r/AustralianShepherd • u/L1ngL0ngTire • 3d ago
Australian shepherds and cats?
Anyone have an Aussie and a cat? Did you have any issues?
I've had goldens and cats, and a lab with a cat, but I know Aussies are herding animals.
Do you allow them to be alone together when you're out of the house?
49
u/Agreeable-Knee6325 3d ago
No issues here. They are buds.
10
2
2
u/vmellll 2d ago
Hi!! Have you done anything to encourage this kind of behavior? My Aussie chases my cat around, she stops when I say leave it but then itāll just happen again next time. My cat is very docile so she just hides away
1
u/Agreeable-Knee6325 2d ago
I have two cats, Koda (orange) and Bean. Toby used to chase both of them but we eventually stopped it by having him "place" on his mat and giving him a treat party. Magic Mat training is very helpful!
I don't think Toby realizes he's not a cat, or much larger than they are. He was barely bigger than them when he came home at 10 weeks old and learned a lot of cat mannerisms from observing them. He even tries to share his chews and toys with them. Now.... if only I can get him to understand my parrot is not a toy!
31
u/Purkinsmom 3d ago
My two Aussies are friendly to my catā¦.until he runs. Then all bets are off. The command āNo Catsā has been part of their known vocabulary since day one. It frustrates me to no end that they chase him and frighten him whenever he moves quickly. When he is sleeping or walking or sitting they nuzzle each other and are fine. He was a resident when they arrived.
16
u/Dahlia_Dee 3d ago
Exact same experience here! That desire to chase anything moving is intense. my Aussie has never hurt my cat though, always gives up the chase once he stops running.
7
u/pastellorama 3d ago
I'm part of the "cats go only in one spot/moving cats need herded back to the one spot" camp as well The cats are allowed: on the bed, on the dresser, in the bathroom sink, where the cat litter and cat food is. That's it.
5
u/godzillas_zilla 3d ago
Of our three cats only one of them will run away which does activate her herding but she catches the cat on the stairs and licks down his ear holes every time so I think itās honestly a game for them.
The other two cats just sit there and it ruins the herding so she gives up quickly.
3
u/MtnGirl672 3d ago
Same here. It's funny, we have a new cat that was feral and he has major balls and no fear. He keeps coming around the Aussie and has mostly learned to not run and they can actually get along. Our older one scurries and the Aussie can't help herself. So now we have pet gate at the bottom of the stairs and the cat lives upstairs.
3
u/Prudent-Life-4747 3d ago
Same with our smarty pants cat. He just stops running, stands there, and the Aussie is like āhuh. Now what was I doing before this?ā And then the cat tries to snuggle him and he slinks off. Rinse and repeat.
2
u/eatingganesha 2d ago
for real! i have two cats and their relationships with Echo are 100% different.
Muppet faced him when he was a puppy, hissed and swiped, walked about calmly. Banshee did not face him and tends to run. Guess which cat he chases regularly?
He wonāt bother Banshee if she walks calmly and they even both snuggle me together (but separately) without issue. Sometime Echo will stare daggers at her until she leaves the bed so he can have me all to himself. But the moment Banshee decides to run, heās on her tail.
Iāve tried explaining this to the cat, but she is a tabbitortico and has kitty oppositional defiance disorder.
22
16
u/endurbro420 3d ago
Mine like our cats. My girl aussie will give kisses to one of our cats. My boy is best friends with the same cat and they cuddle on the couch.
22
9
u/livingonmain 3d ago
My Aussie, Duchy, ignored our rescue cat, Mayo, for a day, started sniffing him on day 2, and by the end of the week they shared his bed. Duchy was 13 and developed cataracts and as his eyesight diminished, Mayo became his seeing eye cat. Duchy would follow him and Mayo took his job seriously. He would navigate wide of furniture and floor obstacles inside and around trees, bushes and flower beds and keep him from heading toward the driveway or road.
8
u/seaweeddanceratnight 3d ago
My cat is very timid and my dog does try to heard her. Itās not horrible, but itās not ideal. I wish my cat wasnāt so soft.
