Is there any way to get a cat to stop attacking the family dog? The dog has never done anything to the cat.. But she doesnt stop going after her. Cowie(my cat) will not even let Medina(DOG) in the house. What do I do to make it stop. I wish there was a cat whisperer.. Lol..
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Cat Attacking Dog
- Thread starter cowieismycat
- Start Date
She is probably doing that because her babies are suddenly gone. In her eyes something is wrong because she knows they should still be with her. She she's the dog as a threat. Is this the problem you are having that is the reason you gave the kittens away so early? The dog should not have been anywhere near the mom and her babies, no matter how gentle it usually is.
Plus not being spayed will make her more agitated. If you are letting her in and out still she is probably pregnant again making her even more defensive.
Plus not being spayed will make her more agitated. If you are letting her in and out still she is probably pregnant again making her even more defensive.
Yikes, not cool!
I had a bit of this problem myself... I guess we could better help you to know a little more about the situation. like how long have you had each pet? Who lived in the house first? etc
My situation was/is: my dog is now 14, the cat is 6... the dog has been basically an "only pet" in the house most of her life... when I was in college, I rescued the cat off the streets and he mainly stayed with me at school - a complication required me to bring him home to live with my parents for about a semester, during which time he was kept mainly in my room... then I moved into my own apartment at school and he came with me...
So at first at home with the dog, Oliver was restricted to one room - he needed to understand the house was not his domain originally - while the dog was out playing during the days, he'd be allowed downstairs on a leash... gradually he was just allowed loose while the dog was out - this helped the 2 pets' scents mix throughout the house (mind you, they had seen each other/heard each other while Ollie was in my room only)... so we gradually introduced them to each other - Oliver would be restrained (again, to let him know it was the dog's turf first) and we'd let the dog in... he used to growl and spit at her and try to beat her up, at which time he'd promptly be removed from the room and be "punished" if you will by being sent back to my room and sternly told "no"... no, he and my dog "co-exist" - the dog started out as a HUGE chicken around the cat (she's a black lab lol) she'd get up and run whenever he came in the room, but now she just looks at him like "what's your problem?" haha ... occasionaly when Oliver gets the crazies, he still will run up to her and bop her on the nose with a closed paw, but if we see him approaching her (she's mostly deaf now, poor girl) and sternly say "Oliver! No!" he'll walk off, but sometimes we can't catch him in time
So basically I think the cat needs to learn he's not leader of the pack - can you maybe crate him soundly and let the dog in? Or designate a room to be the "cat's room" even temporarily? Like I said, some more info would help... it just sounds like the 2 haven't been introduced correctly...
I had a bit of this problem myself... I guess we could better help you to know a little more about the situation. like how long have you had each pet? Who lived in the house first? etc
My situation was/is: my dog is now 14, the cat is 6... the dog has been basically an "only pet" in the house most of her life... when I was in college, I rescued the cat off the streets and he mainly stayed with me at school - a complication required me to bring him home to live with my parents for about a semester, during which time he was kept mainly in my room... then I moved into my own apartment at school and he came with me...
So at first at home with the dog, Oliver was restricted to one room - he needed to understand the house was not his domain originally - while the dog was out playing during the days, he'd be allowed downstairs on a leash... gradually he was just allowed loose while the dog was out - this helped the 2 pets' scents mix throughout the house (mind you, they had seen each other/heard each other while Ollie was in my room only)... so we gradually introduced them to each other - Oliver would be restrained (again, to let him know it was the dog's turf first) and we'd let the dog in... he used to growl and spit at her and try to beat her up, at which time he'd promptly be removed from the room and be "punished" if you will by being sent back to my room and sternly told "no"... no, he and my dog "co-exist" - the dog started out as a HUGE chicken around the cat (she's a black lab lol) she'd get up and run whenever he came in the room, but now she just looks at him like "what's your problem?" haha ... occasionaly when Oliver gets the crazies, he still will run up to her and bop her on the nose with a closed paw, but if we see him approaching her (she's mostly deaf now, poor girl) and sternly say "Oliver! No!" he'll walk off, but sometimes we can't catch him in time
So basically I think the cat needs to learn he's not leader of the pack - can you maybe crate him soundly and let the dog in? Or designate a room to be the "cat's room" even temporarily? Like I said, some more info would help... it just sounds like the 2 haven't been introduced correctly...
