Basenjis and cats – Prey or Friends?

[wullis]

One more thing on a lighter note, basenjis non lethal cat attack cracks me up!!! You know when they charge across the field at full speed and then drop their front legs and use their chest as a battering ram. The cat goes tumbling like a ten pin….... but is none the worse for wear.

I've never seen any breed but a senj do that

[Kirk]

We already had 2 cats when we brought Dingo home and the cats immediately tried to show him who's boss. It didn't take long for him to realize that A) he was a dog and he was bigger than they were. My wife layed the dog on his back and held him there in a submissive position and let the animals smell each other. It has worked for the most part because they all seem to coexist quite nicely. However, at least once a day Dingo and one of the cats ( Indy) get into a tussle which they both seem to enjoy and it's 50/50 as to who starts the fight. All the other cat (Kion) has to do is raise her paw and he backs off. Oddly enough though, one minute it sounds like they're tearing each other to pieces and the next minute Dingo will be licking (grooming) her. If I can ever post a video of it I'll do so. It is a sight to behold.

[scarlettsmomma]

My cat Cali is what we consider an anti-social little brat, ane when you combine that with HYPER, and outgoing Scarlett, the basenji mixm, who like Honey is a shelter rescue, things become amusing. Cali has taught Scarlett over the last year that there are certain things that she can play with and places she can be and where she can't, etc. I still have to monitor them when together during the day and when they are playing, but come bed time all is well, Cali has her bed on the floor and nine times out of ten Scarlett starts off at the foot of the bed and by morning she is curled up at the cat's bed and Cali is using Scarlett as a pillow. Cali was sick about a month ago from excessive stress and trauma, she lost her littermate sister that she had grown up with about a month before Scarlett arrived, and every night Cali was not at home Scarlett laid on the floor beside the cat's bed and cried for her. I never thought that would happen seeing how the acted towards each other a little over a year ago, but now they are wonderful together.

[nala121498]

That is a sweet story…

[AZShade]

When I was a kid, we had a Collie, Major, and when he was old, my mom got a Siamese kitten. Poor Major was so nice to that kitten. Major would lie down and the kitten would curl up inside Major's legs, which was cute, but then he would start grooming Major's paws, and Major would give us a "long-suffering look", get up and move away to lie down somewhere else. Then it would happen all over again. The kitten would continue until we picked him up and diverted his attention.

My Elkhounds didn't play with the cats, but they loved to watch the cats play inside grocery sacks, etc. My Schipperke, Shadow, would break up cat arguments, at least those with his favorite cat, Cupcakes (also black like my Schip). Shadow would give a body block to the other cat that was arguing with Cupcakes – never did it to Cupcakes.

Squirt followed me home when I was walking Shadow. One of my cats was lying in the front yard, and Squirt walked by her without even giving her a glance -- passed the cat test. Tater was cat-tested by my male cat, Blackjack, when he came as a foster dog. Blackjack walked towards Tater until Tater stepped backwards two steps. Then Blackjack stepped forward again, and Tater backed up again. Blackjack then turned around and walked off, as if to say "You passed the test, you can stay."

I've scheduled an appointment with the behaviorist/trainer, and am adding a new technique to the desensitization sessions - giving yummies when Honey "looks at" a cat. Cats = receiving yummies. Honey liked today's session.

I appreciate hearing all the stories and tips, especially the "happy ending" stories! Thanks!

[elena86]

Two nights ago, Senji woke me up at about midnight and acted like he needed to go out. So I opened the sliding door leading to the fenced-in patio area. He didn't like how hard and crunchy the snow was and couldn't get "comfortable" to do his business. My street is usually quiet, so I decided to let him out the front door, since the sidewalk was shoveled clean of snow. BIG mistake!!! Someone's cat was out roaming the streets, and Senji made a mad dash up the street to chase it. The cat ran back the other direction and eventually ended up crawling down into the storm sewer. I can't believe how fast Senji was running! I called him back to the house, and he actually came!!! He was huffing and puffing, but I can tell he was mighty proud of himself for scaring the cat away. :rolleyes:

[MomOfMya]

These two get along quite well. Mya has the dominant position over the cat, Oliver, and will prance around every once in awhile with a mouthful of cat hair but they remain still buddies. Gates really seem to work in my house when Mya gets to be too much. We also have a cat tree which seems to help as well.