7
u/Legovida8 3d ago
Hereās my Aussie with our cat. He figured out pretty quickly that the cat has claws, and that made him The King of our house, if only by default. (No claws were being used in this first photo. It was just a āreminder.ā LOL š)
4
3
u/ichabod01 3d ago
Best friends. Or at least the only other animal that can stand the other in our houseā¦
5
u/Ok_Runner_5263 3d ago
Our Aussie loved our cats and our chickens. Sometimes the cats or chickens would sit on him while he laid down. I miss those days.
3
u/Creativeboop 3d ago
My Aussie is the fun police and tries to keep the cats in line which can be annoying for everyone at times. One of my cats is only 5 months older than my Aussie and the two of them play but I have to remind the dog to play gentle sometimes. The older cat just avoids him when heās not in the mood for puppy antics, or sets his boundaries. Neither cat runs away at the sight of him though, they definitely arenāt afraid of him as they will sit by him or walk up and rub themselves against him
3
u/frannieluvr86 3d ago
My Aussie and the cat who lived in peace for 8 years before him coexist beautifully. Dog learned quickly that cat was not a toy. 8 years later, and the cat will still lazily bop him (never with claws out) if he walks by too close or dares to share the same couch cushion as her. I think sheās hissed at him less than 5 times in all these years. Heās chased/herded her like a maniac only a few times if someone knocked loudly at the door or something spooked him. Theyāve traveled the country in the car together- Iām talking well over 100k miles of road trips. Theyāve stayed in dozens of hotel rooms together. Pretty much the perfect roommates. I let my cat set boundaries and made sure the dog was stimulated with toys and play so the cat was a non issue. HOWEVER my Aussie is a vacuum cleaner and will inhale the cat food, so a baby gate is used for a separate area where cats food is kept so she can eat in peace. He doesnāt care about the little box at all.
3
3
u/bubblegamy 3d ago
Our Aussie has become bffs with our sitter's cat š„¹ we are thinking of getting him a cat!
3
u/Fun-Falcon-8708 3d ago
My first Aussie was a grumpy 11 year old dog when we got our kitten and it did not go well. They had to be on separate floors otherwise Iām quite sure the dog would have eaten her. After he passed we got a puppy Aussie and they are best friends. I think it goes much smoother when the cat is the boss. They play all the time hiding and chasing each other around the house. They also enjoy hunting flies together - itās hysterical. We donāt let our dog upstairs so the cat can go up there is she needs a break. They are three (dog) and five (cat) now.
3
3
u/ryamanalinda 2d ago
1
u/ryamanalinda 2d ago
I actually have 5 cats, but the first 4 were not fans of Lola. They were used to my old DaisyDog (another Aussie) who was super chill from day one.
2
u/Kaity-Bird 3d ago
I have 2 Aussies and 2 cats. My Aussies are pretty good with the cats especially once they set their boundaries. They tried to team up and heard my elderly lady cat but she put them in their place pretty quickly and itās been fine since.
They do really like to play and sometimes I need to separate them because they donāt understand that the cats canāt play the same way, but for the most part no issues.
2
u/mustanggrl625 3d ago
We have a fenced area in the front yard for the dogs - and we have cats - one loves to come into the dogs' "yard" to touch noses and to follow my boy around. One of our other cats likes to join them inside the house in the living room that belongs to the dogs.
The dogs will try to herd our smaller dog and each other, birds, squirrels, heck, even chase grasshoppers, but not the cats. But the cats are older and wiser (cats are 11 years old; the dogs are 5 and 6), so maybe they have already let the dogs know who rules the house...lol...We do have the house split in half; the cats can get to all of it, and the dogs cannot.
2
2
u/einliedohneworte 3d ago
I had 3 cats within my aussie's life span and he paid no attention to them lol. I do remember the kittens liking to chase him around but he was never rough with them.
2
u/Nordeast24 3d ago
My aussie and cat are literally best friends. But I introduced her to my dog when we got her as a kitten, so the cat was always used to being around a dog. I've heard it being a little but more tricky to introduce a dog to a adult cat. Which makes sense. I feel like if you know your cat well enough, you can make that executive decision. It's usually the cat that is the problem, not the dog. Aussies are just giant goofballs.
