Cat play?

[Lauren & Buddy]

Just curious about how I should let my 4 month old Buddy play with my cat??

A little background on my cat...she is super affectionate towards my hubby and myself but when it comes to other people - look out! She hisses and swats and is generally grumpy towards anyone else. So when we brought Buddy home we were super conscious about how to introduce them. During the two months we've had him she has become very curious about him to the point where she will willingly enter into his puppy playroom while he's in there. I'm still not sure if this is because she wants to play or because she wants to dominate him! Either way, they end up running around chasing each other...she does swat at him but without her claws (she has learned from us that you don't play with your claws out...) and does hiss a bit but it seems more to me like play than because she is afraid. I figure if she was scared she would leave the room in the same way she came! This has happened multiple times...

So, I guess my question is if it really is okay to let them play this way. I don't want Buddy to grow up and always think of my cat as a play-toy but on the other hand I want them to be able to interact with one another. I think if he wasn't a puppy and had so much energy when he tried to play with her that she might actually curl up with him and give him some love...or at least this is the type of message I've been getting! Or, should I prevent them from having this type of play all together?? I just don't want him to get started with a bad habit...

Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!!

Thanks!

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

I think if she can get away from buddy on her own and chooses to go in with him and play, they will be fine. just like brother and sisters, they may fight, but she will let him know when enough is enough. at least she can't say "mom likes me best".  I wouldn't leave them unattended and if buddy gets going to much, tell him to be gentle, just like you would a child.  my two cents.

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

That's a challenging one, Lauren, speaking from experience (check my latest video of you wanna see what I mean). Lachlan and Pixel have been playmates from the beginning. I'm fortunate in that Pixel is a willing participant but he's still a small cat with delusions of grandeur and Lachlan is a large and enthusiastic puppy.

I have a few very strict rules of engagement that I've followed and enforced right from the beginning:

1. The Cat always has at least one, preferably more than one, escape route. 
2. The Cat, who like yours is not declawed, gets his nails trimmed every weekend.
3. They are never, ever left alone together. Interactions are always supervised and refereed if necessary.
4. If either of them starts to "wind up" and get too rough the game ends and they're separated (with redirection if possible).
5. If either of them squeaks like there might be pain involved the game's over Right Now and very firmly. No coddling of the squeaker or punishing of the causer-of-squeaks, just firm and immediate separation of both.

Outside of that I hold my breath and bite my tongue a lot, knowing that accidents can happen and praying they won't. I also know that they have learned through play to communicate with each other and that, when they're older, they'll probably curl up and rest together too.

[Lauren & Buddy]

Thank you for the 'rules of engagement'! Very helpful. And, I loved watching the video of Pixel and Lachlan playing. It reminded me of my two sweeties!

[Eva and Fenway]

Hi Lauren, 

 

Not much to add to Jen's great post here but I will share that I have two cats and have found that her rules of engagement are pretty useful. My cats don't really want to play with Fen (they are lazy), but they DO like to creepily watch her and Mu does sometimes like to investigate the pup. Claws are always always trimmed, and I have my house split down the middle separated by a pet gate with a cat door in it. Fenway can't get into the cat area, but they can get into her area whenever they want. As long as Mu has his escape route planned, he's pretty much fine with anything that goes down. She's also learned that hissing means back off.

[Eva and Fenway]

PS, Buddy is ADORABLE.