CAT ATTACKS SMALL DOG. HELP!************

Hi there,

I currently own a 7 month old Grey Tabby named Herbert and a 3 pound,  one year old chihuahua named Pixie. I owned Pixie almost 5 months before adopting Herbert who was a very small kitten at the time. Socializing them was easy and they soon began to play together, cuddle, and sleep next to each other. It became apparent we had no need to worry about them being aggressive towards each other so we started to let them have free rein of the house. In October, as Pixie and Herbert were playing, Pixie took a nasty fall and hit her head on the coffee table leading to severe head trauma. Thankfully, she snapped back and rehabilitated well after a few days spent in the hospital. But, after her accident, our cat didn't seem to like her anymore. He begin to start pouncing on her, biting her, which has lead to Pixie not liking him in return. We have tried to have them around each other, but Pixie becomes frightened and only wants held while our cat stares at her and charges her causing an uproar. When we don't have them together, Herbert is loving, a little wild, but behaves well. He uses the litter box perfectly, eats normally, drinks normally. He bites occasionally while playing, but other than that, has showed no other signs of aggression. He's a good boy!!

I'm at my wits end. It has become more frustrating as time goes on that I can not have my animals in the same room together which has lead to us separating them. I would like to know if there are any kinds of techniques I can use that can resocialize my animals so we can have a stress free household again. Please help me.

My guess is that H. noted the change in P. after the accident and took that as a sign of weakness.  Just as people do, he decided to take advantage and show who is ruling the house.

The only suggestion I have is I can post the website of an animal psychic we talked to in CA many years ago.  She was amazing telling us about the dog we picked up at the pound.

That sounds like an option. Please post the link and I'll take a look. Thank you!

I'm sorry about Pixie and glad to hear she has recovered!  

It isn't uncommon for animals' behavior towards each other to change after a vet visit or other change in their circumstances.  You might try the introduction process from the beginning, as if they hadn't met before.  Here's a good article on how to start the process:http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

It may take time and patience to get them to tolerate each other again.  

Thank you so much! I've been reading up on it and it's hard because we have spoiled Pixie so much. We will probably need to take her to some kind of obedience class. She knows commands but doesn't always listen (she's very independent), she doesn't walk on a leash very well either (she hates the feeling of it around her neck). It's become so hard to live with have to separate animals and make sure no one gets hurt. Thank you so much for your advice though.

I understand--many of us have been through the introduction or re-introduction process.  It's doubly frustrating when they were friends before and you have to start over.  

I have a cat now who 'lives' separately from our other cats.  We're working on getting her to be part of the tribe but it's a slow process.

Let us know how it goes.

Cats sometimes get upset when a companion goes to the vet, because the smell of the hospital makes the companion unrecognizable. It's also a valid point that the dog's behavior

may be subtly different.

As you go through the reintroduction process, wash things that got contaminated with vet smell (the carrier, blankets?) and you might want 

to put a Feliway diffuser in the house to bring in pleasant odors. Don't rush. Plan on keeping the animals separated for a month or longer, and let it be a pleasant surprise if the relationship recovers sooner.