Cats and Dogs by Warner Bros was an interesting movie, touching up on the “extremes†of the age-long “war†between cats and dogs.
Released in 2001, the movie did well in conveying the long-strained relationships between the world’s most popular domestic pets, and also did well in revealing that though they’ve been at wits ends with each other’s company, cats and dogs can still get along.
If you happen to be an arbiter in a “species war†in your home, here are some tips in helping your cat and dog get along.
The Introduction – As with the introduction of persons, this aspect is important with cats and dogs. Familiarity plays an important role, and gradually getting each used to each other is important.
There are really no fixed times or estimations pertaining to when cats and dogs have spent sufficient time getting familiar with each other, but it pays to be on guard over how they would react.
You can “rig†separate enclosures for each cat and dog, with either one of them still free to go about, but not necessarily encounter each other without any safeguards. From putting up door meshes, or allocating room space, supervised meet ups are also essential, until the two have become fairly accustomed with each other.
The key is not to outright put them in one room together. That’s just a recipe for disaster.
The Thing about Scents – given the keen sense of smell in cats and dogs, you can use scents as a means for getting them familiar with each other. One popular method is in rubbing a towel over a dog, then placing that near a cat, in there separate “roomsâ€, with the same activity done on the cat.
In certain cases, placing a “scented towel†near a cat and/or dog’s designated dish-bowl area associates their respective scents further.
Meetings in Installments – once a cat and dog are not liable to act up in each other’s company, after getting them familiar with each other and each other’s scents, you can then initiate supervised meet ups, with you taking note over how a cat and a dog would react.
These meet ups could run for a few minutes to a couple of hours, and should be done in installments until a time when a cat and dog don’t violently react to each other’s presence, until such a time when both cat and dog are tuned and familiar with each other.
Do well in giving these steps a go, and you won’t have to imagine your cat and dog waging a secret spy game under your nose.
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