I'm so glad Scotter is doing better! Poor little girl must be completely freaked whenever she hears a dog bark at this point!
I don't think dogs are necessarily taught to "hate" cats. In some, I think it is just their personality, and in others, well, I think they may just be trying to play with the cat. I've always had cats and dogs together and never had a problem, even when introducing a kitten to a dog who was about 10 years old at the time and had never been around a cat. There was some growling and hissing, but after about 5 minutes, the two were curled up together and were inseparable after that.
As for the suggestion that all cats should be indoor cats, that only works if you start them out that way and they don't have any hardened outdoor cats in the house to teach them the joys of freedom.
Again, I think it depends upon the animal. Kiki was outdoors for the 1st 10 years of his life. I was hesitant to bring him in because I was afraid he wouldn't take well to it, and would spray, etc. - plus, that was his environment. When we found him injured, we brought him in, and he has never wanted to go out since. He loves it inside, and loves to be served. He goes back and forth between Tahoe and SF with the other 2 cats, and never trys to get out. They all sit in front of the sliding glass door and watch the squirrels (which come right up to the screen and touch noses through the screen). Kiki took to sleeping on blankets, chairs, couches, my Dad and Mom's lap, etc. You would never know he was originally an outdoor cat. In fact, he never sprayed, and knew exactly what the litter box was for... None of our cats are declawed (which I think should be outlawed), and none have ever scratched the furniture, curtains, etc.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-05-30 01:24 pm (UTC)I don't think dogs are necessarily taught to "hate" cats. In some, I think it is just their personality, and in others, well, I think they may just be trying to play with the cat. I've always had cats and dogs together and never had a problem, even when introducing a kitten to a dog who was about 10 years old at the time and had never been around a cat. There was some growling and hissing, but after about 5 minutes, the two were curled up together and were inseparable after that.
As for the suggestion that all cats should be indoor cats, that only works if you start them out that way and they don't have any hardened outdoor cats in the house to teach them the joys of freedom.
Again, I think it depends upon the animal. Kiki was outdoors for the 1st 10 years of his life. I was hesitant to bring him in because I was afraid he wouldn't take well to it, and would spray, etc. - plus, that was his environment. When we found him injured, we brought him in, and he has never wanted to go out since. He loves it inside, and loves to be served. He goes back and forth between Tahoe and SF with the other 2 cats, and never trys to get out. They all sit in front of the sliding glass door and watch the squirrels (which come right up to the screen and touch noses through the screen). Kiki took to sleeping on blankets, chairs, couches, my Dad and Mom's lap, etc. You would never know he was originally an outdoor cat. In fact, he never sprayed, and knew exactly what the litter box was for... None of our cats are declawed (which I think should be outlawed), and none have ever scratched the furniture, curtains, etc.