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Did I miss something here? I don't see any mention of kittens...
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...28#post2290628
Its posted there about a problem they were having with the dog causing them to have to give away their cats too young.
Its posted there about a problem they were having with the dog causing them to have to give away their cats too young.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
No there was no mention of the kittens in this post because I didnt want anyone giving me advice to get the wrong idea. Yes I had kittens they are gone. This problem has been going on for quite some time now.. Ok let me explain exactly what has gone on.. About two years ago a friend of mine in my apartment complex had kittens. At 6 weeks old I received Cowie. So we have had Cowie for appr. 2 years now. Last July my husband was on his way home from work and found this puppy who was only about 8 wks old (medina) So we have had Medina for a little less than 1 yr. When we first brought Medina home Cowie hissed a little at her but them left her alone. Since we lived in an apartment we had to crate medina a lot more than we were happy about and she went outside in our small back yard. Cowie was an inside outside cat who ran with the neighborhood cats which were mainly her sisters and brothers. Then this last Jan we moved to our new house. It has a nice big back yard. That is when this problem really started. Medina cant even come inside. At first we thought it was humurous that our dog was afraid of the cat so we didnt ever stop Cowie. I really wish we had. I basically just want to know if there is anything that I can do that this point to get Cowie to stop.. I love my cat very much my husband is not very fond of her and loves his dog. He is ready to find a new place for that cat and I am not ready to give up on this situation. Our 5 year old son has been scratched in pretty bad in the middle of one of Cowies attacks. I just want to be able to have my cat and let our dog be a dog. Any suggestions?
Well first off all you could clip her claws to make the scratching not so bad.
I think you need to make the cat and the dog smell alike first of all. Pure vanilla extract works well for that. You can also try the dog and cat pheremones that you spray or plug in. The cat one is called Feliway which would probably be the best one to go with since the cat is going after the dog.
I would start there. If there is something the dog lays on that you can put near the cat too that would help. You might also try feeding them near each other, unless the dog will eat the cat food.
P.S. spaying her will really help too, the is agitated and moody going in and out of heat all the time. Plus if she is running around outside with her brothers and sisters she is inbreeding and that is very unhealthy for her and the babies. If she is spayed, she will be happy and live longer. Plus she could have picked up FIV and FeLV because who knows the health of the male she mated with.
I think you need to make the cat and the dog smell alike first of all. Pure vanilla extract works well for that. You can also try the dog and cat pheremones that you spray or plug in. The cat one is called Feliway which would probably be the best one to go with since the cat is going after the dog.
I would start there. If there is something the dog lays on that you can put near the cat too that would help. You might also try feeding them near each other, unless the dog will eat the cat food.
P.S. spaying her will really help too, the is agitated and moody going in and out of heat all the time. Plus if she is running around outside with her brothers and sisters she is inbreeding and that is very unhealthy for her and the babies. If she is spayed, she will be happy and live longer. Plus she could have picked up FIV and FeLV because who knows the health of the male she mated with.
BTW Medina is a really cool name!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
Ok so you can stop telling me to get her spayed let me tell you now.. i plan on as well as I planned on getting her spayed. I am just waiting for her milk to dry up. She doesnt go outside now at all. IT was my old neighborhood where she went outside all the time before being spayed. i wanted her to get pregnant at least one time. Over populated or not I wanted her to be able to be a mom. She did not get pregnant at our old house she got pregnant here.. Thank you for saying my dogs name is cool. My husband found her on Medina Street. He fed the dogs mother while she was pregnant. He is a truck driver and every morning while she was pregnant she would could come to the terminal when he drove up and my husband would feed her.. Then the momma dog stopped showing up. Then about 2 months later she showed up again and had two puppies with her. My husband couldnt catch the other one but he did get Medina and we have had her ever since. It must have been fate because he found her only 3 days before they relocated his terminal about 5 miles away. I still drive by the old terminal every once in a while and have seen Medina's brother or sister but it has been too long and Medina is a Boxer mixed with ? she looks like she has a little pit in her so I have chosen not to try to pick the sibling in fear of that dog being too wild. ya know?