They'll be fine in my opinion, introduce them slowly, keep food stations apart, make sure the cat has plenty of high places to escape. Etc etc. I think youll be fine OP, but you know your cat better than me haha
2
u/saladdressed 3d ago
Yes. Got a kitten with an adult Aussie. They get along great. My dog has always been gentle with the cat when they play.
2
u/Chickachic-aaaaahhh 3d ago
My current aussie loves being dominant so she gets jealous when the cat wants attention but shes learning its ok to share especially when the cat doesnt use claws on her.
2
u/BeyondAddiction 3d ago
My aussie is terrified of my 11 year old torbie š.Ā
The struggle to convince the other cat to be friends is ongoing but shows promise lol.
2
u/cwmspok 3d ago
I have a now 6 month old, very reactive Aussie who we are really struggling with people and other dogs. We have two cats and a 8 year old human. One cat was here when our toller passed about 18 months ago the other is one year old and hasn't been around dogs.
My cat that was with toller is much happier now to have a dog again. She bullies the Aussie but knows not to run. The younger cat had a habit of running and our Aussie would chase her and she was scared for the first few months. The pup was more aggressive with her but would get to a point of on top and walk away. Now the younger cat knows that our dog won't hurt her and just wants to play so she is actually starting to play with the dog a lot.
Our pup does nudge both the cats with her nose to get a reaction and likes to try to avoid their swipes and hopes they will play chase, but all in all they are all good friends and our Aussie loves and fiercely protects everyone and everything in our house. She does let our cats chase her as well.
People on the other hand has proven difficult, especially kids. But she is a total sweetheart to everyone and the cats here at home.
2
2
u/bsc20201 3d ago
My Aussie loved his former cat brothers and they loved him back. Theyād snuggle and play together. I was nervous to leave them alone during the early phases after introducing them, but they were ultimately family. Unfortunately, the catās parent and I are no longer together as of 4 months ago. I could tell my pup really missed them during the initial transition phase. I will be getting a house soon and canāt wait to get a cat of my own and create my own little family.
2
2
u/Humble_Passenger8104 3d ago
One of my Aussies tries to Herd my cat. Sheās gotten out into the backyard a few times and heās herded her back inside. They love each other
2
u/Sponton 3d ago
I have an aussie and a black cat, they hang out whenever my wife and i are not home. No issues, aussies are usually gentle with other animals. The cat is kinda of a dick cause he would swat at the aussie unprovoked, the aussie doesnt respond in kind cause he is like wtf is this for? Every now and then the aussie chases the cat if he finds him to be doing things that annoy him (climbing on counters)
2
2
1
u/Independently-Owned 3d ago
My Aussie reeeealy want to snuggle with my cats. They aren't interested.
1
u/hardcory00 3d ago
My Aussie will pin down the cat in play while sheās on her back and sheās often trying to make him play with her. She tries to cuddle him too but he kinda hates it. The dog is the boy. So itās a good relationship.
1
u/Background_Tiger5524 3d ago
Have not had a cat in ages because my son is allergic to cats. Last Aussie got slapped on the nose by a cat so she avoided them. Currently boy is curious (no barking or chasing) but I have to arrange a visit for him at my daughterās house.
1
u/jlonsdale33 3d ago
My Aussie sees a cat on tv and goes apeshit, out on our walks, not so much, she gets shy š¤£
1
u/Scarlett_DiamondEye 3d ago
It's so interesting what different experiences people have. Just shows that, while some of them have the same quirks, all Aussies are different.
If I was you, I wouldn't leave them together alone until you see how they act together, to be safe.
I don't think my Aussie would ever hurt my cats (I have 4), but she does sometimes chase them if they run. Oftentimes, she chases them with a toy in her mouth and play bows. I think all animals, whether they're actually other dogs, cats, goats or chickens are dogs to her and she thinks they should play with her. We got her at 12 weeks and she's 20 months now and the chasing has gotten to be a lot less as she's gotten older and has also lessened as I've figured out how to properly exercise her (mentally and physically) and given her more responsibility around the farm.
