJu.

JuJu is getting more comfortable around the dog though. She will also come downstairs and slink around the house and actually take drinks from Clare's water bowl!!

My daughter kept JuJu at her house when Clare was younger and just last August decided I wanted her back here with me, as she is my cat!! It has taken this long though, for her to get this far...so it is a very sloooow process.

I don't think your happy, playful boxer will take more than one good swat in the face to realize he doesn't want to get too close to those critters.
 

sargboxerluv

Completely Boxer Crazy
I dont think there is anything you can do considering it is a Bengal. That is a half wild cat - and wild cats do not mingle with others. They actually live solitary unless they are mating. If they dont live with their own kind, I doubt you will have any success introducing a dog in the house, especially if the Bengal is already an adult. I suggest you never leave them alone together, but let them interact at the cats pace. Your boy already seems willing to play so he is not the problem. Hope everything goes well.

Side note - when I first got my boxer girl I was at my friends house with her. Her mom lives down the street so we took my baby to see her. Their cat was under the car so Harley went sniffing around for her. She attacked my girl! Harley tried to get away but she was leashed. They couldn't grab the cat so i had to pick Harley up. Her heart was pounding! After the cat went back under the car I set Harley down and the cat charged back out after her! Needless to say my girl steers clear of kitties. The cat apparently thinks it's a pit bull and not a cat.
 

Rozycki

Boxer Buddy
Sounds like you have the same problem that I do. I think that boxers just want to play with anything that moves! Cats usually don't want to play...so it's usually a bit of an issue. My sister-in-law has a cat, and two "buggs" (Boston Terrier/Pug mixes). They absolutely love her cat, and get along really well with him, but Cody barks at the cat and looks like he's ready to pounce. While the cat hisses and makes these really creepy noises. I think boxers just think that everyone and everything wants to play, but most cats just want to hang out. Not sure there is anything that will change that.
 

Kilby'sMum

Super Boxer
Kahlua (10yo Siamese) gets along pretty well with Kilby (3yo) and is warming up to Kona (10mths) but we didn't actually "do" anything. The cat was here first so when we brought Kilby home we basically just watched them very very closely any time they were together and if we could see Kahlua was getting iritated we would tell her "no" and "leave him" and eventually she got the hint. We're doing the same with Kona but she still doesn't really understand how big she is and how easy it is for her to hurt him (she's 24kg and he's just 4kg).

When we brought 8wk old Kilby home for the first time the cat was lying in the sun in the window and Kilby went and bit his tail and dragged him round the room.... Kahlua didn't seem to bothered by it though - he's a VERY patient cat most of the time. From time to time he has swiped at them but only once with claws and we always make sure that he has a sanctuary where the dogs can't get at him so he chooses when to interact with the girls.

When in fear of Kona, Kahlua actually seems to employ Kilby as a bodyguard - he'll hide behind her or underneath her and somehow get her to walk him to his room (the laundry) or the back door....soo cute :)

I wouldn't push it though but keep a close eye out and let the cats dictate as it is their home first. It is a LONG process though and if you're only going to be there for a month it might be easier and safer for everyone to just keep them separated as you're doing now.
 

granny

Boxer Pal
Mmmm, I think you may be wishing for too much, unless you can crate your baby and let the cat(s) get used to its' presence in a non threatening way. Our Siamese (ex s.p.c.a.) simply took over when she arrived three years ago and now wears the fluffy pants in this house. But then, of course, Cinda is a big wuss.......
 

Tima

Boxer Pal
A month may be too short

Tima loves all three of his kitties...but when introduced all three were kittens...Two of them spent their young lives kneading and suckling his jowls...he just sighed lol..poor guy.
In my humble opinion the best you could do for the dog and the cats is keep them at a respectful distance otherwise your pooch is gonna get it lol. Remember cats are territorial too...
Good luck!
ps you could try a baby gate to keep Ty secured to one part of the house so that the cats have a safe zone to get away from the bouncy boxer
 
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MeAndMaggieM

Boxer Booster
Predator and Prey

OK, I'm sure I'm going to get blasted for this but here goes...

You have a predator (dog) that you are trying to introduce to prey (cat). If you keep them apart and don't let them figure things out for themselves all you are doing is being a parent to a rebellious teen. Tell them they can't do it and the curiosity and desire to rebel against the parent (you) will end in a huge, home-destroying, emergency-room-visiting BRAWL as Tyson finally gets to chase the forbidden fruit.

I've always had a dog or two and various cats (up to 3 at a time) and in order to have a peaceful house, in which it's members don't have to live in a maze of gated rooms worrying about which animal is where, you MUST let them work out the pecking order of the house. As long as there is no major bloodshed (a bloody nose from a warning swipe NOT a major injury) or a tornado wreaking havoc on the home as the dog chases the cats with the sole purpose of eating them, then LET THEM BE TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER!!

Supervised at first is advised of course, but cats are cats and dogs are dogs and they are "sworn enemies." Trust me...there will be plenty of hissing, yowling, growling, some times when the cats look like they want to shred the dog, and even a little blood spilled (most likely the dog's) but in the end, be it days or weeks, the cats will come out as masters of the house and the dog will be much wiser about picking his fights.

Once this is all over they'll pass out on the couch together and discuss what Mom and Dad were making such big deal about in the first place. Or at least the "sworn enemies" will be civil to each other!
 
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