Are Maine Coon cats good with dogs? It depends on 3 things.

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A lot of websites are answering the question as to whether Maine Coon cats are good with dogs, and it is a question which looks at half of the issues that need to be dealt with. There are two players, the cat and the dog. There's no point having a cat that gets on well with dogs if the dog they live with does not get on well with cats. 😎. That's the first point.

And, further, whether a cat gets on well with dogs it is normally not breed specific. It is about individual cats. This is not something that you can guarantee that breeders breed into the kittens that they create. By this I mean it is not something that is always created through inheritance unless the breeder has selected a foundation breeding pair of Maine Coon cats both of whom are known to have characters predisposed to getting on with cats and a supressed prey drive to chase cats. That's the second point.

Are Maine Coon cats good with dogs?
Are Maine Coon cats good with dogs? It depends. Image: MikeB

A dog friendly cat and vice versa is normally something which is created through experience and the best time for cats to gain the critical necessary experience is in the first seven weeks of their life when they are socialised to dogs. This means being around dogs and playing with them, full-time interactions day in and day out. This is the third point.

So, to get back to the question in the title, Maine Coon cats will be good with dogs if the breeder has made sure that her kittens spend time with dogs when they are very young. Then, all the kittens for sale by the breeder will be good with dogs. The breeder could be a breeder of Maine Coon cats or any other breed.

That I think is the correct answer. What I see on the Internet is some major Maine Coon cat websites boldly stating that all Maine Coon cats are good with dogs! I do not believe that this is automatically true. It depends. It depends on what the breeder does.

The question is posed as if Maine Coons inherit a genetic makeup or have a specific gene on one of their chromosomes which programs the breed to be relaxed around dogs. It is not necessarily like that.

Turning to dogs, once again, the dog should be socialised to cats. We all know that dogs are predators of cats. Dogs are programmed to prey upon cats unless this drive has been socialised out of them. Many dogs are very friendly towards cats. You will see dogs raising kittens as if they are their own offspring. Some dogs love to care for kittens. 

These are great dogs, and they will be perfect for a Maine Coon cat who is going to be introduced into a household where the dog lives. It is, as mentioned a two-sided situation in which both dog and cat play a role if the relationship is going to be successful.

It is said that some dog breeds are more friendly with cats than other dog breeds. Once again, this can only be true if foundation dogs in breeding programs are known to have characteristics which make them friendly with cats. Other than that, it is down to whether the dog is socialised to cats.

One website says that the beagles, basset hounds, collies, French bulldogs, retrievers and pugs are good with cats. I wouldn't guarantee that. I would just make sure that individual dogs of these breeds are socialised to cats. Or ask the breeder of these dogs whether their foundation dogs have characters which predispose them to being friendly towards cats. 

I would expect many breeders to work on this because they know that there are many homes where cats live with dogs.

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