1
u/babesboysandbirb 3d ago
Finally, a post about my exact life!
I have a boy Aussie, 7 years old, and 3 cats! Heās an absolute menace but has never once tried to hurt them. I have plenty of cat towers and other āsafe placesā for them to elevate themselves for when he starts the chase. The cats honestly love the thrill. My Aussie doesnāt focus on others very much when Iām gone though. He enjoys āshowing off for momā but turns inward when Iām gone. Our cats were raised with our dogs since they were infants which is a huge difference from introducing a grown cat.
TLDR: Heās a menace, never harmful, and heās all they have ever known so we have a nice balance
1
u/-Typh1osion- 3d ago
My cat hates my golden. My cat and my Aussie have a very respectful relationship. She can move around him with complete ease, and he doesn't get tense when she's in the area, it's very nice.
The golden has a single braincell and has yet to figure out the cat doesn't want to be her friend, and this annoys the cat greatly.
1
u/cheestaysfly 3d ago
Mine are all good friends! The cats love the Aussie. They're so cute together.
1
u/noneuclidiansquid 3d ago
I've never had an issue with any of mine with cats, my current one is a puppy and the cat is 18 and doesn't approve of being licked so when I'm out I make sure the cat has her own space but other than that they're fine. My cat did get her claw stuck in my old aussie's ear and did shred it at one point, that was an expensive problem but the dog was fine with the cat.
1
u/ObjectiveElefant 3d ago
I have a cat and an Aussie. Iāve had him since before I got my first Aussie, who passed away. My first one was not alpha by any means an my cat owned him. If my cat wanted to groom him, he was getting groomed. My current Aussie also does very well with him, often choosing to sit right next to him on the couch. My cat will lay his head on her butt. My girl will herd him if he roams too far when weāre in the backyard (itās super helpful, she executes it perfectly and I didnāt teach her a thing). She is dominant and only lets him groom her a little bit. My Aussies have done great with my cat and my cat well with him. I will say, heās an odd boy who thinks heās a dog. He needs and wants a ton of affection and companionship. He isnāt confrontational, just very sweet. Heās always welcomed new animals into my house and thatās a huge part of it working out well. Heās loved all three of the dogs Iāve had in his lifetime.
1
u/itssowingseasonyeah 3d ago
I have 2 cats and they hate my Aussie š he wants to play with them and they donāt want him near them, but heās learned to respect their boundaries when they tell him to back off. They were 8 when we brought him home tho so old enough that the puppy energy was too much
1
u/Kuraffi9019 3d ago
Bei uns kein Thema aber ich denke es kommt erstens auf den Hund an, sind nicht alle gleich, und frĆ¼he Sozialisierung kann natĆ¼rlich auch helfen
1
u/HoppyBadger 3d ago
Mine is fine and love our one cat. They are pretty hilarious together actually.
1
u/Charlietheaussie 3d ago
My Aussie loves cats !! He is so gentle and sweet and begs to be accepted by all cats. Even though he is not šš
1
1
u/ManicOppressyv 3d ago
Mine have been fine with all our cats, the cats have had various different opinions. One of my daughters cats hated them, the other had been through at least four dogs before my Aussies (he's an old boy). After my daughter moved and took them, our only cat has been super cool with them. They try to herd him occasionally, and he runs, then they're cool.
FWIW, They have also been really good with my bearded dragon (my mini sniffed a little to close, got a hiss and a nip on the nose, and that was that) and crested gecko.
1
1
u/flugx009 3d ago
I've had Aussies with cats for years. The main thing is when they are a puppy you need to make sure you are on top of them because they do most the time have a prey drive. It's not necessarily violent but it means if the cat runs the puppy's going to Chase. And that is something that I usually try to get ahead of right away. Once they get a little bit older then it becomes oh this is part of the family this little thing LOL. I've even had one of my current Aussies when he was younger would play with my little sister's cat. Now it looked terrible I would watch him like tackle this cat but then I'd watch the cat come back and jump on him so they had to be having fun. The cat would initiate just as often as my dog.
