With children, dogs and other cats
A cat can live very happily with children, dogs and other cats, but almost never straight away. Slow introductions and an escape route make all the difference.
Cats and children
Many cats adore children who respect them and run from the ones who chase them. Young children need to learn that a cat is not a soft toy: you do not pick it up by force, wake it, pull its tail, and you let it go when it moves away. The cat needs high places and hiding spots the child cannot reach, and its litter tray and food out of reach too. If a cat hisses, flattens its ears or lashes its tail, it is asking for space: if it does not get it, it will scratch. With children under five or six, always with an adult present.
When a baby is on the way
A baby is no reason to give up the cat. Toxoplasmosis is caught mainly from eating undercooked meat or poorly washed vegetables, rather than from living with an indoor cat, although during pregnancy it is best for someone else to clean the litter tray every day or, if there is no alternative, to do it wearing gloves. Before the birth, get the cat used to the new smells and sounds, make changes to its routine and its spaces weeks in advance and do not suddenly ban it from areas that used to be its own. Once the baby arrives, keep up its play time: it is the first thing to go.
Cat and dog under one roof
They often get on very well, especially if they meet when young. The thing to assess is the dog: one with a strong prey drive or that already chases cats outside is a real risk. Introduce them with the dog on a lead and calm, at a distance first, rewarding it for ignoring the cat and never letting it chase, not even in play. The cat must always have a way out and places the dog cannot reach: shelves, a room behind a gate or a door with a cat flap its size. Its food, which dogs love, and its litter tray must also be out of the dog’s reach.
A second cat
Cats are not as solitary as people say, but their bonds form mainly with cats they have known since kittenhood or grown up with. Introducing two adults who do not know each other takes time: the newcomer in its own room, scent swapping for several days, meals on either side of the door, then seeing each other through a barrier and finally supervised time together that gets gradually longer. It can take one to several weeks. Choosing a cat of similar age and energy helps: a boisterous kitten can make life miserable for a calm older cat.
Birds, rodents and fish
A cat is a hunter, however well fed, and a hamster, a budgie or a small rabbit is prey. They can share a home, but in rooms or cages the cat cannot open or knock over, and never together unsupervised. Even if the cat never touches them, its constant presence in front of the cage is very stressful for a bird or a rodent. For aquariums, a secure lid. And if you ever see the cat staring fixedly, crouching and wiggling its back end, do not laugh it off.
Children who respect the cat, high places and hiding spots for it, slow introductions with dogs and cats, and never unsupervised with small prey animals. With a baby on the way, the cat stays; someone else had better scoop the litter tray.
Educational content from Michipedia. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.