Dog who believes he is a cat

Chippy, a dog who developed an identity crisis after sharing a home with 40 cats, is being offered for adoption by the Cats Protection League as an 'honorary' feline.

Published: 7:00AM BST 25 Aug 2009

The Jack Russell never learned how to be a dog after spending his life around cats, the charity in Stroud, Gloucestershire believes.

He sleeps beside his best friend, a black female cat called Annie, and uses the litter tray. He also rarely barks.

Liz Dart, who is fostering Chippy in Nailsworth, said: "He came to us as part of a rescue from a multi-cat household in Cirencester.

"At first we were told he was 19, blind and deaf but that wasn't the case.

"We couldn't leave Chippy behind because he had lived with cats all his life. I suppose, having always lived among them he just doesn't know any different. He never learned how to be a dog.

"He goes to bed with Annie, one of the other cats, as they are very close and ideally we would home them together. She's very protective of him.

"He didn't really bark and still uses a litter tray now. He has chewed up a toy mouse – whether he was responding to cat nip on it, I don't know. He eats dog food now – goodness knows what he ate before."

Vets believe that Chippy is aged between 13 and 15 years old.

"He's a very gentle, old dog and we are very fond of him. It's sometimes hard to find a good home for elderly pets," Miss Dart continued.

"He doesn't mind children but a quieter home would suit him better because of his age."

A vet has estimated that he is aged between 13 and 15 years old.

'Writing' on the Stroud Cats Protection League website, Chippy said: "During the last 19 years I have lost count of the number of cats that I have shared my home with.

"I use a litter tray but have never got the hang of purring! When my owner and 40 felines were evicted the nice people at CP just couldn't leave me behind."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6083350/Dog-who-believes-he-is-a-cat.html