Do French Bulldogs get along with cats?
The French Bulldog is an increasingly popular breed, especially for city dwellers, thanks to their charm and good looks, relatively low exercise needs, and playful personality.
However, if you have a cat or would like one in the future, you probably wonder, “do French Bulldogs get along with cats?”. Here's the answer.
French Bulldogs and cats
French Bulldogs and cats generally get along very well together.
These dogs are known to generally get along very well with other animals in general. They don't tend to have much of a prey drive.
Furthermore, the French Bulldog is a fairly small dog, which is about the same size as the average cat. Some breeds of cat, like the Maine coon, may even be considerably larger than the Frenchie. Being about the same size makes it more likely that these two Pats will get along.
For many years, the French Bulldog has been bred to get along well in the family home, including with other family pets. Therefore, you can expect the average French Bulldog to get along with other pets in the home, including cats.
How to improve the relationship of your French Bulldog with cats?
If you want to set your French Bulldog up for success with the best possible relationship with cats, here are a few tips to help. You don't want to leave this relationship up to chance.
After all, just one scratch from an angry cat can do serious damage to your French Bulldog, especially because they tend to have protruding eyes. A French Bulldog that decides to attack your cat can also cause serious damage. Therefore, you want to do everything that you can to improve the relationship between these two animals.
- Start with a French Bulldog puppy. An adult dog can absolutely learn to get along well with cats, but raising your Frenchie from a puppy makes it more likely that they will see the family cat as a friend and family member.
- Start with a kitten or known dog friendly cat. Some cats may never get along with a dog if they haven't been raised with 1. Starting with a kitten or a cat that is well-known to do well with dogs is your best chance for success.
- Keep eating areas separated. Even the best of cat and dog friends may be competitive over their food. Therefore, it is important to create a feeding place for each and make sure they don't interfere with each other while they are eating.
- Keep your Frenchie out of the litter box. There are a lot of good reasons to avoid allowing your French Bulldog to get into your cat's litter box, but one of the reasons is that invading your cat space in this way may cause they fight between them.
- Give your cat places to escape from an overexcited Frenchie. French Bulldogs typically love to play, but they can sometimes be too much for a cat and not understand body language that the cat is sending to back off. Therefore, it's important to give your cat somewhere to escape to when your Frenchie is overwhelming.
- Go slowly with the first meeting. Whether you are introducing adult animals, a puppy and kitten, or some combination, it is very important to make the first meeting go slowly. Slowly increase exposure over the first few months until your French Bulldog is best friends with your cat.
- Don't leave them alone together. Especially at the beginning, it is very important not to leave your cat and dog alone unsupervised. As time goes on and they get to be great buddies, you may be willing to risk allowing them to be together, but there are always risks in this, and it may be best to only allow them to interact in a controlled environment with your supervision.
Provide obedience training for your French Bulldog. Your French Bulldog will have better self-control and you'll have better control over your dog if you provide them with basic obedience training prior to introducing them to your cat.
Enjoy the relationship between your French Bulldog and your cat
French Bulldogs can be a lot of fun to watch with a cat. Far from natural enemies, these two species can in fact be superb friends. Set your cat and dog up for success by going slowly and being respectful of their individual spaces, and you'll likely find that they get along very well together.
My experience as the liaison of integrative medicine, neurology, and zoo medicine at UF Small Animal Hospital gave me valuable insight into the challenges faced by pet owners with animals who have medical conditions. My time there also gave me the opportunity to care for a disabled dog and write a book about the experience.
As manager of a dog daycare, I learned about how dogs play and interact, warning signs for aggression, and how to rehabilitate dog-reactive dogs. During my time there I was under the mentorship of two groomers, from whom I learned grooming essentials.
I currently work with high-risk shelter dogs and manage a blog to help other volunteers and foster families. I have two dogs of my own, a Maltese and a Standard Poodle.
