We've had our sheltie puppy for about 3-4 weeks, and she is 7 months old. We are having some issues with her getting along with our 9 year old cat. Our sheltie Christy is not always interested in our cat, but once the cat moves around she starts to bark, and run around. I assume she wants to play or is this herding instinct? Our cat isn't too happy, and will hiss and claw if Christy gets too close. Then she will run away and Christy will chase. Sometimes they are alright. For example, our cat gets to spend time in an outdoor cage on the deck, and Christy doesn't always pay attention to the cat. Also in the living room, if the cat is on the cat tree, Christy will eventually not pay much attention to the cat. Once the cat climbs down, she starts to bark and get up real close to the cat. We keep them separated with baby gates, which my cat can jump over. We tell Christy no every time she misbehaves toward the cat. What should we do to help them eventually get along? I know that they will get along eventually, I've heard that shelties are one of the dog breeds that get along with cats. I also seen lots of videos of shelties and cats. So I really hope its possible for them to get along. I want to make sure my cat returns back to her normal life as well.
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, and it's been about 2 months. I guess its improving. My cat comes into the living room more often and is less scared of Christy. Usually the cat comes out in the afternoon and night. In the afternoon, Christy is usually in her crate sleeping. Christy still stares at the cat and is obsessed. I would usually block her view, or physically herd her away from the cat. Usually they are fine with each other when the cat is in the outdoor cage. Christy doesn't pay much attention there. They have even been nose to nose for a few seconds before. Will it get better?
<P>When I first got my Collie, Darby, my 16 year old cat decided that this clumsy, rambunctious stranger was not going to be tolerated, and that it was her mission in life was to kill the puppy! There were a couple of time when I had to literally throw myself between Darby and the oncoming tortoiseshell tornado. By the time Darby was a year old though, there was nothing he liked better than to sit on the couch and gently give my old granny cat a tongue bath, while the former puppy assassin purred and dozed. Since it doesn't sound like your two fur babies are trying to murder each other, I'd say they're going to be just fine.