Advice needed - my cat is attacking Dogs..

PennyKildare

I hope someone can help out here bit of an odd one....

Have two cats from 6 weeks old (sisters) now 1 yr old. They have been the only pets in the house till about two weeks ago when we took in a stray dog (small terrier). The dog is young & playful, very quite & terrified of the cats. One of my cats keeps attacking him. She sometimes walks over to him just to hiss will then walk off. the poor dog has become very nervous of the two of them as he can't tell them apart. last night we where all in the sitting room dog was on the floor at my feet & the good cat was on my lap but she jumped down heading for the window but the poor dog thought she was heading for him so he growled at her. my other crazy cat walked over to him & attacked him for this. he ran out of the room & headed for the back of the house to get out the back door. The crazy part to all this is that the crazy cat chased him all the way hissing & clawing him. I've never experienced anything like this. I'm very worried as this cat attacks everything she even hisses at my 4 yr old nephew & tries to claw him.

Any views or tips on what to do with her is very much appreciated

Zulu

I don't keep cats, but perhaps squirting the cat with water anytime it acts aggressive would successfully communicate that you don't appreciate that behaviour?

Taltos

We had a similar problem with one of our cats.

It has been slow but we are getting there.
1. Always keep them supervised - if you cannot be there then they cannot be together.
2. Look out for warning signs of agression - stop whoever is doing it and pet the other one.

In terms of stopping them - use the same word for each animal
eg cat - STOP
and dog - NO or AH-AH
Just be consistent.

Eventually they will make friends - there might be a few more incidents but keep a close eye on them. The best thing you can teach your dog to do is ignore the cat - and let the cat come around.
We were amazed last week to see the 7 yr old cat try to play with the dog he had previously terrorized. Only lasted for 10 sec before the cat got scared again and hissed but it is all about small steps..

Remember - NO unsupervised... Cat cuts can be messy.

sambuka41

+1 for everything Taltos just said.

I have a 4 year old cat and 1 year old dog, I found it helped when we go the pup to make sure that there was an area where the cat could go that the dog couldn't. For us its upstairs, that way if the dog is driving him mad he can go upstairs (he takes advantage of this regularly). Also if cat is on couch then dog is not. It helped so that he didn't feel threatened, like he is still the boss (and we all know cats like this feeling;))

My guy is a very aggressive cat so there have been times where Ive had to stop him if he was swiping at her in a nasty way, he gets picked up and put out of the room. He hates to be out of the action so this is usually enough to stop him.

My two play together now, he will run at the dog and run away so she will chase him to the stairs, then he runs down the stairs and chases her into the sitting room!!:p it can go on back and forth,back and forth for up to an hour!!!

piperh

PennyKildare wrote: »

I hope someone can help out here bit of an odd one....

I'm very worried as this cat attacks everything she even hisses at my 4 yr old nephew & tries to claw him.

Any views or tips on what to do with her is very much appreciated

This would be the worrying part of the post for me. Yes the cat is having a go at the dog but that could just be she resents him being in her home and with patience and correction they'll learn to tolerate each other. The fact that the cat hisses and tries to claw your nephew could lead to oneday there being a nasty incident and this needs sorting out now, everytime she does this she needs to be corrected with a stern no and removed from the situation she'll soon learn nothing good comes from this behaviour.

marley123

Have you tried Pet Corrector Spray??

Doesnt hurt them at all - its just like a giant hiss, presume you could use with a cat aswell..

Fionne

I can only reiterate what the others have said, it's a matter of patience and correcting them when they misbehave (whether it's the cat or the dog) I have had a similar problem with a neighbours dog and my cats but mostly they get along ok now. In my case I couldn't really correct the dog as it's not mine but they have just learnt to tolerate each other with time. If the cat has somewhere to escape to, maybe a cosy spot on a windowsill or somewhere higher off the ground, then it will give them somewhere to go that's dog-free which will help harmony to reign!

The Sweeper

Cat aggression can be related to stress. Using harsh corrections like gas sprays or water can just make it worse. Cat's tiny brain thinks 'something bad is going to happen' and they inflate and hiss and growl, and you spray them, and in their wee heads they think 'see? I was right!!'

Verbal admonishment works better, but so does reassurance. Try stroking and calming your cat in the presence of the dog. If they're both on the ground, don't lift the cat as this can cause the dog to overreact and the cat may injure you in reaction to the dog. Sit on the floor with them and stroke and reassure the cat. If he starts to get wound up at the dog, push him gently away and even look at distracting with a treat.

If your cat is widely aggressive consider a thyroid function test at the vet. Use feliway spray and plug-ins to create a happy-cat environment. Try rescue remedy to diffuse tense periods. Take it all slowly.

Do intervene though, else your rescue dog, once settled, may savage your cat out of its own distress.

PennyKildare

Thank you all so much for getting back to me with your tips & advice. I'm trying the Nanny 911 time out with the cat & it seems to be doing the trick she is much calmer. I've kept the dog separated from the cats so no stress is inflicted. I have a large utility that the cats sleep in at night & i've put her in there anytime she is bold for 30 minutes & when she is let out she is better each time. Going to leave them separate for the next few days till tempers simmer

Thanks again will let you know how it goes.