Akitas and cats?
As i said before, i am getting a male Akita soon.
My girlfriend and I are also thinking of getting a cat( she's more of a cat person). My question is has any of you have an Akita living in teh same flat/ouse as a cat? How do they get along?
Thanks for you help
Rui
Comments
I can't speak for akitas. But I have a Shiba Inu and a PitBull/Bull Dog and four cats. Both dogs have very high prey drives and do well with the cats. Moto (the shiba) chases them sometimes, but more out of play than hunting.
Assuming that you are getting the akita as a pup, he will likely do well with a cat he grows up with.
Good luck.
When are you getting your akita?
Thank you for your help, Jessica.
I should be getting the Akita around the middle of March/beggining of April. For what i know, they were born yesterday!
Thank you for your input, guys!
I'll just have to introduce them properly, i see. Thay should be the same age or about the same age when they com, so no one will feel his property invaded. It'll be a clean slate for both of them.
Yes, starting off with a clean slate for both of them will be great!
However, take this to heart...just because your Akita gets along with your cat, DOES NOT mean he will get along or play nicely with other cats. I mean, it is possible but unless you know he is totally cat-friendly, I would not trust him with other cats. Since they will be growing up together, the pup should "imprint" on that cat. That cat is not really a cat, but a member of his pack. I cannot express this enough.
I'll let you know my personal experiences with Akita and cats in about 10-20 years from now! =(^-~)= -winks-
What Heidi and Corina are saying is SO TRUE!!!!
Moto and Piggy live with four cats. They get along great and play like they are all puppies (Piggy has even groomed the cats since day one) , HOWEVER they both have almost dragged me when they see a cat outside on their walk.
Your Akitas prey drive will still be there. Don't forget that.
Thanks for your opinions, guys!
Yes, i am aware that the fact that the Akita will befriend the cat in the same house won't mean that cats in general will be welcome.
But, in good truth, the cat in this place and my Mom's cat are the only cats I NEED him to get along with. I'll be happy if he just ignores all the others. Of course if he decides that they're ok, fine by me, but i know he'll always be a dog with a considerable prey drive.
I was incredibly lucky. It took time and a great deal of work, but my cats and dogs get along very well....now. There were very few confrontations, a good deal of poking, chasing and hiding, but never any aggression from the dogs. I tried it all! Comfort Zone, rubbing all their scents on one towel and giving each pet time with the towel, allowing the pets time to work it out, petting one pet then the other - everything.
In the end, it was all a matter of discipline and time...and maybe a bit of the towel thing. I had to train the cats not to run and when they did choose to run (for play), I trained the dogs not the chase them. We did have to give our oldest cat to my boyfriend's mother, because she couldn't get along with my kitties, let alone the dogs. But Jewel (age 9, cat) and Brittney (age 6, cat) took about 2 years to get really comfortable with the dogs.
Jewel really just wants to be left alone. Brittney was a dog in her previous life and only worries about getting stepped on. They can all be in bed with us without any tension. And Brittney is constantly walking about and rubbing her scent on the dogs. It's terribly cute. Here is a pic of Brittney and Mika (age 4, akita).
Thank you sujewel for posting that picture!
I'm leonberger's girlfriend - the cat lover. Looks like I beat Rui to this post!
I will make sure to use the towel method you mentioned. I just hope my cat will be safe!!!
You're cat and Akita will be young together, so they really are quite likely to get along. If you get the puppy first, you might consider taking the pup with you to pick out the kitty and vice versa. Sometimes, it's just a matter of making a great match.
When I went to pick out a second cat, I was sitting with Brittney's sister. A Rottie was barking nearby and the sister was shaking uncontrollably. She kept putting her cute little face in my armpit!!! But then the rescue brought Brittney over...she kept trying to climb over my shoulder to get closer to the Rottie (who was at that point HYSTERICAL, they were MAYBE 5 feet apart), I knew Brittney was the one. She had spunk and it worked out with the dogs later on.
Incidentally, it also took 2 years for Brittney to get used to my boyfriend!!! What a ham.
And don't give up Rachael and Chad! It could happen as the pets get older and less frisky.
BTW. Brittney and Mika were sitting like that for an hour! Brittney also sleeps on the dog bed. Keigo looks funny without his winter coat.hehehehe
Looks like Rui and I have had our first 'parental' disagreement. He says I'm being too protective of Nyx when they are together.
I am just intimidated by his size and I see the strength he puts in his toys and Nyx provokes him too. She likes to approach him sideways and makes herself as big as she can to compensate for the obvious size difference. They approach each other and sniff. Kuma wags his tail. He has a thing for her tail. When he follows her and reaches her, she lays on her back and hits him with her trimmed claws. Now I'm regretting having the vet trim them - I feel she's totally vulnerable to Kuma and if she had her claws she'd put him in his place!
We always hover over them and are ready to act to break them up if it gets too close for comfort - Kuma does approach with an open mouth so that worries me. Rui and I disagreed about letting Kuma put Nyx's paw in his mouth - seeing that just freaked me out!! I reprimanded him and instinctively hissed at him while getting him by the scruff. (I'm such a cat-person!)
I know exactly quite well how to read a cat behaviour but when it comes to a dog, as you guys know I'm out of my depth. I know Kuma's playing but if he plays rough I might lose my Nyx!
He barked a few times - so I think he got over excited so after a few more minutes of play I decided it was enough for the day and the house is yet again segregated according to gender... goodness knows when I'll have my boyfriend back, huh?!