# Any cat-loving chis out there?



## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

Today I walked over to the dog groomer near my work to get Teddy's nails done. In the waiting area there was this adorable male orange tabby in a cat playpen. He was SO sweet and gentle with his claws. He's talkative and likes to snuggle, doesn't seem to mind being picked up. He's really playful.. AND.. he's really mellow with dogs! (The receptionist said that her coworker brings in her dachshund who sometimes harasses the poor kitty.. but he just takes it and doesn't even seem bothered by it.) Teddy seemed really relaxed around this cat.. and I'm not usually a cat person, but I'm actually considering adopting him..

I just wanted to know if anyone has ever had a chi that became best buds with a cat? Do they play and snuggle together? It's just that Teddy hasn't really had a playmate since my ex took Zoey back to Pennsylvania with him. I've been looking occasionally at other dogs.. but I don't know, maybe a cat is the way to go. Something about him just grabbed me.. and like I said, I'm not usually a cat person.

Here's a short video (you can hear me chatting with the lady at the grooming salon, lol). This was the very first time that he met Teddy and you can see how relaxed they both are. Teddy's never this relaxed with DOGS.

Video of Orange Tabby Cat

As I understand it.. The cat is free to a good home, he was just neutered, he is about 1 or 2 years old. I don't know his vaccination history yet (I didn't get a chance to talk to the girl who found him). He is litterbox trained and holds it while he is in the cat playpen until he is taken out to pee every few hours in his box. (That's why I asked if maybe she thought he could be trained to walk on a leash and go outside.. Who knows. )

By the way.. If you notice, his left ear is docked slightly. That's because of a local program here called CatNip where volunteers capture stray cats, vaccinate and spay/neuter them, and release them where they found them once they're recovered. Our shelters are full of cats and instead of putting them in a position to be euthanized, the program helps to ensure that they won't spread disease or contribute to overpopulation while giving them a fighting chance. Most of these cats seem to be fine at surviving on their own so it's probably best to leave them that way. Each cat who passess through the CatNip system has his left ear docked as an identifier (so that another volunteer won't mistakenly recapture him).


PS: Here's a cute video of a Chihuahua and a cat that are friends.


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

I think it would be great if you think your chi would go for it. We had a dog-cat combo when I was younger kinda like the weenie dog messing with the cat relationship. The cat was great. He lived a really really long time, and was even really great with my small children, not to say all cats are just that one. I've even heard you can toilet train some cats, and if he holds it that long it may be worth a shot to try. Good luck whatever your decision.


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## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

Thanks.  Teddy is pretty good with most animals. He's even incredibly gentle with my two gerbils. Aside from that he's met a baby goat, a teacup pig, several cats, and a rabbit.. and he's been gentle with all of them. He just gets snippy with some DOGS.


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## liss77 (Feb 9, 2011)

I say go for it. We have always had dog/cat combos and most get along very well. Even when we rehomed an older cat into the mix they all sorted it out and at least tolerated each other.

Pebbles has actually grown up with my daughters' kitten Sparkles and they have been like littermates. Sparkles is always sleeping with her in a bed or trying to steal food from the dog bowls and even Bella (alpha female) is very tolerant of her. We also have a Persian named Marcus who loves nothing more than to pounce on the dogs as they go past and wrestle with them, it's hilarious to watch.


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## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

I think the main thing preventing me from taking the plunge is the fear that a) my boyfriend won't appreciate a new pet, and b) my family will give me trouble for it. I have a job and should have no trouble affording it, but who knows.  I just don't want to hear about it for months after the fact.. They can be that way sometimes, no matter how nice things end up being.


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

I understand that. My husband isn't so much like that, but my mother sure is.


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## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

carrieandcricket said:


> I understand that. My husband isn't so much like that, but my mother sure is.


My boyfriend is actually considering letting the cat live with him. He's DEFINITELY more of a cat person than a dog person. The reason I feel bad is because he's an introvert and really likes his space at times. He lives in a studio apartment right now (very tiny) and sometimes I stay over there with Teddy. I'd hate to make him feel smothered by invading his space with a cat, a dog, and me. We've only been together for about 10 months.  But on the other hand, there'd be no way I could keep the cat here at my grandparents' house as they are not too fond of cats. I wouldn't want to make anyone unhappy but I do want to rescue this little guy.

I'll have to think about it a lot. I think it depends largely on my boyfriend's reaction. I'm going to take him to see the cat on Friday.


