Cat to dog aggression, then redirected aggression

Hi all,

I need a bit of help with a problem I'm having.

I have two, recently adopted (well, technically one is still a foster) male cats. One male, Lera, is about 4 y/o, and neutered, though he was neutered late in life. He has been neutered for about 6 months. He was a stray from the shelter and had obviously been an outdoor cat most, if not all, his life. Frank is my foster cat and he's about 3 y/o and was only neutered a month ago. Same thing, a stray at the shelter who had been outside most, if not his whole life.

I have three dogs. My three dogs are very cat saavy and do not antagonize or stare at the cats. They have all been taught that kitties are off limits and I am 100% confident that the dogs are not purposefully starting any trouble. The cats don't love the dogs but are content to ignore them and the cats don't avoid the common living areas because of the dogs. When their bedroom door is open they spend 99% of their time out in the living room area. They are not allowed out of the bedroom when no one is home (ie the dogs and the cats are never left unattended).

I am having trouble with Frank cat attacking my dogs and then attacking Lera.

Here's what has happened: In one incident one of my dogs came and laid on my bed. The cats ignored her. When she jumped down to leave, Frank attacked her, Lera jumped in as back up and then Frank attacked Lera. I get the redirected aggression and I can even understand why they went after my dog--she startled them when she got up.

Then, just now, I was making some tuna salad and the cats came over to beg and so did my dog (the same one Frank previously attacked). Frank attacked her, chasing her and going at her face. Lera joined in and then they BOTH went after her, attacking her and each other. I dumped a bottle of water on them to get them off of her. (she was cowering in a corner)

Luckily, no one was hurt.

Obviously this is inappropriate and dangerous for everyone involved. My hypothesis is Frank is scared of the dogs and goes on the offensive (he is a former tom cat). Both incidents seem to be triggered by proximity and movement. (jumping of *his* bed and running to get *his* tuna) He will hiss at the dogs if they get too close--I have always allowed this because in my house "the cat is always right and the dog is always wrong" and I let my cats set their parameters and expect the dogs to listen.

I need suggestions on how to deal with this. It's scary for me and my poor dog LT is already a 'fraidy dog--I don't want to torture her. At the same time, I want to adopt Frank permanently because he and Lera get along fantastically and I just really like him. I am going to get a Feliway diffuser tomorrow (pay day!) and I was thinking about some rescue remedy--is that safe for cats?

Any other behavior modification ideas?

Thanks if you made it this far!

Paige

Originally Posted by Fats McGee

Obviously this is inappropriate and dangerous for everyone involved. My hypothesis is Frank is scared of the dogs and goes on the offensive (he is a former tom cat). Both incidents seem to be triggered by proximity and movement. (jumping of *his* bed and running to get *his* tuna) He will hiss at the dogs if they get too close--I have always allowed this because in my house "the cat is always right and the dog is always wrong" and I let my cats set their parameters and expect the dogs to listen.

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Frank is not afraid of dogs. He is being bossy and territorial, very normal for the top cat. I too have dogs and they are also placed in the lower levels of the pecking order. Being pack animals, they don't mind and are quite contented being fed, petted and played with last. I think that is what you should do. Avoid having dogs and cats together during meal times, play times and even bed times. You can either alternate the bedroom for their use or make it exclusive to one animal species. On the other hand, the rescue remedy is safe for cats. A lot of members here successfully use it. Things will probably improve and you may not have to separate your animals at all.
Hope other members can give more suggestions.
Good luck.