People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier be friends with Guinea Pigs as an example.
Well, I do not know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats..
When Willow came to us last summer one thing that she had to adjust to was a household already inhabited by three tomcats ranging in age from four years to around ten. The cats definitely rule the roost here and the new little Westie just needed to find her place. She’s done that now. There are occasional spats to decide who’s top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey forward and backward amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.
We weren’t just dropping a dog in to the midst of a handful of cats who had never seen a dog before. Our Norwegian Elkhound, Saladdin was a key part of our family structure for a long time and actually helped raise two of our cats from kittenhood. He’s gone now and the cats haven’t had to accommodate a dog for some time, however the old thoughts were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to acquire a brand new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, but it really wasn’t the end of the world for them either.
One thing that we insisted on in the beginning was that this new dog needed to submit to the cats. This is especially true when dealing with terrier dogs including the West Highland Terrier. Regardless how lovable and cute they may be, deep down inside their heart and soul they’re hunters. They want to get in and duke it out with game animals, and pretty much anything that runs away from them qualifies as game. That does not mean they aren’t great dogs, but there’s no way around it: the terrier breeds from Pit Bulls all the way down to Yorkies are scrappers. So our job as owners of terriers should be to define the things they can chase and fight with and the things they can’t.
This is why we were so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the start. It wasn’t hard to do. If she got too frisky we were required to lay her down until she settled and calmed, but mostly a sharp word and a tug on the leash was enough to do the trick. It certainly helped our cats were not particularly afraid of dogs and don’t mind demonstrating the use of their claws if she gets too feisty.
Things have settled into place now and we’ve been able to relax most of the boundaries we laid down initially. We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its equally as likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. The truth is it appears to be more of a game of tag than anything, and nobody gets hurt. Whenever they aren’t chasing each other throughout the house its not unusual to discover Willow curled up with one of the cats, or perhaps hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can never tell which two animals will bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the very first to actually chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) and that set the stage for the others to follow.
Your circumstances may be quite different from ours, because our cats were already familiar with having a dog around. If your cats have never had anything to do with dogs, you will probably want to follow a slightly different course. In a case like that I recommend keeping the new Westie on umbilical for a couple of days while the critters get accustomed to each other. Umbilical training, where you have your dog on a long leash and keep the leash tied around your waist, is a very good training method under any circumstance. It will give you control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Stay with the umbilical work for at least a week and keep your dog in its crate when it’s not on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes that the dog is not really a threat to it.
Similar things apply if you want to introduce a cat to the house. I’d recommend a kitten if possible, mainly because they are more malleable which can make the situation more managable. Be sure that the dog and cat get to sniff each others butts so that you have the nose engaged, then keep the dog on umbilical for a while.
Cats can definitely coexist with Westie Terriers. They might not become buds in the same manner our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other should be possible. Make use of the umbilical, make the dog submit at the start and everything should be well.

