I am getting a puppy! Her name is Katie and she is a German Shepherd/ American Bulldog mix. She will be eight weeks old when I get her this Sunday. Her colouring is mostly Shepherd. I’m looking forward to meeting her!
I have three cats at home, Shadow, Luke and Sparta. They may not be incredibly impressed with the new member of the family. But they have had a dog before. My previous dog, Lexie was a black and chocolate lab mix, with a white lightning strike down her chest. Shadow, my oldest cat, was only two and a half weeks old when some children saw him on their lawn and picked him up. I fed him with an eye dropper every few hours and he imprinted on the dog. He fed from me and curled up with her. That cat never sat on my knee to be petted until after the dog died. Now he’s quite affectionate, but until then, I was totally ignored if the dog was available. The other two cats weren’t as close with Lexie, but there weren’t any problems.
I think some of the reason why dogs and cats usually don’t get along is that they don’t speak the same “language”. For example, when a dog makes a sound in their throat they are growling and it is a warning sound. When cats make a sound they may be growling, but they also may be purring and content. When dogs wag their tails they are pleased to see you, but when cats do it they are angry. When dogs show you their belly they are submissive and wanting to be rubbed, but when cats do it they are trusting you not to touch them and are feeling betrayed and angry if you do so. Dogs and cats communicate differently! No wonder they don’t get along!
As humans we can have those kind of communication challenges as well. Sometimes we have people that we are just “in sync” with. We can talk and get along without any unfortunate misunderstandings. While with some other people, no matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to communicate without someone getting all upset about something they think we meant. I guess you could say that with some people we just get along like cats and dogs 😉
But cats and dogs can learn to get along! They can even become quite friendly. Some dogs protect “their” cats just as quickly as they would protect “their” humans. It’s not always easy getting along with others, but the time and patience spent learning about each other can lead to relationships that are well worth the time and effort put into them. Remember, we are all God’s children, and God loves all of God’s creatures, both cats and dogs!
Lexie and Shadow Katie (new puppy)
