Westies and Cats
General March 19th, 2010
People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier be friends with Guinea Pigs as an example.
Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of information about Westies and cats..
When Willow came to us last summer one thing that she had to adjust to was a household already inhabited by three tomcats ranging in age from four years to around ten. The cats definitely rule the roost here and the new little Westie just needed to find her place. She’s done that now. There are certainly occasional spats to decide who’s going to be top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey backwards and forwards amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.
We weren’t just dropping a dog into the midst of a bunch of cats who had never seen a dog before. Our Norwegian Elkhound, Saladdin was a key part of our family structure for years and actually helped raise two of our cats from kittenhood. He’s gone now and the cats haven’t had to handle a dog for a while, however the old tapes were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to have a brand new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, but it really wasn’t the end of the world for them either.
One thing that we insisted on in the beginning was that a new dog had to submit to the cats. This runs specifically true when dealing with terrier dogs such as the West Highland Terrier. Regardless how lovable and cute they can be, deep down in their heart and soul they are hunters. They need to get in and duke it out with game animals, and basically anything that runs from them qualifies as game. It does not mean they aren’t great dogs, but there is no way around it: the terrier breeds from Pit Bulls all the way down to Yorkies are scrappers. So our job as owners of terriers is always to define the things they can chase and fight with and the things they can’t.
That is why I was so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the beginning. It wasn’t hard to do. If she got too frisky we had to lay her down until she settled and calmed, but mostly a sharp word and a tug on the leash was enough to get the job done. It certainly helped that our cats were not particularly impressed by dogs and don’t mind demonstrating the use of their claws if she gets too feisty.
Things have settled into place now and we’ve been able to relax some of the boundaries we laid down to start with. We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its equally likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. In actual fact it looks like it’s really a game of tag than anything else, and nobody gets hurt. When they aren’t chasing one another throughout the house its not unusual to discover Willow curled up with one of the cats, or perhaps hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can never tell which two animals will bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the first to really chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) and that set the stage for the others to follow.
Your position may be quite different from ours, because our cats were already familiar with having a dog around. If your cats have never had anything to do with dogs, you will probably want to follow a rather different course. In a case like that I would suggest keeping the new Westie on umbilical for a couple of days while the critters get accustomed to one another. Umbilical training, where you have your dog on a long leash and keep the leash tied around your waist, is an extremely good training method under any circumstance. It provides control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Keep with the umbilical work for at least 7 days and keep your dog in its crate when it isn’t on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes the dog isn’t a threat to it.
Precisely the same things apply if you want to introduce a cat into the house. I’d recommend a kitten when possible, since they are more malleable which will make the situation more managable. Make sure that the dog and cat are able to sniff each others butts so that you have the nose engaged, then keep your dog on umbilical for a time.
Cats can definitely coexist with Westie Terriers. They may not become buds in the same manner our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other should be possible. Use the umbilical, make the dog submit from the beginning and all ought to be well.
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