Are Golden Retrievers Good With Cats?

It is almost believed that cats and dogs are enemies of each other. But the fact is that they can get along quite well. If you are having a Golden Retriever as your pet and you also want to have a cat as a pet, then you need not to worry about their relationship. Golden Retrievers are considered one of the best breeds that you can own with cats. They readily accept cats as part of their family due to their gentle, friendly, and trustworthy nature. 

So the answer to the question “Are Golden Retrievers good with cats?” is YES! They get along well with cats. 

If you want to have a cat in the presence of your Golden Retriever, then it’s important to know the Do’s and Don’ts of introducing your Golden Retriever with your cat.

Steps for Introducing Your Golden Retriever to a Cat

14. Young Start

If you already have a Golden Retriever of a certain age and you want to have a cat as your pet, then it will prove to be a bit of a challenge, as more time in the training of your Golden. 

However, it’s best to get both animals when they are still young pups and kittens. The length of staying together will define closeness and better relationships. Moreover, training young pups and kittens is much easier than those in mature age. This way, they will develop a better bonding between themselves.

13. Hear and Smell Technique

This technique is an initial stage of introducing your Golden Retriever to a cat and vice versa. In this technique, you should let your Golden Retriever and cat hear and smell from far. You could bring a piece of cloth/towel with smell of one pet to the other so that it develops a sense of the presence of each other and get used to it. 

12. Giving your Golden Retriever and Cat Space

Implying the idea of space of these two creatures is a mature and apprehendable approach. You should crate the kitten and then let your Golden Retriever enter the same room. In that time, try to watch Golden Retrievers and kitten’s reaction. 

If happy barking is followed by the sniffing of the crate, then it’s a green signal to let your kitten out of the crate slowly. But, if one of them starts to act negatively, then punishment is not the solution. Just try to give separate space to them as much as possible. 

You must make sure that each pet has the way out or escaping route, whenever feeling threatened. This type of activity will try to normalize the relationships between your Golden Retriever and Cat.

11. Train your Golden Retriever

You should try your best in training your Golden Retriever so that he can control his impulse. This way it will be easy for your Golden to interact with other pets, other people, and children. The training will make your dog more social, respectful, and polite. Thus, the tendency of new members of the family will not bother your Golden Retriever.

10. Letting your Dog Exercise

Letting your Golden retriever exercise and play before starting to introduce him to a cat is an appreciable step. Dogs without any exercising habit tend to have high energy levels and in response, they act hastily than those dogs who exercise and run around. Letting your Golden Retriever to exercise and play help him to stay calm and comfortable. So, let your Golden Retriever run in the open ground as much as possible.

9. Keep your Golden Retriever on Leash

Keeping your Golden on a classic nylon leash before introducing him to a cat is of great help. This way cat will remain in control and feel safe. The leash can pave the path in correcting the bad behavior of the animals. It can help you in controlling your Golden Retriever if he tries to jump on your pet cat due to its impulsive nature.

8. Keep their things Separate

If you buy some toys and bedding for your cat, then try to keep it away from your Golden Retriever and vice versa. Especially cats are extremely territorial & possessive. They are not very welcoming to the drool of dogs on their favorite toy.

Try to keep the things of your pet separately. In many ways, pets are like children. They don’t want to share everything with others.

7. Bring both Pets on the Same Time

If you have the plan to keep Golden Retriever and a cat, both as your pet, then you should bring them both to your home at the same time. Cats are extremely terrestrial pets. If they are brought before the Golden Retriever, that will develop a sense of dominance. This will lead to a disruption in their relationship. 

6. Feeding them on Opposite Sides of Closed Door

You should be very vigilant in feeding them while making them sit on the other ends of the closed door. This will help them in having a positive experience for each other and without any confrontation. 

5. Never Corner your Cat

Cats have a good sense of feeling threatened. Whenever you are going to introduce your Golden Retriever to a cat, try not to limit the movement of the cat. Allow your cat to move or jump freely if it needs to. Sometimes, cats just want to observe the situation from a safe distance and place.

4. Reward your Golden Retriever and Cat

Rewarding both pets can actually help you in boosting their morale and develop the sense of something good in them. If both of them behave positively and gently in their interactions, try to reward them with their favorite treats. This step will increase the acceptance and tolerance for each other in them. 

3. Interaction under Supervision

When your Golden Retriever and cat finally get used to the presence of each other, then it's perfect timing for them to interact with each other. Make sure that both of the animals have an escape route if something goes south. During this proceeding, monitor their interaction and be ready to respond and intervene whenever necessary.

Try to use a cordless nail grinder to trim the nails of the cat before interaction. Cats use their nails as fighting tools. If trimming has not been done, then there are chances that your Golden Retriever will get scratched by the cat, in response of which, your Golden Retriever will try to guard and attack the cat as well. This scenario will lead to a bad experience for both pets.

During this interaction, your golden retriever should be on a leash. If it tries to rush towards the cat for some reason, just tug the leash followed by the instruction of “No!” Repeat this action until both pets have developed a better understanding and acquaintance.

2. Leading by Example

Your behavior toward your pets dictates a lot. You should try to interact with your both pets at the same time in gentle and polite behavior. This action defines the frame of behavior that the pets should employ with each other. 

You should try to play inhumane and gentle way with your Cat and Golden retriever. 

1. Get Professional Help

You should not be hesitant in getting the help of a professional trainer for your Golden Retriever to develop an acquaintance with cats. This way it will be less challenging and less difficult for you to cope with the disputable situation between your Golden and cat. 

Despite all the tries, if your pets are unable to develop a friendly relationship with each other, then investing in a professional trainer is very helpful and easy task. 

Common Mistakes Owners Make While Keeping Dogs with Cats

There are some common mistakes that owners make while keeping dogs with cats. Some of them are as follow:

1. Not Considering your Dog’s Breed

It is always a good idea to have a friendly and calm dog breed that can get along with the cats very easily. Be cautious if you are dealing with breeds who are terrier or greyhound. These breeds don’t get along with cats in a very good way. 

2. Rushing the Introduction

Rushing the introduction between a cat and a dog is not a very welcoming idea. You should be slow in this matter. You should try to read the body language of both animals to know whether they are in a good mood or bad mood. Keeping the introduction short, sweet, and in control is a wise approach until both animals have socialized enough.

3. Not Giving Enough Space to Animals

Everyone does like privacy, even animals do that too. Animals can be territorial in most of the cases. So, it’s important to give enough space to both pets, dog, and cat, to have some me-time. But make sure that cats don’t hide constantly to remain out of reach of the dog. In this way, they will not be able to socialize with each other.

4. Giving Alone Time too soon

It will not be a good choice to let your cat and dog be alone with each other in the early phases of introduction. Even if they have started to get along very well with each other, but still animals can be unpredictable. 

So try to keep them under your watch until you are confident that they are at peace in the same room. 

Conclusion

Golden Retrievers can get along with the cats. It is an amazing and devoted breed. It has a kind of family-oriented approach. Due to their friendly and kind nature, Golden Retrievers can get along with cats very easily. 

So training them to be adaptive according to the situation might prove to be a challenging and time taking task. But in the end, the results will be quite cherishing.