Aggression towards a small dog.

captains

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
3
Purraise
0
Hello. I was looking for some place to ask a question about cat behaviour, and I found this site. I've had three cats since I've gotten my little dog, and all of them eventually end up attacking him. I've tried introduction methods so that they're familiar with him, but none of them seem to work.

I'm not sure why they attack him. I think that it is because he runs around a lot, and that he may scare them, or that they might think he's trying to play. I've had to keep them in separate rooms, but this never ends up working out too well because they both need free time to roam the house.

I've been thinking about getting a one month old kitten, and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to prevent this problem. The kitten is very docile right now, but I'm afraid that once she gets older she'll start attacking him too. My dog is very small, and so being attacked by any animal, even in play, can really injure him. I hope that, because the kitten is very young, it would be a positive in getting her used to Pinky. (Dog's name.)

Thanks for reading all of that. Any advice is appreciated. =)
 

kittenkiya

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Messages
2,196
Purraise
2
Location
Tucson, AZ
What kind of dog? When my daughter had her Chihuahua here in the house and I brought kittens in, they sort of introduced themselves, because the dog was confined to a couple of rooms, while the cats had the run of the house.
 

lorina

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
242
Purraise
1
Location
Pennsylvania
I've had three cats since I've gotten my little dog, and all of them eventually end up attacking him. I've tried introduction methods so that they're familiar with him, but none of them seem to work.
Can I ask what happened to the other three cats?

I've been thinking about getting a one month old kitten
One month old is way too young to be away from her mama, unless she's been orphaned. At one month, they're only just starting to nibble a little at food. If you do decide to get another cat, please get one that's at least 10 weeks old.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

captains

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
3
Purraise
0
It's a Toy Fox Terrier. We had to give the other three cats away. One was because of aggression in general, and the other two was because of incompatability with the dog. I don't know if the kitten was orphaned or not. It's up for adoption at the Humane Society, but I haven't checked to see if the Mother kitten is also there or not.
 

yorda

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 6, 2006
Messages
180
Purraise
1
Could you provide a little more information on exactly what type of introduction you did, for how long the intro went and how long the cats had to adjust, and what the dog was doing when the cats went at him? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking that if we knew a little more it might be easier for someone to figure out where the problem is and offer some suggestions. It would probably be best to hold off getting another cat until you knew exactly what the problem was so you donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t run into this problem again.

I would also not recommend adopting a kitten so young for multiple reasons, including what Lorina mentioned. One of my other concerns would be that kittens taken away from the litter or orphaned at such a young age and kept as singles can get into the habit of play biting very hard and playing rough (single kitten syndrome) because they missed out on valuable socialization that teaches them biting hurts. This can be worked through or avoided if you know how to respond to it, but if the problem is not corrected early it can be a very bad habit to break them of and it can really hurt as they get bigger. So if you would not be comfortable with potentially having to working through behavior issues that could be viewed as aggression if it gets worse I would avoid taking a single kitten so young.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

captains

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
3
Purraise
0
With the first two cats, we made them a special room. We would allow the dog, Pinky, to sniff them through the door. During those days we would let Pinky run the house, and give the cat special times to come out and play.

Then, we switched it and let Pinky stay in the room, hoping to get them used to each other's scents. We also did something similiar with their food bowls. This went on for a few weeks before we let them run free together, and we would monitor them to make sure nothing happened. Normally Pinky would just cower, and try to run away. Sometimes he would be running up the stairs, playing, or sitting on our laps.

With the third cat, we brought Pinky in to visit him before we adopted him. He seemed like a rather docile cat compared to the others, and so we thought he wouldn't have a problem. We brought him in and they got along well; didn't really show any interest in each other. But a few days after we brought him home, the same behaviour started again. They both seemed to be afraid of each other, so we kept them in separate rooms again.

I'm thinking that the youngness may have been the problem. We adopted the first two kittens at a fairly early age; one I kept from a litter of kittens that we cared for until they were old enough to go to the Humane Society. The second one came from a mall, and she couldn't have been very old.

Yeah, that would be a good idea. I won't adopt another cat until I have it figured out, and know how (if possible) to correct the behaviour.
 

chausiefan

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
686
Purraise
12
Location
Ontario
if all 3 cats you had attacked ur dog i bet there is an issue with ur dog or you are just EXTREMLY Unlucky


if ur dog was timid thats actually better for cats as cats just like to be left alone and it should not be hard to find a cat that would fit right in
 
Top