Prey Drive?

[ecm28]

Hi all, I am new to the boxer world and have been researching the boxer breed. Everything I read about the boxer I have liked very much. I had a cat show up on my doorstep about 5 years ago and became part of the family. I have read that the boxer can have a high prey drive but also if a puppy is raised with a cat they can get along. I just wanted to ask if any one here has cats with their boxers and if they get along, and also if they raised a puppy with a cat and they got along fine but it changed with maturity. Thanks in advance and this is a awesome forum.

 

[Louise501]

When Ruby our pup came home we already had 3 cats, two 6 month boys and a 4 month girl. None of them particually like Ruby, 1 boy is quite tolerant, the other ( ginger with an attitude!) hisses, swipes and spits at every opportunity and the girl darts about avoiding her. I'm sure if Ruby didn't get in their faces and chase them they would probably like her better. All cats personalities are different, we are hoping as they are all young they will grow to get along! Good luck!

 

[courtney323]

ecm28 -

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[atlasmom911]

My daughter has a female boxer named Flippy. She is about 15 months old. They just rescued a kitten for their 5 yr old daughter. Flippy seems to be doing alright with the kitten. My daughter says when Flippy tries to chase the kitten they tell her no and she will back off. There are alot of people on BW that have cats and they seem to do fine together.

 

[Jill's boxer]

When we got our first boxer, Norton, we already had two adult cats (indoor cats) and he did fine with them. Since he was raised with them, he was very respectful and didn't bother them much (they were pretty cranky with him so he learned fast to leave them alone!). One day my cat, China, was sitting on the porch and the neighbor's outdoor cat attacked her--well, Norton flew out the door before I could stop him and went after the mean neighbor cat--he chased that cat down the block and would not let it back near the house! After that, any outdoor cat was fair game in his mind and he would chase after them if he had the chance, but he never tried anything with my cats! I think he tried to protect China and then decided that all unknown cats were the enemy!

 

[TheDuke]

I don't think my Duchess would do well with a cat AT ALL!! Then again, once the novelty is over, she might. She saw a cat in a pet store we visited once and she lunged at it with all of her hair up. She also does this if she sees one outside also. I think that if a puppy is raised with a cat they should do just fine. Actually my husband and I were discussing getting a kitten when we move into our home so I guess we'll find out. I think if the dog accepts the cat as part of its pack, there are usually no problems. I know it will be a very slow intro with Duchess! Duke is fine with cats, just ignores them, although when he was living with cats, he would sometimes get annoyed with them if they bothered him while he was sleeping. Duke was great when I was fostering some tiny kittens. He acted like he was their mom. He would lick them all over and roll on his back while they jumped on him. They would also bite and pounce on his tail and he still loved them very much.

 

[MyBoxerJoey]

Joe & Mia get along great!

I have had Joe for 2 years and just got Mia a few monts ago (pics in my gallery) Joey had never seen a cat up close, and he was already almost 2 when we got Mia. she was a little scared at first and Joey was very interested to see what mom had but they did great!
I was a little worried at first because Joey went crazy every time he saw a neighborhood cat outside the window or if he was out on leash and saw one he would go crazy barking and jumping. but hes very gentle with Mia. its all in how you introduce I think...pay equal attention to both and hold the cat (or puppy) securely and let them smell each other..keep them apart at first. what I did is let the kitten borrow Joeys cage the first 3 nights, and I would keep her in the cage when I couldnt hold her or watch them closely.(or when I had to leave home) I let Joey sit outside the cage and watch her, at night he slept with me or next to our bed...then after a few nights I switched it, gave Joey back his cage. at night for the next few nights I crated him, door closed. after I knew I could trust him I let them out together during the day which took a little over a week..for day time I would let them both run free watching over Joey to be sure he didnt play to rough..and at night for about 3 weeks total I would crate him door closed. now I can leave it open and he just stays in and sleeps or on the floor near my bed. I just had to watch him for a while to be sure he was not to rough in play with her. we all know how boxers play hard I had to tell him often .."Dont chase the kitty!!" ..and after a while that slowed down a bit..as Mia grew and showed Joey she has claws..he learned.....now the two of them are great friends Mia will even sleep cuddled next to Joey in his crate or on the sofa..they give each other kisses..its really cute and funny Joey still goes crazy when he sees a cat ouside. like he would love to eat it for lunch! but not with his kitty

Good Luck with your neww addition!!

 

[bucca]

i have a cat who rules my dogs the dogs are afraid of the cat. he chases them all the time. its really funny chloe goes out of her way to walk around him she will chase him up the stairs once in a while but when she does its only a matter of minutes before he gets her back for doing it

 

[Zena & Blaze]

Zena was 11 months old when I brought home my cat (2 months when I got her) and they are really great together. They chase each other and play, but all in fun. Blaze is 13 weeks old and he thinks Shadow is a toy for him. He wags his nub and chases her, but I don't think he intends to hurt her. I have to watch him a little more though. I think they will adjust and grow to love each other in time. Good luck!

 

[RoxysMum]

You can teach an adult dog with the need to chase cats to not chase cats, I suspect a puppy would be even easier. I taught my hunting lab (who's not around anymore) that my cat wasn't chew toys. It took a bit but if you are consistant in your training then it shouldn't be too difficult. I've also found that a lot of times if that cat already lives in the house that the dog is being introduced into it's easier. By the time I got the second kitten the lab would get that hyper cat stuck to his face hanging off of his ears and the dog would give me a look like "Can I kill it? Please, Please?" but he didn't do a thing to him. He wasn't a boxer but he was a hunting dog so he had an excellent prey drive.