by Jennifer
Ragdoll - suitable starting point for dog companionship - Photo by jurvetson (Flickr)
Dog-Friendly Cat Breeds
Are you seeking a cat that will get along well with a resident dog? According to Animal Planet, the following breeds are more likely to befriend (or at least tolerate) cat-friendly dogs and other pets (though there are always exceptions within a given breed):
- American Curl: A breed with curled ears and a sweet teddy bear face
- American Shorthair: A robust, laid-back cat with a round face and thick soft coat
- Birman: A large, semi-longhaired breed with dark Siamese-style markings on the face, tail, and legs and snowy white feet
- Cymric: A tailless or bobtailed cat with long or semi-long fur (essentially a longhaired Manx)
- Exotic Shorthair: A cat with a Persian face and body type but short fur
- Himalayan: A breed with Siamese-style markings, long fur, and blue eyes
- Maine Coon: A large, rugged, easy-going longhaired cat
- Manx: A shorthaired tailless or stub-tailed breed with many doglike personality characteristics
- Ocicat: A spotted, wild-looking breed available in various colours
- Persian: A popular longhaired breed that tends to be calm and mellow
- Ragdoll: A large, relaxed breed with long fur, Siamese-style markings, and in some cases, white mittens, boots, and/or V on the nose
- Siberian: A good-natured, doglike, semi-longhaired breed
- Sphynx: A highly intelligent, active, hairless cat with a slender, elegant build
All of these breeds tend to be easy-going and tolerant, and have received Animal Planet scores of 8 or 9 out of 10 for potential compatibility with other pets.
Cat Breeds That May Have Trouble with Dogs
The following breeds received relatively low ratings for their ability to get along with other household pets (though some cat fanciers believe these breeds to be more dog-friendly than the Animal Planet rankings suggest, and there are always atypical individuals within any given breed):
- Abyssinian: A lean, muscular, large-eared breed with colour-tipped fur that creates an overall beige or ruddy tone
- Balinese/Javanese: A cat with a Siamese appearance but semi-long fur and a plumed tail (in Europe, the Javanese may be solid-coloured rather than having point markings)
- Bengal: A spotted or marbled wild-domestic hybrid created by crossing domestic cats with Asian Leopard cats
- Burmese: A sleek, muscular little cat with a silky coat and large amber or gold eyes
- Colourpoint Shorthair: A Siamese-style cat with a broader range of allowable point markings including tabby and tortoiseshell
- Cornish and Devon Rex: Slim, elegant cats with short, curly fur
- Egyptian Mau: A pretty spotted cat available in various colours
- Korat: A sensitive, dainty cat with large green eyes and thick gray fur
- Oriental: A shorthaired cat with a Siamese-style body available in more than 300 colour and pattern combinations
- Russian Blue: A small, green-eyed, shy cat with a silvery gray coat
- Siamese: An active shorthaired cat with point markings on the face, ears, legs, and tail and a long, lean body
- Singapura: A tiny cat with large eyes and ears and a short coat that resembles cougar fu
- Somali: Essentially a longhaired Abyssinian
These breeds tend to be more sensitive and may find living with a rambunctious dog traumatic. However, if introduced to friendly, gentle dogs at a young age (ideally between 12 and 16 weeks), even cats of these breeds can usually be integrated happily with dogs. On the other hand, introducing a small puppy or a very calm, mellow older dog into a household with an adult cat can work well in many cases, even with the more sensitive cat breeds.
The worst possible combinations include a hyperactive adult dog that is prone to chasing with a timid, sensitive resident cat, or a nervous new cat with a territorial or predatory resident adult dog. Matching personality types when adopting will significantly increase the likelihood of establishing a harmonious multi-pet home.
Jennifer
P.S. You can see all of these cat breeds on this site, starting here.
I am thinking of getting a dog and am wondering how to introduce her to my two year old cat. I would never get rid of the cat for the dog but also want the dog is there any good way to introduce them to each other?
Two or three things come to mind. Breeders should make sure their dogs and cats get on fine with cats and dogs. Secondly, cats do like to choose their own friends. So, although it might be impractical, I think a new dog should be introduced to the existing cat to see if they get along before adoption.
We can’t assume that the companion animal that we pick for ourselves will be the one that our cat would pick for herself.
There are many multi-cat households where the cats are somewhat stressed because the owner has simply introduced new cats on the assumption that they will all get along. They do sometimes and they don’t sometimes. In feral cat colonies the cats choose their associates and companions. We should respect this. But I don’t of anyone who checks out compatibility of companion animals before adoption.
In addition, a slowish introduction probably helps (different rooms etc.). But if they do hit it off early or are known to get along that solves the problem anyway. Hope this helps.