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## liss77 (Feb 9, 2011)

Kaila said:


> I think the main thing preventing me from taking the plunge is the fear that a) my boyfriend won't appreciate a new pet, and b) my family will give me trouble for it. I have a job and should have no trouble affording it, but who knows.  I just don't want to hear about it for months after the fact.. They can be that way sometimes, no matter how nice things end up being.


I know what you mean. I feel that way too sometimes even though I have a family of my own and we live in our own home. If it wasn't for my parents frequent visits and not wanting to hear their opinions on it I think I'd have at least 1 more chi by now lol.

At the end of the day you've gotta do what's right by everybody, hopefully your b/f will fall in love and agree to have him. Cats are a lot more aloof and less needy than dogs so it should give him enough "space".


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

I agree with Melissa on that. But I've had to completely disassociate from my mother because it was starting to interfere in my marriage. But I understand your trying to respect your grandparents.


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## rms3402 (Dec 2, 2010)

Go for it!! Looks like Teddy did so well with the orange tabby. We have a cat at my parents house and Roxy just LOVES him. He is very gentle with her too. He lets her beat up on him, walk all over him, jump on his face, etc. and he'll just sit there. Sometimes he may get annoyed and will give her a little swat! LOL ... but he doesn't have front claws, so it's okay. She really does love him though. If you get a kitten, I think it will be good because the kitten will be used to Teddy as soon as you bring he/she home ... or if you get an older cat, as long as it's friendly and doesn't mind dogs, then you should have no problem!

(Litter boxes do stink though .... seriously. LOL. I have found it harder to own a cat than owning a dog at times.)


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## mooberry (Jan 31, 2011)

Bijoux and Kuzo our cat get along so well they play and love on each other like crazy : D


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

rms3402 said:


> (Litter boxes do stink though .... seriously. LOL. I have found it harder to own a cat than owning a dog at times.)


Some cats can be toilet trained.


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## Derision (Dec 7, 2011)

My roommate used to have a big Maine **** cat named Nemo. There was a little worry when she started getting chihuahuas, but ultimately they all got along great, and even used to chase each other around and play. Maine ***** are supposed to be a lot like dogs, though... I mean, that cat fetched better than any of the dogs did.

Nemo eventually went to a new home, not because we didn't like her but because a friend had watched her for a few days when we were out of town and fell in love with her. But my girlfriend has two big tabbies and a mottled kitten and Carmela gets along great with them.



rms3402 said:


> (Litter boxes do stink though .... seriously. LOL. I have found it harder to own a cat than owning a dog at times.)


I keep trying to explain this to my girlfriend, but she has anosmia and can't smell the ammonia factory in her apartment! 

Either way, Carmela was litter trained, and shared a box with Nemo while we had her, but it took me a while to find a good litter that didn't smell much, and then it was just a matter of keeping on top of it. I figure... if someone can take the time to walk a dog four times a day, then cleaning out a box twice a day or so shouldn't be too bad.

AJ


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## CHITheresa (Apr 30, 2011)

Amberleah love our cat Sara, Sara just lays there and Amberleah beats her up, bites her ears and does nothing, if Amberleah get real bad and Sara had enough she gets up just for a little while goes right back for more. lol
When I get my camera/video for Christmas ill record it and post it. 

Here is a picture of Sara, my camera sucks s bad pic.


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## Vampy Vera (Nov 3, 2011)

My Chihuahua JJ loves my cat, Mr. Cat. LOVES him! :love7:It took the cat a while to warm up to JJ but they became quite friendly. Mind you, the cat is 14 years old with a history of attacking other cats, but he took to JJ. Now JJ tries to approach every cat he sees outside. In fact, given the choice between a cat and a dog, he'll try to make friends with the cat first.
As to cat litter, really its a matter of buying a good one. There are some the do a terrific job of containing the smell. And keeping the box clean. Very easy and minor task. And cats are very low-maintenance.


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## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

So.. miracle of miracles, the orange kitty was returned to his rescuer! The lady who found him originally has been keeping him at her grooming salon while trying to find him a home. I looked at him seriously but my boyfriend was reluctant, and I wasn't sure about whether I could afford it, so we let it go on too long. The groomer had another woman take him home for a few days as a favor, and that lady eventually fell in love with him and wanted to adopt him. When I heard about it, I was heartbroken because I had been checking in every day to see if he was still there, holding out hope that he would be. I tried to let it go.

