# GSP's and house cats



## Interceptor (Apr 15, 2008)

My wife really would like to have a house cat and we now live in a more rural area and do have a few more mice around that a cat could possibly control.
The problem is our GSP has a strong prey drive and I know he has gone after cats in the past.
Is there any possible way to get this dog to not want to go after and harm/kill a cat ?
ed


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

same way you let a dog learn to stay away from a skunk. 

Or you can train the same way you train them not to chase cars or kids.

Mine has desire but my cat beat his butt as a pup, he leaves cats alone now.


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## Gina Fox (Nov 4, 2007)

yeah dont DECLAW the cat..makes mouse hunting nearly impossible and putting the dog in his place a little harder!

I just got a kitten 6 mo ago...all she had to do was spit and SWING at the Viz and it was all over...now she walks in a biiiig circle away from the cat....

Female cats are better mousers than males...FYI...you should be able to adopt one no problem there are tons of cats looking for homes...heck I have one here! I'd be happy to send a picture of her AND deliver her I have a place 30 min away from you...she is a long hair calico...about 12 weeks


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## Rudi's Dad (May 4, 2004)

I am not a big supporter of cats being outside at all. Besides a few mice, they hunt and kill birds all over the place.
If you get a cat, keep it inside 100%. 
Why not use mousetraps or d-con in some fashion?


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## WestCoastHunter (Apr 3, 2008)

Gina Fox said:


> yeah dont DECLAW the cat..makes mouse hunting nearly impossible and putting the dog in his place a little harder!
> 
> I just got a kitten 6 mo ago...all she had to do was spit and SWING at the Viz and it was all over...now she walks in a biiiig circle away from the cat....
> 
> Female cats are better mousers than males...FYI...you should be able to adopt one no problem there are tons of cats looking for homes...heck I have one here! I'd be happy to send a picture of her AND deliver her I have a place 30 min away from you...she is a long hair calico...about 12 weeks


Personally I think you should get one from mouse trial lines. :lol:


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## Hoppe's no.10 (Sep 16, 2007)

Interceptor said:


> My wife really would like to have a house cat and we now live in a more rural area and do have a few more mice around that a cat could possibly control.
> The problem is our GSP has a strong prey drive and I know he has gone after cats in the past.
> Is there any possible way to get this dog to not want to go after and harm/kill a cat ?
> ed


Most GSPs have a strong prey drive. When I re-married I had two GSPs and my wife had a house cat - declawed. The dogs would taunt and go after her but seemingly more out of curiosity than any real malice. She would swat, they would dodge and she would head under the closest bed. After a few years they all kind of learned to get along but I still don't leave the house when my GSP bitch can get at her - one or the other gets behind a closed door. As far as a cat with claws - yes it may teach the dog a lesson or it may incite the dog further and believe me a 50 pound plus dog that is *intent** on killing the cat (as opposed to just taunting it or playing around with it or curious about it) *WILL* kill the cat very quickly. Did you ever read my post about the Rockford, MI GSP "...from hell...?" If not I'll post it to you on this thread - feral cats, raccoons, skunks, possums etc. 45 pound GSP bitch - if it had fur it met the "jaws of death."
As far as keeping the cat clawed - had some friends in Detroit who had Boston Bulls - went after a stray cat in their back-yard, one swipe with the claws and about $750.00 in vet bills (circa-mid 70s ) to remove a useless and infected eye on one of the dogs.

Hoppe's no.10

*When I lived in Detroit a neighbor had a German Shepherd that was absolute death on cats roaming the neighborhood. If you've ever seen a 60 - 70 pound German Shepherd catching a stray cat while running full tilt it will quickly end such talk as "That cat taught that dog a lesson - real quick." Yea right.


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## FindTheBird (Dec 18, 2004)

Rudi's Dad said:


> I am not a big supporter of cats being outside at all. Besides a few mice, they hunt and kill birds all over the place.
> If you get a cat, keep it inside 100%.
> Why not use mousetraps or d-con in some fashion?


 
Cat's are literally murder on young gamebirds/rabbits in the spring/early summer when they are easy to catch.


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

Well this might be true......but my dang Brittany as a pup was just as bad. Ding dong would bring me mice, sparrows, all sorts of critters he would catch.

Im a rare breed; i love both cats and dogs. My GSP does go after my cats more than the Brittany. Just gotta catch him in the act. If the cat won't set him straight you need to. If he is EC trained....give him a poke and give him a command like teaching them to stop going after mice.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Just a warning, if your cat is outdoor/indoor and has a litterbox indoor....you are going to have issues with intestinal parasites.

