I'll start by saying that I know the vast majority of cat/BD interactions have not gone well-- I've seen the posts on this forum.
However, my cat Malachi is a real weirdo. He's ancient (17), incredibly slow moving, with absolutely no play drive or prey drive. He used to hang out with my roommate's equally ancient rat, and they were buds. He has never had any issue with any other animal. He doesn't like to play with any kind of toy. Mostly he just sleeps all day. Once or twice, he's encountered the BD when BD was playing on the floor and he snuck in, and there was no problem-- he just sniffed the BD and left him alone.
BD, understandably, is not a fan of Malachi. He beards out, turns black, and occasionally lunges at him. (Malachi never fights back-- he just jumps back, and then walks away). I always separate them when that happens so as not to stress the BD out even more.
Has anyone had luck getting their beardie used to their cat? Repeated interactions, baby gates, anything like that? I'd love for the two of them to get along, since to my understanding it's usually the cat that causes the problem, not the beardie. But Malachi is a very sweet and gentle soul who would appreciate a friend. But I definitely don't want to stress out poor little BD, and I know this interaction is inherently stressful because he is, after all, a prey animal.
If this is a lost cause, I understand. Just figured I would ask.
However, my cat Malachi is a real weirdo. He's ancient (17), incredibly slow moving, with absolutely no play drive or prey drive. He used to hang out with my roommate's equally ancient rat, and they were buds. He has never had any issue with any other animal. He doesn't like to play with any kind of toy. Mostly he just sleeps all day. Once or twice, he's encountered the BD when BD was playing on the floor and he snuck in, and there was no problem-- he just sniffed the BD and left him alone.
BD, understandably, is not a fan of Malachi. He beards out, turns black, and occasionally lunges at him. (Malachi never fights back-- he just jumps back, and then walks away). I always separate them when that happens so as not to stress the BD out even more.
Has anyone had luck getting their beardie used to their cat? Repeated interactions, baby gates, anything like that? I'd love for the two of them to get along, since to my understanding it's usually the cat that causes the problem, not the beardie. But Malachi is a very sweet and gentle soul who would appreciate a friend. But I definitely don't want to stress out poor little BD, and I know this interaction is inherently stressful because he is, after all, a prey animal.
If this is a lost cause, I understand. Just figured I would ask.