Are Labs Good With Cats?

The friendliness or compatibility of Labradors with cats totally depends on these pets. Because, a shy cat, which has a tendency to run, is more likely to be chased and attacked by any dog regardless of the breed. Whereas, a cat that stands up for itself to the dog does better in the long run because the labs learns that the cat is not a prey.

Generally, Labradors are not a high prey drive breed, but they may still chase the felines or small animals. Some individuals have more prey drive than that of the others. Therefore, it is quite important to introduce your lab to the cats at early stage. You can follow below mentioned tips to introduce a Labrador Puppy to Cats:

Keep the lab puppy in the restricted environment for first few days. This gives him a smaller place to adjust to, and it also allows the puppy and cat to get used to each others’ scent before interaction.

Try to put your puppy on a leash. If your puppy is too small or too young for a regular leash, you can put him into a puppy harness.

Introduce new Labrador with cat while the puppy is on a leash. It helps you control your puppy if he gets too excited.

You can also enter your Labrador puppy into an obedience training course. It ensures that your puppy knows commands like “stay” and “sit”, which are essential to ensure that you can stop him from bothering the cat even if he is not on a leash.