Family Life

Golden Retriever and Cat – Unlikely (but Adorable) Friends

Written by Kevin Sando

This is Lucas.  He is a cat although I’m not so sure that he knows it.  

We brought him home from a shelter nearly 2 years ago and ever since he has been working hard to befriend our oldest Golden Harley.  Lucas will consistently shadow Harley around the house and rub his face all over him. He will playfully bat at him or try to get him to chase, but no matter the action, Harley takes little note.  In fact it often appears that Harley does not even see him. One or one-thousand snubs won’t deter Lucas however, and he still tries every single day.  Poor Lucas desperately wants some acknowledgement and interaction from his idol and this persistence (and the resulting cuteness) is the inspiration for this post.

This is a bit of a photo dump, but I think it is necessary to get the obsession across.  Lucas has learned over time that his best chance for some contact with Harley is to simply take it.  A sleeping Harley provides an excellent opportunity to quietly nestle in alongside!  While browsing these photos, keep in mind that in basically every instance Harley has an established position that Lucas invites himself into.  This usually leads to a few growls before Harley eventually relents. (Its a lot of work for an old dog to get up and move after all).

Yes, we have a lot of pictures of the two of them like this, but seriously how could you resist?  (This is by no means the extent of our picture collection by the way)

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Emulating his older brother

IMG_0771 Golden Retriever and cat settled in for a snuggle! IMG_0737

Closeup of one of the best moments of Lucas’ life

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In this instance, Harley wanted the corner of the couch and laid down on Lucas as if he wasn’t even there.

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Even though he is being squished, you can see the hesitation to get up on Lucas’ face.  This moment is simply a dream come true!

Sharing the Bed

Plenty of room for a cat in here…

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 Holding on tightly to his best friend

So is it all a show?  Perhaps Harley is not as opposed as he tries to let on?  Either way, he seems to be getting less resistant to Lucas’ affection over time.  Looking back, It is tough to imagine that the shelter described Lucas as having trouble getting along with dogs!  We have yet to see if he will have a similar obsession with his new brother Charlie, but I would put my money on it.

So how do your cats and dogs get along?  Are they anything like these two?  Let us know in the comments below and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest photos of Harley and Lucas!

About the author

Kevin Sando

Kevin is a mechanical engineer with a degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has move than a decade experience in new product design, prototyping and early stage manufacturing. Pairing this background with his love of dogs, gives him a unique perspective to evaluate the design and execution of new and interesting pet products.

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