OES and cats
We have no children--well, not of the human variety (  ), but we have six feline children whom we love very much. Our main concern is the nature/health of the cats versus the herding instinct of the OES. My wife and I have read and heard all about the herding instincts of OES and the concomitant nipping and pushing, and I'm just wondering if cats might be too delicate for this.
All six are indoor cats. Five of the six are rescued strays, but they have long since adjusted to home life. All six have great personalities and are spayed/neutered, and they get along famously with each other. For the sake of thorough information in this post, here is our cat line-up: ▪ A 12-year-old Russian Blue male ▪ A 10-year-old brown tabby female ▪ A nine-year-old Tonkinese male (our only purebred cat with papers; again, all of the others are rescued strays) ▪ An eight-year-old gray male (23 lbs.--not fat; just a huge fellow!) ▪ A seven-year-old silver tabby female ▪ A seven-year-old orange tabby male Any OES folks here with cats? How well do they all get along? Any and all replies would be greatly appreciated! 
Thank you, Joel |
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| Hi Joel, I have somewhat the same scenario as you do six cats, all rescues, all indoors, etc. I adopted Fred, my OES, in November 2004. He was six years old when I adopted him. At the beginning there was some minor cat chasing. He got over that real quick. All will depend on the personality of the individual dog and some training. I also have two other dogs and a rabbit. Fred is a real sweetheart with them all. Good Luck. |
| Hi,
I've got four kitties at home whom range from age 3-8 years. I also have three dogs, two are OES and one is a Blue Heeler/Lab. Each dog has a favorite cat they cuddle with. I also have other small creatures in my home like a bunny and guinea pig.My previous cats were aged 19 to 21 and also lived with my former sheepies. While Sheepdogs do have the herding instinct that isn't necessarily a bad mixture with other animals. What you have to watch for is dogs of other breeds that have a high prey drive, such as Malamutes and Huskies. However, many of those breeds if raised with cats in the house won't necessarily harm them either. Check out the forum which I've posted of members with their sheepies and their feline buddies. I'd encourage to scroll all three pages posted as some of the photos are priceless of various sheepies and their feline brothers and sisters. http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=5669 Welcome to the forum and hope that helps. Marianne and the boys |
| We have two rescue kitties, Lucy (Natty Cat) and Jewel. The problem, when we got Gucci was NOT Gucci...the girls hated him! When we got Murphy, they still hated dogs! So, I've made sure that the girls have their safe area (a four foot cat perch) and let them know when The Muppets are coming upstairs.
The Muppets have learned to leave the girls alone, they have claws! And we all live together pretty incident free (there was that one time when Gucci jumped on the cat perch and propelled Natty Cat down into the foyer...that was a wee bit of drama!  ) I have to watch Murphy especially, he really seems to love the cats despite their hatred for him! 
So I think that all your kitties will be fine...and I've heard SOME cats even really grow to love sheepies...just not at my house.
Good luck and keep us posted...maybe you will have some advice for us! |
| We have cats as well and there's no problems.
If you get a puppy it should be fine, but the cats will have to have somewhere to escape to from a rambunctious pup. If you get an adult rescue then it's best to make sure it is one who has been around cats. |
| We have a cat too along with 2 OES. If you are considering a puppy, please understand that the puppy will try to engage the cats into play. Our cat basically set the rules in the household, which will not happen overnight. The relationship btw our dog and cat is like a Garfield & Odie cartoon and I think the cat really enjoys playing with him. If you do decide on a puppy, please keep in mind that it might take a little time for your household to balance out especially with so many cats. I only say this because I recently met a couple who adopted a young Bernaise Mountain dog mix and were returning it because after only a week they thought it bothered their cats to much. IMO they didn't give it a chance.