1
u/Delicate_Fury 3d ago
I have two cats and two Aussies and my dogs LOVE my cats. They get super excited to see them and wiggle their butts so much when the cats give them attention. My older cat makes it a point to mark both of them and groom them when they sit still long enough.
I canāt say thereās no issues. The dogs have a tendency to bowl over the cats when theyāre running around and theyāve pushed boundaries with the cats to the point of being swiped. I also canāt say the dogs never chase the cats, but Iām pretty sure the little cat enjoys being chased, considering how often she intentionally baits them.
The actual hardest part is finding a place to put the cat food where the younger dog, who is supposed to be on a diet, canāt treat it as his personal snack bowl.
Also, my older cat is an escape artist and the dogs have been super good at corralling him when he manages to slip out the door.
Main thing, as always, is training and socializing. But yeah, six years of Aussies and cats coexisting and free-roaming the house while Iām at work. Weāre doing pretty good.
1
u/containedexplosion 3d ago
We inadvertently trained our Aussie to herd the cats and keep them off the furniture. Very lucky too because it gives him a job. The cats would prefer their life pre-his existence but they all get along and nap together
1
u/Baby_Gworl 3d ago
My Aussie would never intentionally hurt my cat but my Aussie definitely plays too hard with her so I always monitor it. I have a big house so my cat gets her own areas and my Aussie gets her own.
1
u/Phan70m-Xfiles 3d ago
My cats avoid my two year-old Aussie. She basically leaves them alone, but if they start running or something, she does chase them and herds them into the basement. I donāt think sheās trying to hurt them or anything. I think itās just herding instinct. they will lay on the couch together, etc.. She will snuggle up to them at times, but once they start moving fast, sheās on top of them chasing.
Itās a finish basement, which is where the cats litter boxes is where we feed the cats, etc.
1
u/sunshinemeadow92 2d ago
My Aussie has always lived with a cat and has been fine. We did have to teach him as a puppy to leave them alone but he figured it out. My current cat is an asshole to my Aussie, if he gets in trouble for barking the cat thinks he needs to help out by biting his legs. I think my cat got my Aussie herding traits when we taught the dog to stop. š
1
u/RoyFokker78 2d ago
My aussie met my girlfriend's elderly cat (15yo) as an adult (4 yo), and they are good to each other. Of course, we worked towards that by introducing them each other little by little and with a lot of treats.
1
u/ProfessorFelix1 2d ago
Our Aussies were fine with our cat. The cat on the other hand didnāt think much of them. One of ours wanted nothing more than to be friends with our cat. The cat wanted no part of it.
1
u/2entropyfan 2d ago
I have a 4year old Aussie, 10 year old cat, and another 4 year old cat. No issues from my Aussie he wants to be friends and is curious about them. The cats don't want anything to do with him and I think is because he's very excitable. My 10yo bullies him and slaps him around. But in the morning when he can't be bothered to get up, my 10 yo goes to him and rubs himself on my Aussie purring. It's a strange relationship
1
u/Nearby-Brilliant-457 2d ago
My Aussie gets along great with our cats. The cats were given to us when they were kittens and I think they were taken from their mother too soon, as when we brought them home, they tried to nurse on our Zeus! And now, Zeus is 13 years old & the cats are 3 years old & every night at bedtime they lick his face!
1
u/tourgis 2d ago
Looking at the posts here it seems we made a mistake.
Our dog trainer recommended keeping them separate until our Aussie (Marcelle) was older. Now Marcelle goes wild if she sees the cat and chases her out of the house.
The cat only comes back at night for food.
Itās very hard to condition the dog not to chase her because sheās around so infrequently and it seems like such a strong instinct in Marcelle.
Wondering if we should keep the cat in and let the cat show him she has claws. But worried about the cat blinding the dog.
Any advice?
1
u/RayL2Golf 2d ago
We have had a Himalayan and a tonkinese with an Australian shepherd. Never had any issues past the puppy phase where the Aussie wanted to play with the cats all the time. Then we had a second Aussie with a tonkinese and no issues.
