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Caring For your Pomeranian

Does the Pomeranian and Cats Get Along?

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Are Pomeranians good with cats? If you own both a Pomeranian and Cats, the size of these animals is good because both will be of a similar size and one major benefit is that your two pets, although different, will usually become good friends. An average cat will weight approx. 8 – 10 lbs. If you want a canine and a feline living under your roof, there are certain guidelines to remember.

Strategies for Pomeranian and Cats Households

Pomeranian Dog Guidelines

If your dog constantly barks at cats and/or demonstrates a strong intolerance for them, then it wouldn’t be wise to actually bring a cat home. However, if your dog either demonstrates indifference or is curious about this different creature, they’re positive signs.

The next element is how much confidence you have that you can use commands to control your dog and he’ll obey. If there are times where he’s tense or perhaps you must step in and make him obey, the typical commands include: heel, come, stay, down and sit will be powerful tools in your arsenal.

It’s vital that you spend a lot of time training him to respond to your commands but generally you will reach that point. The last task is to ask a neighbor (who is a cat owner) if you can take your dog to visit him. This will test whether he has had sufficient training to obey you, despite having a cat in the same room as a distraction.

Tactics for Cat Owners

It’s always best to bring a kitten or very young cat into a Pomeranian household. The kitten will quickly bond with other household pets and become a best buddy to your Pomeranian.

If you want to adopt an older cat who is currently living in a shelter, you must get as much information about him as possible. Has he spent any time living in a home with dogs? Before you make any commitment, let the cat smell a blanket or small pillow belonging to your dog(s). These items contain scents for long periods of time. If the cat dislikes the scents, that may be the final test for that cat.

You’ll find that cats may hiss if they smell the dog’s scent and that’s definitely a red flag. When you introduce two pets, indifference is what you’re ideally looking for.

Introducing Your Pomeranian and Cat

Pomeranian and cats
Pomeranian and Cats

You can make the initial meeting go more smoothly if you have done everything already mentioned here. However, any first meeting can be easy or difficult and you can’t guess what may happen so certain precautions should be made.

Both animals must have their owner present to supervise and to take direct action if warranted. You may need to do this a few times, depending on how good or bad that first interaction went and only stop once you believe there won’t be any more issues.

Gradual introductions for Pomeranians and Cats

  1. It’s wise to make any new introduction a slow, gradual process. Before the Pomeranian and Cat meet face to face for the first time, they can both be made aware of the other’s existence. Here are a few tips to help you.
  2. The established homeowner must cordon off a specific room where his dog will be kept until being introduced. Although the pet is confined, make sure he doesn’t think he’s being punished. If possible, have a family member keep him company and even give him some treats and/or a coupe of new toys to play with (and keep him distracted).
  3. Once that’s achieved, bring the in and give him a guided tour of your home, ensuring he visits your dog’s sleep and play areas where his scents are the strongest. Then let your dog come out and allow him to smell the cat scents left as he wandered around.
  4. After you have finished this process, and keeping your dog on his leash for better control, bring them close together so they can meet. Ensure the cat can get away if necessary. Cats despise getting cornered so if your dog spooks him, he can jump free or climb up his post to his safe spot.

Naturally, you would love it if both animals became friends from day one. However, this often doesn’t occur. If they show interest, that’s good and if they’re indifferent, that’s ok.

If both animals pretend the other doesn’t exist, that’s positive as it means neither feel threatened. However, this might not be long lasting, especially if they realize that both are staying in the same house for good. It’s essential that you watch them until they do finally accept each other.

Tips to Help Felines and Canines Become Friends

It will be approximately 2 – 3 weeks before you’ll really know if your pets are friendly towards each other. Follow these tips and you can help speed things up.

Don’t force your pets to mingle. They’ll find their own way of doing things and need that freedom. If you make them stay in one room so they can make friends faster, it’s the quickest way to increase stress.

Create a separate space for each pet. They may want to spend lots of time together, even sleeping against each other. However, they also like a place for solitude and some “down time” on their alone. This is vital if you don’t spend a lot of time at home.

There will be plenty of time for the family and the pets to spend together, even if it’s lazing in front of the TV or chasing each other.

Dogs and cats eat different types of foods to suit their specific needs. Never allow your dog to eat your cat’s food. The food cats eat has more salt, a higher protein ratio and differing fat amounts compared to dogs (although some dogs are tempted by cat food). A small amount of cat food won’t hurt your dog but if he does this all the time, he may have stomach upsets, diarrhea and other health problems.

Cats enjoy catnip for its stimulant effects. Don’t let your dog eat catnip because it may sedate him, cause water loss, cause diarrhea and severe stomach aches.

It’s best to have different eating times for your pets because, if they eat at the same time, each may fear the other might eat his food as this can be regarded as a highly stressful event.

Keep your cat’s litterbox away from your dog in a spot where he can’t get to it or he may eat cat feces. The top of the dryer or washing machine are handy spots.

As for sleeping arrangements, until you know for certain that they can tolerate each other, let your cat jump up to his bed, out of your dog’s grasp. Perhaps place his scratching post in a high position which will help him too.

After week one, if your pets are getting along, trial feeding both at one time. If they eat together, it helps form a bond and develops the concept that both belong to one pack (home). Ideally, put the cat’s food on a bench and prepare both bowls. Then feed both simultaneously.

Praise your dog once he’s behaving around the cat. Even if you doubt he deserves praise, use it to make him aware that you’re happy about it and he’ll behave good most (or all) of the time, regardless of what he’s doing.

If Your Pomeranian and Cat Does Not Get Along

It’s serious if your pets don’t behave nicely after the first 2-3 weeks. If they fight and chase (but not for fun) or even get hurt, it’s a massive warning signal that they won’t behave well together.

Most Pomeranians get on well with cats but there are still some instances where it doesn’t happen. It’s best to keep them separate and, as a last resort, find one of them a good home.

Minor issues may happen. It’s common for one animal to feel tired faster than the other one, who still has lots of energy. If your two animals have a large age difference, the older one will grow tired because he won’t have that same tolerance for playing that a young animal possesses.

If your Pomeranian is annoying the cat a lot of the time, or if they fight, you’ll need to command them by saying “NO!” Separate them and put both in a time out situation. This can solve the problem for a while but if it persists, you’ll learn what each pet will (or won’t) tolerate.

In this type of situation, always ensure your Pom and cat are never left alone together. Be aware that a cat’s sharp claws can easily cause major damage to a Pomeranian’s eyes.

If your cat keeps scratching your dog, you can buy a product that has little, hollow, plastic caps you place over each canine claw. They’re a bit like human nails that are glued on and they prevent scratching. They’re regarded as humane and tolerable but aren’t as sharp as real cat claws. You can do it at home and one set (you can choose the color) lasts two months.

Final Thoughts on Does the Pomeranian and Cats Get Along?

My answer to this is a big YES. After many years of owning Pomeranians and cats, I have found they quickly bond and become best buddies. 

Copyright Pomeranian.Org. All Rights Reserved. 

References and Further Reading:
[1] Denise Leo “The Pomeranian Handbook”.

Learn More About Pomeranian Dogs in My Book The Pomeranian Handbook

Pomeranian.Org Discolosure

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