Cairn Terriers - Cross Cultural - Updated 2011

Cross Cultural

Below is a list of search terms and questions  - some answered, some not.


 
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Cairn poodle cross (9)
Cairn terrier mix and kids
Cairn terrier poodle cross (13)
Cairn terriers and ferrets (7)
Do Cairns and German shepherds get along
Do Cairn terriers look like poodles?
Do ferrets get along with Cairn Terriers
How to introduce Cairn terrier dog to cat (4)
Poodle cross Cairn terrier
Would you cross a miniature poodle with a cairn terrier?



Cairns and Ferrets  (7 searches to date? - Strange Times We are Living In)

I can provide an educated guess as to what would happen if you introduced a Cairn to a ferret, but first I will tell you a true story about what did happen when a cat was introduced to a ferret.

Back in the 70's I came home from work one day to find what I thought was a large, golden weasel bouncing around on the door step.  I had no idea what it was but it certainly seemed friendly enough.

I walked to the car, donned a pair of welding gloves with gauntlets and approached the weasel.  The thing was big - about the size of a cat.  It let me pick it up and in the process of doing so I kind of lost my grip and it climbed up my shirt and draped itself around my neck - a live weasel stole. I was a little worried about that.

Fortunately a neighbor drove up, got out of the car and said, 'Nice Ferret!'

He knew quite a bit about ferrets and said what was draped around my neck was a large, nice looking adult male. He said they were quite friendly, could be litter box trained (it was) and would eat cat food and any rodents that happened to be around the house.

I had a cat at the time and asked him if he knew how a cat might get along with a ferret. He said he didn't know but if I felt like finding out, he'd stick around.

I was curious so we went inside and I set the ferret on the floor.  It immediately started exploring, investigating everything, found the cat food and started chowing down.  That was one hungry ferret. The cat came walking down the stairs, took one look at the visitor in the food bowl and attacked.
 
It was quite a sight.

Cat fur went flying and at some point the cat disengaged and flew up the stairs.  The ferret, other than being very excited, was a little scratched up but no worse for the wear.

For the next several months, the cat never touched the ground. It got where it wanted to go by jumping on chairs, tables, the piano....anything to stay off the ground.

One day I got home from work early, walked up to the door and heard noises in the living room.  I thought there was a burglar in the house.

I went over to a window and looked inside.  Inside was the cat on the floor, ferret bouncing around it, cat playfully swatting at the ferret and then jumping on the couch with the ferret in hot pursuit.  They were having a grand old time.

I walked to the door, made some noise and went inside.  Inside was the ferret on the floor looking at me, the cat nowhere in sight. For the next year or so I never saw the cat and the ferret in the same room at the same time unless I peeked in a window. More often than not, the cat and ferret were playing in the living room.

Then one day the inevitable happened. The ferret got out of the house and was never seen again.  The cat stopped eating and within several weeks died from what I imagined was a broken heart. 

Last cat I ever owned.  Last ferret too.

Back to the question at hand:

What do I think would happen if you introduced a Cairn to a Ferret?

I think unless the two were introduced at a very early age, you would end up with a bloody mess -  an injured dog and a dead ferret. The Cairn would win out but pay a heavy price in the form of nasty battle scars and puncture wounds, particularly if the ferret was a mature adult male.

If you actually decide to go ahead and give it a try, have fun explaining the results of your cross-cultural experiment to the Vet and/or significant other.

I think that could get pretty bloody too.




Question: How to introduce a Cairn terrier to a feral cat

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