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If you already have a cat or two in your home and you are thinking about bringing home a dog, you want to ensure they will get along. While there is a lot of comic relief surrounding the relationship between cats and dogs, the truth is that they can have great relationships with each other.
Dobermans and cats will usually get along, but it’s important that you introduce them properly and take the time to ensure they get along. Not only have we highlighted why Dobermans typically get along great with cats, but we’ve also brought up some great tips you should follow to help ensure a happy and healthy relationship between your Doberman and your cat!
Will a Doberman Be Good with My Cat?
While there’s no guarantee that any two animals will get along, most Dobermans will get along with a cat if you introduce them properly. One of the biggest driving factors behind this is your Doberman’s overall happiness level and if you are meeting all of their exercise and mental stimulation requirements.
Dobermans love to have a task, and if you’re not giving them one or meeting their needs in other ways, they might create one on their own with the cat. Still, with proper introductions and a little patience, there’s no reason you can’t at least have a tolerant relationship between your Doberman and your cat.
The 7 Tips for Getting Your Doberman to Get Along with Your Cat
If you want your Doberman to get along with your cat, you need to take some steps to ensure that it happens. We’ve highlighted seven different tips that will help increase the chances of a successful introduction and relationship between the two animals for you here:
1. Introduce Scents
Before bringing your cat and your Doberman face to face, have them get used to each other’s scent first. You can do this with a blanket or something else with the other animal’s scent on it, or you can leave the animal in a room and then swap the rooms after a day or two.
Giving both animals a chance to become familiar with the other’s scent will make it easier when they actually come face to face for the first time. Not only does it create interest in the other animal, but it also allows them to become familiar with one aspect of them while the other isn’t around.
2. Use a Barrier
The first time you introduce your Doberman to your cat you don’t want to just let them have free reign with each other. A barrier like a baby gate can be a great way for them to see each other without getting the opportunity to jump all over each other.
This will give them the chance to get comfortable with each other without having the ability to overwhelm, scare, or potentially aggravate the other one.
3. Start Slow with Introductions
When you’re introducing your cat and your Doberman to each other for the first time without any boundaries, start slowly. Give them time to sniff each other, but don’t let them just keep pestering the other one.
It’s often easier to distract the Doberman, so if they’re still sniffing at the cat see if you can’t play a game with them or get their mind off the cat in another way. This will give both animals time to reset after the initial introduction and reduce the chance of any flare-ups.
4. Try to Keep Everything Calm
While you can’t always control your pet’s behavior, you need to do your best to keep both pets as calm as possible when they’re meeting for the first time. This means eliminating other distractions and things that might work either pet up.
It also means stepping in if either pet starts to get too excited to try and calm them down again. If one pet is overly excited, it’s very easy for it to overwhelm or frighten the other one.
5. Give Them Their Own Space
Both your Doberman and your cat need a space they can call their own and retreat to. Whether it’s a crate or a room where the other animal can’t go, giving them their own space gives them a place to get away if everything gets to be a bit too much.
6. Supervise Them
For the first few interactions and until your Doberman and cat get comfortable with each other, you’ll want to supervise all of their interactions. This will allow you to monitor their behavior and intervene if one of the animals starts to get overwhelmed.
If you can keep them from acting out as they figure each other out, you’ll greatly increase the chances of a successful relationship between the two animals in the long run.
7. Keep Things Positive
This is another area where it can be challenging, but you want to keep things positive for both animals during the introduction. If they stay happy the entire time and don’t feel like you’re about to yell at them, the more likely it is that they’ll get along with each other.
However, you need to do everything you can to avoid a spat between the two animals early on, as this can sour their future relationship. It’s a fine line you need to walk, but if you can do it, you’ll greatly increase the chances of a successful relationship between the two animals.
Conclusion
If you already have a cat or two in your home and you’re thinking about bringing home a Doberman, there’s no reason you can’t have a successful integration. With the proper stimulation, care, and introduction between the two animals, they usually have a great relationship that makes it easy for an owner to care for both animals.
Featured Image Credit: Eric Isselee, Shutterstock
