# Havs and Cats?? Friends??



## CourtneyS (Mar 11, 2009)

Hello! A little background on us: Our Hav Boy, Dash, will be 9 months old right after Christmas. He's a super sweet guy- has taken QUITE a while on the potty training, but seems to have that down now. He's a total mama's-boy, following me everywhere around the house. He's somewhat slowing down on the puppy chewing phase (not eating all our shoes anymore, at least!), and is GREAT with our 3 daughters. He will growl slightly if they approach him when he's eating a rawhide, but not if he has a Kong or other treat. They know that you never go near a dog who is eating, and we are working with him on that, too. He rarely barks (only if the doorbell rings and he's asleep- if he's awake, he doesn't bark at it), and is actually a very calm puppy. Overall- he's an excellent breed/dog for our family! 
My question is this: how are Havs with Cats? Our oldest daughter ONLY wants a kitten for christmas. Seriously, she can't even think of something else she wants to ask for. We've never had a cat before, mainly because my hubby isn't a huge fan of them, but also because our old dog (who died last spring) couldn't stand them. I grew up with them, so it's no biggie to me. I think I remember hearing Havs are good with them, is it true? It would be a kitten, I'm sure, not an adult cat (she does understand that they grow, though!). Is is a good idea to mix Havs and cats? How do you get your Have used to the new kitten? I don't want to get her a Cat and then have to get rid of it because Dash hates it. He hasn't been around cats ever, but does fine with other dogs. He plays with the neighbors dog, who is 3x his size, and has played with a little yorkie-poo sometimes, and done fine. He did get to play with a tiny puppy yorkie-poo once, and I had to put him in his crate. He wasn't being mean to it, just kind of rough running and rolling it over. I honestly think he would have calmed down eventually, but the dog's owner was getting frustrated, so I took him inside. (he never growled, bared his teeth or snapped at the puppy)
Any advice you have would be great- Thanks! 
CourtneyS


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## TheVintageVamp (Oct 14, 2009)

Our Murray is wonderful with our cats and the litter of kittens we currently have in the house. He and one of my grown cats sleep curled up together. The kittens climb on him, sleep snuggled up in his fur and generally have their way with him. The only problem I have ever had is him picking up the kittens in his mouth and toting them around!  I guess he decides they need to go with him when he goes to another room and he leaves them rather bewildered over the entire experience.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Here is a thread on the subject. Havs and cats go together really well. Of course, like any animal you'd want to keep an eye on things for a long while, but that's all.

http://havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=6897&highlight=tucker+nitro


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

I think you can't group hav dogs on this one...some are good, some not so good. Both my dogs want to herd the cat, but will not hurt it. Missy is now 12pds + and the cat is 8 pds, so I have to keep I eye on the rough play. 

When Casper didn't have Missy around he was more willing to make the cat a buddy...now with Missy there he likes to chase the cat alot because Missy likes to do that.


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

I guess it probably just depends on the individual Hav. Santos is great with my cats...he even has a favorite. They play with each other, and on more than one occasion, I've found Tito (the cat) has climbed into his ex-pen with him and is cuddled up with Santos on his bed.

Editing to add...the cat breed may make a difference too. Tito is a persian, and although very playful, is pretty unbothered by anything. Maybe a high strung breed wouldn't be such a good choice.


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## Perugina (May 28, 2008)

I think there was a thread about certain cat breeds that do better with dogs...hmmm. My dog is friends with our cockatiel. In the beginning she would alternate between getting way too excited and trying to get her tail feathers to avoiding her and acting afraid. Now they get along great although I have to tell Sophie to calm down 'cause she still gets too excited when I take Gadget out. Gadget has a certain chirp/whistle when she sees Sophie and she moves around in her cage to get a better view of her. When I put them on the floor together, Gadget leads Sophie all over. When Gadget stops or flies up on something, Sophie will lay down and gaze at her longingly...too funny!