[Quercus]

CUTE pic!!!!!

[MomOfMya]

Thanks! Doesn't she look harmless??? LOL!

[sharronhurlbut]

This is a great photo.
Thanks for sharing.

[WBL]

Awe how cute!! They look like good friends.

[JazzysMom]

Adorable photo!

NOT NOT NOT Not to send bad vibes or anything, and NOT to paint a pessimistic picture because I know that many of you have cats and B's that live in peace, but Jazzy started out this way with our cats, esp the younger one {it's only about 6 mos older than Jazz}. Then one day, for no apparent reason, Jazzy took out after her at full speed and never went back to the peaceful existence. That cat is prey…pure and simple. I'll never know what triggered the change, but it surprised us -- and sure as heck scared the cat spitless!

I'm just saying, keep a watchful eye as the puppy ages; that's all.

[kng]

My last dog was a basenji mix and he loved cats. He made cats friends where ever he went. I had as many as 5 cats with him and never a problem. Though, he would chase off other cats who picked on his cats. After he died, I brought my present dog into a home with 2 cats. She was adult dog when I bought her in. I had more issues with one of my cats being pretty mean to her the first week. After that the cats settle down. She always gotten along pretty well with them. She made a few attempts to chase them when I first got her, but just gave her some correction and she stopped. The cats did have to adjust to her since she was not as low key and layed back as my other dog was. They got used to each and got along really well. I never had to separate them after the first week. I think basenjis and cats can live in peace but it is a good idea to set some rules. Just be patient. Anytime a new animal or person for that manner comes into a family, there are always some adjustment for everyone.

[MomOfMya]

@JazzysMom:

Adorable photo!

NOT NOT NOT Not to send bad vibes or anything, and NOT to paint a pessimistic picture because I know that many of you have cats and B's that live in peace, but Jazzy started out this way with our cats, esp the younger one {it's only about 6 mos older than Jazz}. Then one day, for no apparent reason, Jazzy took out after her at full speed and never went back to the peaceful existence. That cat is prey…pure and simple. I'll never know what triggered the change, but it surprised us -- and sure as heck scared the cat spitless!

I'm just saying, keep a watchful eye as the puppy ages; that's all.

Oh, that's kind of scary. Thanks for the heads-up!

[JazzysMom]

@kng:

I think basenjis and cats can live in peace but it is a good idea to set some rules. Just be patient. Anytime a new animal or person for that manner comes into a family, there are always some adjustment for everyone.

I think it largely depends on the individual dog and cat. I will say that I do believe MOST dogs and cats can live in peace with one another, some more at ease than others, but there are those for whom it may well never be an option.

Patience, yes. But also realistic when the corrections don't work and the rules aren't followed.

[AZShade]

For future reference, I want to update readers on Honey's progress with the cats. The behaviorist has not yet worked with Honey, but she did give me tips on using rewards while Honey was in the presence of the cats to help counter-condition her behavior. Honey's weakness is chicken and she will do anything that I have asked her to do so far for bites of shaved chicken.

I worked with Honey in the back patio with the cats loose and Honey on a leash. She quickly calmed down while in the presence of the cats, and after numerous sessions became easy to manage even without the chicken to distract her. She still showed a lot of interest in the cats, but allowed them close enough to her that they started relaxing in her presence also. (Three of them had lived with my other cat-friendly dogs who passed away last year, and two young males had never been around a dog until Honey moved in this year.) One male, Silver, started coming up towards Honey in a very assertive manner, and Honey reacted by avoiding his stare and stepping back from his approach. She shows more interest in the other cats who show less assertive behavior towards her.