When we brought home an older adopted dog, she has never bothered with the cat at all and I often find them curled up next to each other on the guest bed. Good luck & please keep us updated on your OES if you get one! |
| We got Barney (the sheepie) when he was 6 months old. His domain is the kitchen. I would say for the first few months when he was baby-gated in the kitchen, the cats would NEVER go in there. One cat would not even come close and the other would sit at the gate and stare. Eventually the one cat would come into the kitchen and just stay on top of the fridge or the countertops. Now the other kittie will come into the kitchen occasionally if the dog is sleeping. When the dog is free in the house, the one kittie swipes at the dog, initiating play. If Barney gets too rough the cat will really swipe at him (drew blood once on his nose!) and the other cat generally stays on the stairs (Barney is only allowed on the first floor unless supervised by us upstairs)...
So, they don't exactly cuddle but the cats will always get away and I wouldn't worry about them. Just make sure they have a getaway place and all will be fine. |
| Hi Joel,
We have 2 sheepies. Jack will be 3 in April and Annabelle will be 3 in July. We also have a huge cat family, with 10 Ragdolls. They are great with the cats. They love each and everyone of them and the cats love them back. They sleep together, the dogs bathe the cats, the dogs are very gentle with them, it has always just came natural to our sheepies. We have pictures of our sheepies loving on our kitty's. They do great with the younger kittens all the way up to the older cats. Our sheepies are also great with our kids. In our experience, OES's nanny persona fits both of our sheepdogs. You will have some hissing and spitting for awhile, clip all the kitty's nails before the puppy arrives, to protect the puppy. We also made our kitty doors into our master closet and into the laundry room. The kitty food and litter boxes are in one of these 2 area's and there is also play toys for the kittys to go when they need calm time away from the dogs, and it prevents the dogs from eating litter box crunchies or the cats food. Good luck on your sheepie search.  |
| Hello.
We have 2 cats (10yrs & 4yrs) and 2 dogs (7yrs & 9mo). All animals that have come into our home just know to leave our oldest cat alone. She has the "garfield look" that just dares them! However, it is quite the task to keep the puppy from harrassing the younger cat! Sam (the cat) is very laid back and will let anyone do anything to him, hense the puppy (Benjamin) drags the cat by his neck and ear all over the place! For the most part he is gentle with the cat but, he can get a little rough! So, just monitor all the time! The disposition of the pup and the cats are what make or break the situation!! Good luck!! I am sure it will be fine!!! |
| We have an older cat that has ruled the house by herself for years. We brought Charlie (10-week old OES) home and were worried about their relationship. Charlie likes trying to play with the cat but the cat always shows him who's in charge. They DO get along when the cat wants to and overall, no problems at all. Charlie knows the cat won't run so he's given up on trying to chase her. Just the occasional bark when she's on the barstool. One of the funniest things was watching Charlie walk behind the cat and the cat would jump up onto something high. Charlie would just look around like "where did that cat go?" He's finally gotten the hang of looking UP for the cat!
Training the dog not to eat the cat food only took a couple of days. Sometimes Charlie will bark at the cat food  which makes us laugh but he won't eat it.
Good Luck! |
| Our 10 month old OES initially believed she was a cat, because she came home to four of them. Her instincts took over, however, very quickly, and she wants to make sure all of us (humans and felines) are in the same room together at all times. The cats think the dog is a nuisance, and take swipes at her regularly. (She's very sniffy and in their faces a lot.) And one cat (the youngest, who "found" us when she was six weeks old and separated from her possibly feral mother and littermates) makes it known how displeased she is with the new addition. The puppy has been with us since last July, and there has been no improvement in her relationship with the youngest cat. We hope that when Bailey (the OES) is no longer a puppy she will mellow out a bit, and leave them alone. I would not discourage a "mixed" household. They will all have to just get over it! |
| I have one 4 year old cat - my sheepie loves her but the cat on the other hand has some issues - maggie is big and just wants to play but when a 70lb OES comes running at my 10 lb cat she runs for her life! they are not mean to eachother but the cat makes it very clear she is not interested and thank god she has no claws or poor maggie would have an awfully sore nose from being swatted at as she prances around the house. |
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