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## Brady's Grandmom (Nov 11, 2008)

I have 2 burmese cats. Bacca(my havanese) and Mickey, my laid back 15 pound boy is best friends with Bacca. They race and play all over the house. At night they curl up together in my bed. If Bacca gets too rough Mickey will discipline him! Mary Lou, my 7 pound girl is still waiting for Bacca to leave. If looks could kill, Bacca would be in big trouble. I guess it all depends on the cats and the dog, not so much the breeds.


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## snfager (Sep 29, 2006)

Before getting your daughter a kitten do you know someone with a cat that you could go visit and see how Dash reacts to it?
The one animal that really freaks Daisy out is my granddaughter's cat. Daisy goes crazy anytime she even thinks the cat may be around. I really think it is because she wasn't raised with cats and she can't figure out what they are so she is intensely afraid of the cat.
You could be in for a very long and loud adjustment period and it is possible they would never be able to live together. I agree with you that it could be very sad for your daughter.
That said, I know my sister carried around a lot of resentment for the first 50 years of her life because by growing up in a dog family she never got to have the kitten she yearned for.
Good luck with your decision ..... ain't it fun!!


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## margaretandluigi (Mar 12, 2008)

Desilu is just as happy as my terriers to make a game out of "chase the cat". Not thinking he'd actually hurt the cat (I have 4 BTW) but who knows. The dogs are separated from the cats when no one is home to supervise. A lot seems to depend on the cat. I have two that run. They get chased A LOT. I have one that just refuses to move. They give up on him quickly as he's no fun. The fourth actually chases the dogs. And spends a lot of time growling at them. Mostly the dogs give him a wide berth.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

It sounds like your puppy, Dash, is a good dog and a wonderful part of your family. That's so nice to hear.  I think if you are going to get a kitten, the sooner the better. If they are both young, they may have an easier time adapting. As everyone has said, it depends on the Hav. 

We had two adults cats already when we got our Havs, Ricky and Sammy. One cat has nothing to do with them and lives in the basement. The other tolerates them, but doesn't play at all, though our Havs always chase him and try to get him to play. Then we brought home a 4-5 week old kitten that had been abandoned ( in Sept. ) and Sammy took to her right away. He licked and licked her and she'd snuggle against him and play in his long hair. The two Havs wanted to play roughly with her at first, but she'd get scared and hide so we discouraged it at first. Once Sophie was big and brave enough (at 7-8 weeks), she started teasing them and running. She's now 4 months old she and Sammy are very, very close and play a lot. Sophie and Ricky are more like some siblings where they're o.k. together, but don't play all that much. Both our Havs turned 3 this past summer.

Could you maybe foster a kitten/cat from your local shelter, just to see how things go? By fostering, you aren't committing to long-term care, but if it goes well, you can then adopt it.


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## psvzum (Jun 11, 2009)

Loki loves our two cats. Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual. He wants to play, they don't. He get's batted when he gets too close and chased too. Loki's a little over one year so you'd think he'd know better by now!


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

When I got Murphy I had two cats. My precious Boo kitty a 20lb applehead lynx point siamese and our sweet Lily who is as round as she is long. Boo and Murphy were good buddies and Boo would lay on the coffee table when Murphy was playing RLH and he would reach down and cuff Murph on the head. They had great fun together. Boo died July 3rd and for weeks Murphy would look for his buddy. Lily and Murphy get along ok but Murphy pesters the daylights out of her and I think she would like it if he wasn't here.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

We have an outside cat that Abby loves! When Tiger comes in the fenced in area of the backyard to play with her she tries to keep him from leaving and will run to the gate and try to stop him! They have become great friends even though my son (who actually owns Tiger) swore that Tiger hated dogs......lol

A few weeks ago we went to visit my daughter and they had just gotten the children a kitten and with 24 hours Abby & Pokey were having a ball playing together. I think it probably is a good idea to get them together while they're both young but in our experience we've done well at all ages.


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