6yr old cat does not like the new pup, what can I do.

miss_sylvia

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I have a cat, 6 years old. She is still very active and loves human company. I have a dog who is 12, and the cat is fine with her.

Now I have a new puppy, 7 months old. My cat used to keep her distance from him and if he got too close she would hiss, arch her back, ears went down, tail poofed. She is now used to him being around, and doesn't go like this. She still hisses when he gets too close.

My puppy used to bark at her and run around in circles trying to get her to play. He now keeps his distance as the cat has managed to put him in his place.

But now the cat chases my puppy. He will just be doing his own thing, she runs up and scares him off. It's not playing. He is weary of walking past her, and will not come inside if he has to walk past the cat.

I heard my puppy crying, and I ran to find him backed in a corner of a room by my cat. He couldn't open his eye properly for a minute, she had obviously clawed him.

This freaked me out. Now I keep a super close watch on the puppy at all times. The cat still runs up and attacks him every now and them. I have tried to squirt her with water when I catch her in the act.

Not really working.

I would really appreciate some advice on what to do. I am scared that my cat might damage the pups eyes one time.
 

breal76

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I remember when I first brought my dog home. My cat hated him with a passion. All Halo wanted to do was sniff cat butt. Cats don't like to be sniffed.

Then one day Halo learned a very valuable lesson. Cats have nails. Mr. Murphy scratch him in his eye. I had to put medicine in it for two weeks.

Halo never bothered the cat again.

I would trim your cats claws. Perhaps some soft paws. Just for now. Then again I am not sure if your kitty would then become a biter.

How long has it been since you brought the pup home? That is really important to know. What kind of dog is it, and how old?
 
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miss_sylvia

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Originally Posted by Breal76

I remember when I first brought my dog home. My cat hated him with a passion. All Halo wanted to do was sniff cat butt. Cats don't like to be sniffed.

Then one day Halo learned a very valuable lesson. Cats have nails. Mr. Murphy scratch him in his eye. I had to put medicine in it for two weeks.

Halo never bothered the cat again.

I would trim your cats claws. Perhaps some soft paws. Just for now. Then again I am not sure if your kitty would then become a biter.

How long has it been since you brought the pup home? That is really important to know. What kind of dog is it, and how old?
Thanks for the reply.

3 months I have had him for. He is a 7 month old beagle.

I have noticed that since the pup has been around, my cat has started biting me again. She used to do this when I petted her and she wanted it to cease. I always got made and gave her a firm "NO". Took a little while, but she outgrew it. Now, I will pat her, she randomly bites me & walks off with her nose in the air. So I'd say she is a bit of a biter.

She loves to play, she chases toys on strings. She has her skitzo moments. She plays with balls, she will knock them around and chase them. Whenever the pup is around and I try to play with her, she isn't interested (or she is because she lifts her paw up to play but gives up right away and keeps her eye on the pup.

I have never trimmed her nails. Is it okay to start late? It will be hard, my cat is awfully resistent to something she is uncomfortable with. I mean, she claws me if I am going against her comfort zone.

Soft paws - I heard about this. What are they like? Are they annoying for the cat? Will my cat hate me if I cover her paws?
 

jen

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I was actually going to suggest Soft Paws or Claws too. I use them for mine, it annoys them at first and they may get a few off but just pin the cat down and put them on and let them be for awhile. Check later to see if they got any off and need to replace them.
 

chausiefan

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for a anxious cat like yours seem to be soft paws is gonna be tough putting it on her unless you are really skilled at it.


OMG i use to have this same problem my cat would seriously GO AFTER my dog and try to nail him good. But he did not start this until my dog became a 90 pound adult. Its actually pretty scary when it happens you never think ur cat has that crazyness in them
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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What you need to be doing, is paying more attention to your cat than your new puppy (hard I know - puppies are a lot of work!). But your cat is feeling displaced, unhappy, depressed and probably frightened. She is re-establishing her authority and you have to let her do it. She was there first, and needs to be treated as such.

Our vet put this a really good way - cats are NOT gonna change, so it's the dog that needs to modify it's behaviour. You need to let the cat dictate what the situation is going to be, here. It's been three months so at least she is used to things - the dog doesn't chase her and seems to not intimidate her.

Possibly a trip to the vet might be a good idea. The two most stressful things you can do to a cat is move house, or get a dog (we did both to our cats - think how they felt??). Have her checked out, it's possible he could prescribe a short-acting short course of sedatives for her, just to help her out.

Also, Feliway is great for this kind of behaviour - expensive but can work miracles. Have you heard of it?
 

wookie130

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Also, have you tried using a Feliway plug-in...this can help alleviate kitty anxiety due to new smells from the puppy. I also would agree that you need to smother kitty with LOVE, ATTENTION, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Much more so than the new puppy, unfortunately. Cats tend to be much less forgiving of us when we place a "foreigner" into their territory, and you need to make it clear to hear that's she's still the queen of the castle. And give it lots of time...this may go on for months!
 
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