Here, kitty, kitty

Here is proof that malinois and cats can co-exist peacefully.

Really.

Honestly.

They can.

Not that you would ever see anything like this going on at our house.

This is Cayenne, Phoenix's sister, with her Easy litter puppies and Figment the cat. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Shields, Carousel Malinois)

This is Apollo, Phoenix's half-brother, with Remington Steele, "Remmy," the cat. (Photo courtesy of Apollo's mom, Laurie Kudna.)

Phoenix does not see the point of cats. They push his buttons on so many levels. Hindsight being what it is, I wish I'd addressed this cat obsession back when he was an itty bitty puppy. We have practiced endless recalls away from our farm cats, who are not entirely stupid and stay as far away from the dogs as possible. Phoenix even met Jill's cat, Leroy, who came to class one night last fall. Nix could barely even stand to be around a dog-savvy cat who was sitting quietly. I envisioned him snuffling Leroy and deciding cats are basically fuzzy and boring.

Wrong. He snuffled all right, followed by muzzle punches and nips which all translated to: RUN SO I CAN CHASE YOU! It would take a lot of cat therapy sessions before he could truly relax around a cat.

Catherine, I know all the future Easy litter puppy owners will thank you for the early cat familiarization!