75% of my cats are declawed. Our dog with the strongest prey drive plays with the three that are declawed, the one that has claws...he hunts. 

A dog will do what you allow it to do, in this case, I allow him to hunt...mostly because she's spry, and he's never been outright aggressive. She can move faster on the hardwood than he can as well  

Last night my beagle gave one of my pet mice that i was handling a sniff and walked away, it's all about the introduction and your expectations.


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## bombcast (Sep 16, 2003)

my GSP has run down and killed a couple feral cats. We do have 2 mouser cats here that she's accustomed to. I zapped her a few times to get the point across. 

No issues whatsoever.


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## Shotgun Kennel (Feb 9, 2007)

Interceptor said:


> My wife really would like to have a house cat and we now live in a more rural area and do have a few more mice around that a cat could possibly control.
> The problem is our GSP has a strong prey drive and I know he has gone after cats in the past.
> Is there any possible way to get this dog to not want to go after and harm/kill a cat ?
> ed


Keep the cat in. Besides being little killing machines they bring in fleas and you will be continually fighting parasites they pick up. We have three cats and one of of our five dogs I don't trust alone with the cats. The rest tolerate each other.


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## Interceptor (Apr 15, 2008)

All,
Thanks for the input and the PM's. I think I'll explain to my wife that we're not prepared to to deal with a cat and our GSP. He has killed a racoon and a number of muskrats in the past and I doubt he and a cat could co-exist.
ed


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## Rudi's Dad (May 4, 2004)

Interceptor said:


> All,
> Thanks for the input and the PM's. I think I'll explain to my wife that we're not prepared to to deal with a cat and our GSP. He has killed a racoon and a number of muskrats in the past and I doubt he and a cat could co-exist.
> ed


Based on that info, he is hardcore fur killer. Good move to nix the cat thing.


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## Topshelf (May 24, 2005)

When I was a kid we had a male GSP. He absolutly hated cats. My sister who was about 14 at the time wanted a cat real bad. We tried all sorts of stuff to get it to work. So one day my sister brings this cat home on a trail basis and my Dad puts the cat under a plastic milk crate. Well we let the dog out, my Dad has a foot on the crate to hold it down and it was touch and go for a few minutes. Bottom line is we never got a cat. 

Now I live in the country, have two Britts and a GSP female and they all get along with our three cats. The cats have claws and are indoor outdoor cats. They do get chased and they do know how to climb trees. One male we have stands up to the dogs and refuses to run. He has a serious tude, knows how to use his claws and thinks he's a dog with privledges. In other words he's smarter than most cats and some dogs.


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## 2ESRGR8 (Dec 16, 2004)

Interceptor said:


> All,
> Thanks for the input and the PM's. I think I'll explain to my wife that we're not prepared to to deal with a cat and our GSP. He has killed a racoon and a number of muskrats in the past and I doubt he and a cat could co-exist.
> ed


 Smart man.


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## tedshunter (Dec 27, 2004)

My G.S.P. got along fine with a cat I had. I just had to worry about my dog raiding the litter box:rant:She has been known to steal a turd once in awhile.


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## WestCoastHunter (Apr 3, 2008)

tedshunter said:


> My G.S.P. got along fine with a cat I had. I just had to worry about my dog raiding the litter box:rant:She has been known to steal a turd once in awhile.


Kitty Crisps. Yum!


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## Cedar Swamp (Oct 8, 2004)

My GSP's "love cats" :evil:...


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## 2ESRGR8 (Dec 16, 2004)

Cedar Swamp said:


> My GSP's "love cats" :evil:...


 as appetizers.


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## ZIMBASS (Dec 21, 2007)

I have been trying to get Buddy and my cat together for 9 months now, Buddy will still knock over end tables, basically anything in his way of that cat is in trouble. He just wants to play with it, although alittle rough, not hurt it. Cat has got him a couple times, he comes back for more. For the safety of both and to save damage to our house, I keep them seperated most of the time


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## FindTheBird (Dec 18, 2004)

Our cat absolutely terrorized my GSP when she was a young puppy. I remember the cat chasing her to the edge of the stairs before she could competently navigate them and watching the little girl rolling all the way down. Whenever the cat came into the room, she'd actually shiver in fear.

At 4-6 months the tables turned when she became substantially bigger than the cat and discovered she had little to fear. That was 10 years ago and poor kitty has been paying ever since.:evil:

The new pup is substantially bolder and never had to go through the kitty hazing ritual.


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