Last week, for the first time, I opened the pet gate and let Silver step into the part of the house where Honey was UN-leashed. Silver walked slowly, but assertively around Honey and sniffed her. He walked around the living room and then rolled over on his back and stared at Honey – Honey followed him around as he walked but did avoid looking at him when he came close to her -- until Silver started drinking out of Honey's water dish. Honey looked at him with concern then, and I stepped in to claim the dish and keep Honey from advancing. When Silver was done, he walked around some more and Honey went back to just following at a distance. I put Silver back on the other side of the gate after a few minutes, and things were fine.

Since then, I let Pepper, a female who lived with my other dogs, thru the gate and she and Honey did well for a few minutes also. This morning, I let Silver thru the gate and got my camera to document Honey's progress. Silver is looking aggressive in this photo, but he never growled or swatted at Honey, he just gave her "the look", and Honey behaved by giving him space.

There is still much work to do before I could let them all together, and I know that Honey will chase a running cat, but I am more confident that her intentions are only to "play", and that her behavior can be modified to interact with the cats in a manner that is safe for all.

[sarahlorrain]

I managed to snap a couple of pictures of Lady and our little kitty Fuzzy. I apologize for the quality of the photos, I had to take them with my cell phone. I outline the cat to show where he is laying.

[Shaye's Mom]

@JazzysMom:

I think it depends entirely on the personality of the dogs and cats involved.

I also believe it depends on the personalities of the cats and dogs. I have two older cats - a male tuxedo and a female calico. My B wants to play with them, and runs up to them constantly. The male cat tolerates her until she goes around behind him, then the growls and bats the crap out of Shaye's head, claws IN, not harming her, but telling her to get out of his way. Sometimes this exchange goes on for 3-4 minutes until finally Shaye backs off. The other cat, however, the calico, hated Shaye on sight, and when she tries to play with her, the ears go down, the fur comes up, the hissing and growling is constant, and she goes after Shaye claws OUT, intending to do her harm. Shaye has been caught once on the back of her ear, which bled, and a few other times we've heard her yelp, so the cat got her, but not enough to cause any damage - slowly, Shaye is learning to stay away from that cat. Down the road, I can see the male cat and the dog actually being friends - but the female cat will never. Of course she doesn't like anything anyway.

[AZShade]

Time for another (probably final) update: I've learned that my pound puppy is probably a lab/aussie mix instead of a Basenji mix. The pound informed me a year later that she had been in the system another time before I adopted her, but for some reason they gave her another id number and another guess at her heritage. Then they realized she was a dog that had been there before as a lab/aussie mix. I may get a dna test someday just because I'm curious, but it really doesn't matter.

Another update: My brother, who rescued cats and wasn't always quick enough in the spay/neuter department, died in August 2008 and left me with over 50 cats – just as the economy tanked and the rescue groups became even more swamped with foreclosure pets. After a few adoptions, a few deaths, and a large transfer to the one rescue group that would accept some, I brought a dozen cats to my home to live with Honey and my five cats. A dozen more cats who had never lived with a dog, and many of which were afraid of me. I laughed and I cried. (I also started a blog: http://eastsidevalleycats.blogspot.com/ )

My blog entry for May 19th of last year states: "…When I was home for the weekend, I would leave the pet gate open for hours and things went well, but I didn't want to leave all day for work with it open until I had a good deal of experience seeing their interactions. Well, Honey now acts much like my other dogs always did around the cats -- sneaks bites of yummy noms from their bowls and runs to check on them when she hears yowling/squalling/hissing, and so I unscrewed the fasteners, took the gate down and put it away in a bedroom. I now have one less thing to trip over, and the cats and dog officially live together... except for the closed, locked door that helps retain some of my sanity at night when they willingly traipse into the bedrooms to enjoy their bowls filled with canned food, and I run out and shut the door before they can escape, er.. follow me to the rest of the house."

So there is a happy ending to the story of Honey and 17 cats - but is she part Basenji, and does it relate to this forum???

[Patty]

You have done very well and I'm glad there is a happy ending. When I saw the picture of Honey I din't think she had Basenji in her. Some rescue kennels see a white blaze and need nothing more. It doesn't really matter does it? She is still your lovely Honey!