When two households move in together, with both sides bringing couches, coffeemakers or “Saturday Night Fever” albums into the deal, a time inevitably comes when a little diplomacy is needed. If the combined household also includes a couple of pets, the new roommates suddenly find themselves awash in tension, like diplomats negotiating Middle East peace treaties.
Pet peace is possible in our lifetime, Chicago animal-behavior experts say, but it sometimes entails careful effort by the people involved. By gradually bringing the two animals into each other’s daily routine and by paying attention to each side’s needs for attention and territory, they say, pet owners can work out a satisfying, if not always chummy, relationship between the animals.
The process can sometimes be quick and easy, but it all depends on the temperaments of the animals involved, according to veterinarians and other close observers of pets. The easiest combination is usually two adult dogs of different genders if neither one has a particularly aggressive or dominating personality, says Dr. Amir Shanan, a veterinarian at the Allen Animal Hospital in Broadview and the owner of Chicago Home Veterinary Care.
Those combinations often, but not always, go smoothly from the start. The hardest pair to turn into friends would be two adult dogs who are both used to being the alpha canine, or leader of the pack. “If I were putting two German shepherds together, I’d be sure they were both on choke chains and had their owners around all the time for a while,” Shanan says.
Animal experts generally agree that dogs are far more willing than cats to accommodate newcomers, largely because of the two species’ ancestry. Dogs are pack animals familiar with the idea that every population has an established hierarchy. Cats are loners. Shanan suggests that most dogs can make an adjustment in a few days, while cats require a couple of weeks.
Another factor that helps predict whether the pets will get along is whether they have been spayed or neutered, according to Karen Okura, the Anti-Cruelty Society’s animal behavior specialist and resource center coordinator. Pets that have not been spayed or neutered, she says, “are more hormonally influenced than those that have been. They’re going to have a stronger sense of territoriality and be more aggressive and less responsive to people because they have nature pulling them the other way.”
Okura doesn’t recommend spaying or neutering in order to move, though; the naturally occurring hormones linger for several weeks after the procedure, so an animal might still be just as aggressive on moving day.
Regardless of whether they are neutered, cats that are allowed to play outdoors are inclined to be intolerant of new cats in their homes, Okura says. “You might get a cat that comes inside, sees the new one and says, `No. Only one cat lives here, and I’m it,’ ” she says. An outdoor cat can learn to allow another cat on its turf, she says, but not overnight.
Most pet roommates need time to get used to each other before they can comfortably be left alone. “Start them out physically separated so each animal can get used to the other one without anybody getting to lay a paw on anybody yet,” Shanan says. “Keep a fence, a gate or a door between them for a while so they can become aware of each other’s presence by sight, smell and sound.”
Cats, especially, warm to newcomers slowly, so giving them space of their own is key, says Dr. Gerald Brown, who calls his single-species Chicago veterinary practice City Cat Doctor. “For most cats, it has to be a gradual process,” he says. “They should know the other one is around, but be able to lead their own life for a while,” he says. He advocates giving each cat its own room or rooms separated from the other by a closed door. After about a week, the cats can be fed on opposite sides of the same room, and eventually they will establish their own kitty detente.
Shanan says a dog/cat combo can benefit from the same process of keeping separate quarters and slowly removing the partition, although the cat is likely to need it longer than most dogs. Stick to the cat’s schedule, no matter how eager the dog is to play welcome wagon, Brown advises. “The cat needs to be the focus in new situations. They have a hard time with changes.”
While giving a cat time to adjust-either to another cat or to a dog-don’t forget that it craves affection, Brown says. The cat should get its usual allotment of stroking and lap time. Its territory may have shrunk with the arrival of another feline, but it will know that the level of attention it gets has not dropped.
Brown recommends that a new human roommate can heighten the bond with a cat by temporarily taking over feeding duties or anything else that the cat enjoys. Two new roommates, each with a cat, could consider swapping responsibilities for their cats until harmony settles over the household.
Although less finicky than cats, dogs benefit from being kept apart, says Jessica Lodgaard, owner of Phoenix Canines, a Northwest Side dog training firm. “Kennel training is the best way to go,” she says. “If they know they have a place where they belong, they’ll be comfortable.” Even adult dogs accustomed to having the whole house as their turf can learn to spend most of the day in a kennel, she says. The simplest form of kennel training is to confine the dog, its food and its water in one well-ventilated room behind a closed door.
If the dog’s owner prefers to let the animal roam the house or apartment freely, Lodgaard says, “dogs shouldn’t be left alone together until they have established their relationship.” In forming a bond-with a dog, a cat or a person-dogs happily follow cues from their people. Okura says dogs that have been obedience-trained will likely look to their people for signs on how to respond, making them more capable of welcoming newcomers. “They’re not going to decide, `I can take care of this on my own,’ they’re going to look to the owner for advice,” she adds. “The more verbal control the owner has over the dog, the better.”
Dogs that are used to training games, walks or other rituals can become acclimated to newcomers simply by seeing them incorporated into the game, Lodgaard says. “Initiate them slowly,” she says. “Over the first month or so, supervise them when they’re together and work them into each other’s daily lives.”
If, over the course of a few weeks, two pets seem unable to get used to one another, it might become necessary to call in a professional trainer. An intermediate step along that route is to call Okura at the Anti-Cruelty Society. She researches questions on pet behavior problems and offers a solution, free of charge. Call 312-644-8338, extension 343, to leave a message detailing your question.
One consideration for pet roommates that all the experts mention is to observe whether the pets are actually fighting or just getting along in their own animal way. “Sometimes if you stop two dogs from what looks like a fight, they’re going to get confused because they think they were just playing together and you won’t even let them do that,” Lodgaard says.
Cats, too, may hiss at each other and make all their hair stand up as they try to work things out. It looks nasty to people but Brown notes that “it’s natural behavior for a cat not to accept or trust another cat.”
Shanan adds that “it’s like having two children arguing over their toys. Some parents think that’s inappropriate behavior, but others say that’s just what kids do.” With animals, no matter how peaceably they get along, they’re still animals. They can’t discuss their differences politely and reasonably, the way people always do.
Or should.
