Basenjis and Cats
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I have a cat named Willy, too, a hug hairy tabby who is 13 years old and pretty sure of himself. I also have a shy little Himalayan female named Chamois. Two weeks ago when the basenji Rowdy came into town and set his sights on the cats, he ran to poke them in fun and they ran for the hills. Then Willy turned and growled and became twice his usual big size – he even scared me, he was so big. As the days passed Rowdy got used to the cats and the cats have gotten pretty used to him. Even Chamois comes out when Rowdy is resting, which seems to be fairly often. Probalby you having a puppy will be good for the cats as they can be bigger than he is for awhile. Have fun.
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Our B came into our lives about 3 years prior to the cat's arrival (a male hymi). The cat antagonizes the B, the B antagonizes the cat, but if no one is watching, they'll sleep together and even share a water bowl.
We still have to watch them. Make sure your kitty has it's back claws just in case. B's can get a little over-active during play and some cats don't appreciate it. We keep a quirt gun filled with water handy in case either of them gets to rowdy and really starts peeving off the other. A quirt or two distracts them from the situation and settles any disputes.
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Our cats have always loved our dogs and vice versa. UNTIL the Basenji moved in!
Jazzy and the cats HATE one another and so must live separate lives. Keoki hasn't seen the cats yet. I just am not up for that yet. I know the cats will hate him because of the conditioning that Jazzy put them through, so how he feels about them is irrelevent. Given his spazzy personality though, I can't imagine him NOT wanting to chase, kill, destroy them. I'm not up for finding out just yet. -
I think a good rule is that if the adult cat is there first, they can tolerate each other but never quite hang out and play. I had 4 adult cats when I had Beta and Caesar. I finally found them new great homes when my divorce was finalized. I went from a 1/2 acre large home to a 900sq ft rental.
I think if you add a kitten after the basenji is there the cat will adapt to the basenji as its family and play and sleep with it.
I alwasy gave my cats a safe room where the basenjis could not roam. Half would come out and sit in the room with me ready to run if need be. The other two only would come out when the dogs were outside.
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I think a good rule is that if the adult cat is there first, they can tolerate each other but never quite hang out and play.QUOTE]
Doesn't always work that way.
When Jazzy moved in we had one adult cat {12 at that time} and one kitten {7 mos at that time}. Jazzy went after them from the start. Not just chasing, but entering what I call The Zone, where she seems to hear and see nothing else when she is on the quest to get the cats. There is NO toleration.
We had the adult cat {and another one that has since died} when Gypsy moved in, and Gypsy learned quickly not to chase the cats, and they actually became very close. They'd sleep together, groom one another, etc. Our current younger cat moved in and w/in a week was sleeping with Gypsy also.
When Jazzy moved in, both our cats were curious and willing to give it a try. But from day one, it was a no-go w/Jazz. For about a year and a half the younger one would come downstairs when Jazzy was sleeping, but she doesn't even do that anymore. Both cats just inhabit the upstairs. We had another dog w/Gypsy for years, and she also loved cats. My niece has brought her dogs over and they've been able to learn to leave the cats alone.
My poor cats have never experienced a dog like Jazzy.Jazz knows they're upstairs and sometimes suddenly jumps up and runs to the stairs and just stares and paces, even though the cats aren't even visible to her. I don't know what we'd do if our house wasn't large.
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Shadow and my one cat would sleep together and she would sleep with Sugar as well when I got her. Now that I have the puppy she doesn't come up. However, my ragdoll comes upstairs and wanders around and NONE of them bother her (I've put up baby gates for her). But she doesn't run either.
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I think if you have a cat that sleeps with your basenji and plays with it, you are very lucky indeed. I would have loved that.
Mine were okay for the most part but they were a lot happier and responsive when the basenjis were outside and they were with mom.:p
