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My cat's gone mad because of a dog

post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 
Hi. I have 1 year old female cat. For the first few months of her stay at my place (I took her home when she was just ~1.5 months old) she liked me - we played a lot, and she used to sleep on my bed. But now our relations with each other -I don't know why- are much worse... She noticeably prefers my mother, and rarely jumps onto my laps or sleeps with me. There's one strange behaviour of hers, though. Whenever i try to pet her (she doesn't like it), she licks my hand, and when I 'fight' with her (gently) using my hand, she also licks me after some biting.
But it's been a nice cat anyway, until yesterday. A dog was brought to my house for a day. First encounter was like "O_O ... grr..." and she ran with light speed upstairs and hid deeply in my room, behind the desk. She was sitting there for a few hours, hissing and scratching when I tried to pull her out. Now she walks freely around the room, but is afraid of going out. I think she's gone mad - she growls and meows from time to time without a reason, and she's aggressive whenever somebody tries to reach her.
Is there any way I can fix my cat?
post #2 of 6
Just let her be. She's had a trauma and needs time to recover.

She does have a reason for hissing and growling. She was faced with the dog which frightened and upset her. The smell of the dog will linger for a day or two and will continue to remind her of her scare.

Pulling her out of hiding only makes things worse, let her hide and feel safe. She will come out when she is ready.

Do sit in the room with her quietly talking to her, and offer to play with her with a string on a stick or other favorite toy, but don't force her to come to you.

Don't use your hands to play with your cat. Toys only. Using hands teaches bad habits, you teach her that it is okay to bite and kick and scratch humans. use a stuffed animal or crumpled paper or other toy.

Welcome to TCS. If your little girl isn't spayed yet, it's time to get that done.
post #3 of 6
A threatening animal was brought into HER territory. Some cats can't handle change. She's scared. It's only been one day...give her some time.

I would advise that you don't force her to do anything. Bring her food, water, and litter. Leave the door open. She'll leave when she's comfortable. Lure her with treats if you like, but do NOT pull her out of the room. That will just result in it taking longer.

If it persists through the whole weekend, might want to call your vet for advice and/or try some of the over the counter calming medicines.

When I moved into my new house, it took like a week for my one cat to come out of the basement! He hates change.
post #4 of 6
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your answers. Cat is okay now.
post #5 of 6
Thanks for the update! Glad all is well.
post #6 of 6
Pls next time lock the cat up in a safe room before bringing in the dog.
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