i think you're overreacting regarding the spay advice.
you asked what you could do to help them get along. spaying will help, somewhat.
also mingling their scents, which is where the vanilla extract thing comes in.
if the dog has a blanket that he lies on a lot, try putting it under her food dish, so she'll associate his smell w/something pleasant.
i realize this has been an ongoing problem, but it's probably been exacerbated by the loss of the kittens, plus she is probably already in heat again, which would make her even moodier.
is Cowie cow-colored? just wondering, due to her name. if you have
you can post them in the Fur Pictures forum - we love
here!
you asked what you could do to help them get along. spaying will help, somewhat.
also mingling their scents, which is where the vanilla extract thing comes in.
if the dog has a blanket that he lies on a lot, try putting it under her food dish, so she'll associate his smell w/something pleasant.
i realize this has been an ongoing problem, but it's probably been exacerbated by the loss of the kittens, plus she is probably already in heat again, which would make her even moodier.
is Cowie cow-colored? just wondering, due to her name. if you have
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
Im really not trying to seem like Im a beep at all. I just seem to keep getting the same thing on both of my posts. Get her spayed stop the over populating. Its not just from post its just reading others it seems like that is what the answer is for everything. I am going to get her spayed though. The cats have been gone for 1 day now and Medina is inside right now and she hasnt even tried to attack her so we will see. She is now just hiding under the table. I know it did get worse when the kittens were born and thats for obvious reasons. I do want to say that I really do appreciate EVERYONES input. Even if I have a funny way of showing it. Today was probably not the right day for me to look for advice.. Im really grouchy so again I apologize.
that's ok... but FYI, this is a pro spay/neuter & anti-declaw site. people are just repeating the site policy [some more politely than others...]
As a general rule, TCS is primarily concerned with cat welfare. Because of our strong committment to responsible cat care and treatment, we do promote and strongly encourage a pro-spay/neuter policy here. Unless you are an experienced, responsible, ethical breeder of pedigreed cats, we do not advocate breeding.
As a general rule, TCS is primarily concerned with cat welfare. Because of our strong committment to responsible cat care and treatment, we do promote and strongly encourage a pro-spay/neuter policy here. Unless you are an experienced, responsible, ethical breeder of pedigreed cats, we do not advocate breeding.
Maybe the cat had a bad experience with a dog when she was outside. And she takes a dim view of ANY dog (that's how my first cat was - he didn't like any dogs).
But you can clip her nails or try Soft Paws nail caps so the nails are not sharp. And after she is spayed, she may be a lot more friendly to the dog. Female cats with kittens will be very defensive.
Cats are smart - once they know they have the upper paw over a dog, they will use it. And female cats tend to be more territorial and resenting newcomers in the house - doesn't matter if they are spayed or not; just their general personality.
Try some of the above things until you can get her spayed and see if that will help things.
But you can clip her nails or try Soft Paws nail caps so the nails are not sharp. And after she is spayed, she may be a lot more friendly to the dog. Female cats with kittens will be very defensive.
Cats are smart - once they know they have the upper paw over a dog, they will use it. And female cats tend to be more territorial and resenting newcomers in the house - doesn't matter if they are spayed or not; just their general personality.
Try some of the above things until you can get her spayed and see if that will help things.
That's very true. Once I found a stray who was a mommy. She was very defensive around our other cats until after the kittens found home and she was spayed. After that she was much more relaxed. She went from trying to kill the other cats to ignoring them.
It's not really Cowies fault if she perceives Medina as a predator. She's doing her job as a good mommy or potential mommy. Without extra hormones she's likely to do as my cat did and ignore your dog.