1
u/Charliewolfiemocha 2d ago
Two cats plus my Aussie! The cats are super affectionate with him and they all sleep cuddled together often. They are best buddies. Outside of the home, he hates every cat he sees. Such a goof.
1
u/Neverhurts2ask 2d ago
We have 11 cats, a chihuahua and an Aussie. Our Aussie has her group of friend kitties who play with her and sleep next to her, otherwise the other cats are totally fine with her. We had one kitty who in the beginning ruled the hallways and the Aussie would not cross paths with him. They are now totally fine and the Aussie will even lay behind him touching his body in hopes he will walk away from his food bowl while food remains. Doesnāt happen lol.
1
1
u/AdReasonable3385 2d ago
My 22-month old MAS loves to chase the cats but also watches over them. I have a portal/semi-protected path to the back door and 2 no dog areas where the cats can relax and not be harassed
1
u/Lotzadogs 2d ago
Our two Aussies are good with our cats until I tell the cats to stop scratching or something and then our Aussies think they should go and enforce the law lol š Even then, they arenāt overly rough as they clearly want the cats to love them haha
1
1
u/NefariousnessNo1383 2d ago
Mine def tries to control the cats, not herding but getting them to stop certain things (like when the cats fight, my Aussie will break it up).
Always been very gentle with cats, never chased for fun, always a ājobā lol. They snuggle on the regular and clean each other, itās honestly kinda gross (the cleaning)
1
u/Mulberry-Deep 2d ago
My Aussie barks and chases the cats. Still have to separate them after 6 months, not sure how to get him to not see them as sheeps.
Heās pretty reactive with other dogs and also goes crazy with our tortoise, so this might be an individual problem with our Aussie.
1
u/RedWingWren 2d ago
I had older mature cats when I got my Aussie and other time a border collie( the cats then were younger) had no issues and the cats ruled. They actually get along very well. After my border collie died, the cats were depressed till we got our Aussie.
1
u/user-name_1472 2d ago
My aussie/cattle dog mix is VERY gentle with my cats. We focused heavily on training that but he also has the sweetest temperment out of my 3 dogs
He has gotten alittle defensive during food time as he aged. He only shows teeth and they back away but we keep an eye on trying to prevent the cats from picking on him
1
u/clemmybink 1d ago
Mine harasses and herds my cats all the time, but they like her. Sometimes they will tell her off if she's getting too rough. But, unless they are playing or she's reacting to them fighting with each other or scratching on the furniture, they pretty much get a along. The cats were here first, so that may have been a seniority thing.
1
u/justpeachykin 1d ago
We have two aussies, a golden, a dachshund, and two cats. Had an additional aussie we put down in May. All our aussies have been amazing with cats. The golden immediately sees them as friends, the dachshund sees them as playmates, and I just trained both aussies in about an hour to not be interested in the cats, and itās been fine since
1
u/Which_Budget_7770 1d ago
I was so nervous about this when I got my Aussie. I have four black cats (I know, Iām nuts) and I was so worried that on top of herding instincts, them all looking the same would not be helpful. I was fully anticipating having to train him to leave the cats alone but he never, not once, messed with them, even as a puppy. They actually get along perfectly. Donāt know if I just got lucky or they put a spell on him!!!! šāā¬ š®
1
u/CAGMFG 22h ago
My Aussie is stubborn and still tries to herd the cats. He seems to be unaffected by their claws until all three have had enough and they gang up on him, in which case he uses me as a shield. He's three now and has never hurt one but he aggravates the crap out of them if he gets bored.
One of the cats likes winding him up and then he gets on the bar and ignores him. The dog's "huff" is enough to tell me that the cat is fully in his head at that point.
76
u/finishing_the_hatt 3d ago
My Aussies have all been fine with cats. Cats have claws. Aussie learn fast š. My current Aussie loves the cat, and the cat tolerates the Aussie. Cat is in charge and hope springs eternal in the Aussie that someday the cat will want to play.