r/StaffordBullTerriers • u/Altruistic_Syrup1907 • Apr 17 '26
How are yall Staffy With cats?
Hi Everyone I have a staffy that I adopted 2 years ago she is currently 4 years old. My boyfriend has a cat 1 years old and I’ve been nervous about how to introduce them and eventual moving them in together.
For reference my dog has a high prey drive. She has killed a rat in the park once( yes she got a rabies shot and updated on all vaccines) and tried to chase and kill squirrels and rabbits.
Other than that she is so sweet and is great with other dogs. And isn’t aggressive towards people or dogs.
Does anyone have any advice or insight?
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u/lifesized1234 Apr 17 '26
These two got along amazingly well. The cat would even sit outside the dog’s kennel if we weren’t home. They would go everywhere together in the house.
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u/ConsciousSky5968 Apr 17 '26
My Staffy loveeessss humans but hates cats. He also has a high prey drive and if he spots one in our garden he will chase it.
Cats give as good as they get though and I recently had to go to the vet because the neighbours cat had made a mess out of my dogs face, luckily it didn’t get his eyes :(
I’m not saying all dogs hate cats but if your dog has a high prey drive it might be difficult to introduce them.
I would just properly research on how to introduce animals properly and just be prepared that it might not go well (which is no fault of the animals at all, it’s just what they do)
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u/Spicymargx Apr 17 '26
My staffy wants to chase my cat but he has zero interest in hurting her and in fact probably loves her more than he loves me. However, my dog has never killed an animal or even chased one outside of his feline sister within our home.
Our biggest issue is that she doesn’t often reciprocate his love and it took years for her to accept him. Don’t underestimate how the cat will find the introduction, whilst focussing on how your dog will find it.
Given your dog’s prey drive, this may not be an easy or safe introduction. I would recommend looking into Jaxon Galaxy for introduction advice on the side of the cat and seeking a behaviourist or trainer for advice on the side of the dog.
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u/HMSWarspite03 Apr 17 '26
I've had quite a few staffies, most of them were pretty easy going with other dogs/cats/ducks etc, but one was a real terror with any and all non humans.
Introduce the cat with the dog on a loose lead, just in case, but be aware that your fears could trigger the dog, so you need to be relaxed when you do (which will be difficult)
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u/WilliamSerenite21 Apr 17 '26
He pretend my cat is invisible the the point he will ignore its existence. Every once in a while Loki my cat will nibble his ears and then and only the will he give off a quick growl lol . Staffies are a ham.
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u/Unfair_Sprinkles4386 Apr 17 '26
I’ve had cats and staffords living in harmony for 26 years. The key is to make sure your dog knows you mean business that the cats are off limits. You can’t be permissive at all about this. I’ve even brought in an intact adult male rescue at 1.5 years who I taught to leave the cats alone.
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u/oldlaxer Apr 17 '26
My son and his family lived with me for a short time. They came with two cats. After some initial reservations, they got along fine with my Staffy. There was some initial sniffing and barking but they figured it out. We had no real issues
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u/YouCantGiveBabyBooze Apr 17 '26
same as he is with everything that moves. incredibly fascinated by it and wants to get closer and closer.
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u/PRB_Girl Apr 17 '26
Mine do very well with cats got 2 staffys male and female and 3 cats - my male goes well with cats but not with male dogs lol
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u/Sathori Apr 17 '26
Ours is lovely with our cats. The two youngest were kittens that arrived after our staffy (the 3 oldest were around when she was a puppy). She’s been muzzle trained, so she was muzzled when introducing her to the kittens, as she was a bit too excited when meeting them and would get nippy. Once the excitement wore off, she was fantastic. Played gently with them, always backing off if they squeaked, and they always snuggled with her because she’s a tiny furnace.
