Hi Everyone,
I am new to the forum and we have an 8yr old boxer male that we have owned for 7 yrs. A week ago, we adopted a cat from a local cat rescue. We have never owned a cat so I did a ton of reading before we got her. We have my bedroom and bathroom completely blocked off with baby gates so she has a "safe area". The first two days she was here, we had the doors closed and so she and the dog never saw each other. Now they can see each other and she seems terrified of him, understandably. He is a very submissive male and has not barked or growled at her. In fact the one time she ventured out into the den while he was there, he immediately laid down with his head between his paws and just looked at her. She continues to shake and hiss and swat at him if he gets too close to the gates. So my question is this. Is there anything else I can do to make her feel safer or make the transition easier? I realize it has only been a week and will take time, I just don't want to be missing something obvious here. He sleeps in my daughter's room, so she has the run of the house at night and I have heard her go out and venture, she just seems to not leave our room much during any other time, even when he is outside. Thanks for any input and sorry about the long post.
I am new to the forum and we have an 8yr old boxer male that we have owned for 7 yrs. A week ago, we adopted a cat from a local cat rescue. We have never owned a cat so I did a ton of reading before we got her. We have my bedroom and bathroom completely blocked off with baby gates so she has a "safe area". The first two days she was here, we had the doors closed and so she and the dog never saw each other. Now they can see each other and she seems terrified of him, understandably. He is a very submissive male and has not barked or growled at her. In fact the one time she ventured out into the den while he was there, he immediately laid down with his head between his paws and just looked at her. She continues to shake and hiss and swat at him if he gets too close to the gates. So my question is this. Is there anything else I can do to make her feel safer or make the transition easier? I realize it has only been a week and will take time, I just don't want to be missing something obvious here. He sleeps in my daughter's room, so she has the run of the house at night and I have heard her go out and venture, she just seems to not leave our room much during any other time, even when he is outside. Thanks for any input and sorry about the long post.