But then my friend called me a few days ago and said that the cat had been returned! Apparently the woman's large dog has an active prey instinct and was harassing the kitty too much. (The cat loves dogs, but that particular dog was just too interested.. to the point where it was unsafe.) I immediately called the groomer lady and said I would take him!

We're considering the name "Samson" and we bring him home either the night of Jan. 4th or the morning of the 5th. I've been getting stuff ready in the meantime!

I'm glad too because Teddy has been spending a lot of time with my mom's cat, Lily. Even though she sometimes gets a little mean (she's declawed but will smack him in the face if he gets even remotely close sometimes), he is always very gentle and sweet to her. She seems to be warming up to him finally because she'll lay beside him as long as he's not moving around. He DESPERATELY wants to play with her but he's figured out that barking at her isn't the way to go.. so he'll do this cute thing where he lays flat on his belly with his head down and whines while wagging his tail! It's like he's trying to say, "Pleeeease play with me? I'll be super gentle.. I promise!" 

Here's "Samson":


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## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

rms3402 said:


> (Litter boxes do stink though .... seriously. LOL. I have found it harder to own a cat than owning a dog at times.)


Actually, I'm really excited because I found this thing called the Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litter Box. You roll it and it filters the clean litter and allows the clumps to roll into a tray. When you roll the box back into the original position, the clumps are trapped in the tray but the clean litter fills up the bottom of the pan again. This means no scooping! (It got over 1,200 five-star reviews on Amazon so I'm assuming that it actually works.)

AND I'm going to get this highly praised natural litter called World's Best Cat Litter. It's made from corn but looks exactly like traditional litter, but has no clay dust that will irritate the cat's lungs or eyes/nose. It's also *flushable!*

I'm a dork because I'm excited about the idea of being able to dump the little tray full of clumps into the toilet and be done, instead of having to get down and scoop a smelly litter box, put the clumps into a bag and run the bag out to the dumpster every day. :cheers:


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Odie LOVES her kitties! One of our cats, Loki, sounds exactly like the one you described, and he's not young either. They cuddle all the time, play, and Odie will even clean Loki's ears (gross!). It's not just Odie bugging him either (although that does sometimes happen), Loki will chase her around too. We're not allowed another dog where we live, and I honestly don't even know if I would add one to our family because she's already got a best friend. They're laying together on the couch as I type this. Too cute! 

The only thing I would suggest is that you have a place for the cat to go where your dog can't access. In our place we have a huge cat tree that they love, and our place is three stories and Odie is only allowed on one unsupervised.


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## Kaila (Nov 10, 2009)

KrystalLeigh said:


> The only thing I would suggest is that you have a place for the cat to go where your dog can't access. In our place we have a huge cat tree that they love, and our place is three stories and Odie is only allowed on one unsupervised.


As soon as I get my next paycheck I think I'm going to buy Samson a cat tree like you suggested. I like this one because it has a flat top and I'm thinking I can put his food bowls up there so that Teddy won't munch on his food! And if I set it up near the window he'll be able to sit and watch birds and squirrels outside.  My mom's cat has a cat tree that's even smaller and she can get away from Teddy (and the other two dogs) pretty easily.


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## Jennmay (Dec 31, 2011)

I had 2 cats before I got my first Chi. Zoe took well to the cats and is best buds they chase each other around and play well. No one knows I have cats if you get a good litter. Most of the time if someone new is over they would be like oh you have a cat they were like I usually always can tell well not in my house I am a clean freak though. With the new puppy she is small the cats come up to her and are like hmm what is that lol..


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## Bandit (Jan 4, 2012)

I have 3 cats. My litter boxes only smell right after my male poops. He tends to try to bury the stuff by scratching outside of the box. Once it is actually buried the odor dissipates. I do scoop every day though, because I do not want a smelly house. I also use a corn based litter made by Arm and Hammer - if I recall correctly it is cheaper than World's Best Cat Litter.

My male cat plays with Bandit very well. At first I thought it was just a case of tolerating him, but after seeing Ebony (the cat) actually chasing the dog the same way he and the girls chase through the house I figure that the cat and dog enjoy playing with each other. The girls mostly stay out of the way of Bandit.

Shortly after bringing Bandit home I also discovered the need to have an area that was not accessible to the dog. I have a cat tree, but it has steps that after a month Bandit was able to climb. I bought a baby gate and basically fenced off the back of the house.


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