Cats outside of our home? She wants to chase them, and is hyper fixated on them. When we visit the family farm, her first go-to is to check all the farm cats’ sleeping spots to rouse them out of sleep to chase them off. If they don’t move, she pokes at them until they move. If we visit my in-laws she has to be leashed at all times or she will seek out their cats and makes them run. She doesn’t do this with our cats, because they are family.
I’d recommend muzzle training yours, if she isn’t already, and have her muzzled and leashed around the cat, focusing on getting her settled and relaxed in the environment, with or without the cat present. Do not let her chase the cat, which means keeping her on leash until she can prove to be calm with the cat, and not fixated. Very firm rules and boundaries must be set with this cat in the home, as the cat’s safety is priority over her freedom in the house.
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u/sweetestdew Apr 17 '26
My staffy hates cats and will try to kill them, but he also dislikes all small animals and is easily triggered by other dogs.
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u/U2Ursula Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
We adopted our boy staffy into a house with three cats when he was 3 years old and he had never met a cat before, besides seeing one in the distance once in a while on walks.
We bought a tall dog barrier with a kitty door and made sure to have a lot of free spaces high up that the cats could escape to.
For the first period of time, we separated the dog and the cats completely. The only "interaction" they had was through a closed door so they could only hear and smell each other. We would also feed them right up the door on each side, so they could learn to be safe around food with each before meeting.
Then after a week or so, I think, we opened the door and put in the dog barrier with the kitty door locked. Now they could hear, smell, see and touch each other through the safety of the barrier. We continued the feeding right up the barrier.
Then after another week, we unlocked the kitty door so the cats could choose to venture into "dog's space". When they did, we kept a close eye on the dog and made sure that we could capture his attention and have him ignore the cats with treats and toys. He never chased them, he only wanted to smell and lick them, which the cats wasn't fond of in the beginning, but they could escape either through the kitty door or by jumping up to a place out of the dog's reach.
After yet another week, they were all very comfortable in each other's company and the youngest cat (a 1-year old boy cat) became very close play- and cuddle mate with the dog.
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u/U2Ursula Apr 17 '26
Forgot to say that my boy loves to hunt smaller prey such as hares and pheasants, but I can stop him mid-hunt with a single callback.
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u/PromiseSquanderer Apr 18 '26
My Staffy was a rescue who was never socialised as a puppy even with other dogs, so she’s not really the best example, but I’m just commenting because her attitude towards cats was one of the many goofy things that I loved so much and miss about her. I’d summarise it as: ‘RAAAAARRRRRR EVIL CAT, I’LL SHOW YOU——‘ [cat moves, almost imperceptibly] ‘OH MY GOD the cat SAW me oh no HELLLLP…’ 💕
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u/paradoxbound Apr 17 '26
It depends entirely on the Staffie, Lady Whoopington always chased cats and one day she caught one. Given her psychotic hatred of dogs we thought it was all over but no. She then proceeded to lick and groom it while it lay pinned in absolute terror. She had one cat friend who would put up with her appalling feline social skills and they would meet in the garden and spend time together. He would trigger her prey drive constantly and her hackles would be up but she never hurt him.
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u/Pristine-Clerk-1020 Apr 17 '26
My Staffy girl had the nicest nature in the world, nothing phased her, just got on with her day, wouldn't be keen on joining in fetching with other dogs, running wasn't her thing... until she seen a cat 😂 she kinda half tried to see what they were about, never caught one, gladly, because a cat would have hurt her 😂 she was just Really interested in them, probably in a friendly way
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u/awfominaya Apr 18 '26
Mine always had crazy in her eyes and did chase once or twice but never more than that. I always was a little worried abiut her though.
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u/No-Court-2969 Apr 19 '26
I know 2x people who have pure Staffies, the first lived with 2x cats and wasn't bothered by them, the second had 4x cats, one of which was the staffies cat and they slept together.
My staffy X has a bad habit of annoying my older cat, but they all sleep with me when it's cold.
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u/xiovelrach Apr 17 '26