Adopted 3 year old shin tzu and our beautiful 7 year old cat fluffy -help

amelia guillet

amelia guillet

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2 days ago we got a shin tzu that is three years old. I read that shin tzus are generally ok with cats...but not this one! She barks and scares out beautiful black fluffy 7 year old cat called fluffy - who is very flighty. He runs and the dog gives chase. We have had a couple of traumatic encounters but so far no contact.  We have to hold the dog back - then the dog continues to bark ... alert and searching for t he cat for up to 5 minutes. the poor cat is petrified and has no respite as the dog can climb on the couch and chairs! Even the table isn't safe. Our poor cat has gone from comfortably lolling about the house at leisure to being a fugitive in his own home. Anyway tonight we tried an encounter with the dog on the lead. The dog didn't bark at first and the cat ran off but stopped when out of sight. This is an improvement. Any way my questions are:

Is there any hope that this cat and dog will get along..or at least ignore each other?

What should I do to make this is safe and stress free for the cat? 

I am thinking we may need to return the dog...which would be a shame as my kids love her...we all do... just not our poor cat. Hoping I can make this work.
 
Columbine

Columbine

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A lot of training is needed to successfully teach an adult dog to live with cats for the first time...especially flighty cats. The dog has to learn to sit, stay, come, no or leave, and maybe watch very quickly. The best way to do this is clicker training. Fluffy will never be able to relax until the dog has a solid grounding on basic obedience.

Until this is achieved, dog and cat should never be loose in the same room. Training leads can be really helpful, as you can tether the dog to you easily and so be able to instantly correct unwanted behaviour. A dog crate is a good idea too...that way Fluffy can get used to the dog without feeling too threatened.

The other thing I'd suggest is to make a lot of vertical space available by using cat trees, cat shelves etc. This way Fluffy will be able to get into a safe observation position and will hopefully gain a little confidence that way.

These articles may help too:-

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/caring-for-cats-and-dogs

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-keep-the-dog-out-of-the-cat-s-food-and-vice-versa
 
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2cats4me

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Amelia Guillet said:
 
2 days ago we got a shin tzu that is three years old. I read that shin tzus are generally ok with cats...but not this one! She barks and scares out beautiful black fluffy 7 year old cat called fluffy - who is very flighty. He runs and the dog gives chase. We have had a couple of traumatic encounters but so far no contact.  We have to hold the dog back - then the dog continues to bark ... alert and searching for t he cat for up to 5 minutes. the poor cat is petrified and has no respite as the dog can climb on the couch and chairs! Even the table isn't safe. Our poor cat has gone from comfortably lolling about the house at leisure to being a fugitive in his own home. Anyway tonight we tried an encounter with the dog on the lead. The dog didn't bark at first and the cat ran off but stopped when out of sight. This is an improvement. Any way my questions are:

Is there any hope that this cat and dog will get along..or at least ignore each other?

What should I do to make this is safe and stress free for the cat? 

I am thinking we may need to return the dog...which would be a shame as my kids love her...we all do... just not our poor cat. Hoping I can make this work.
Click to expand...
We have 3 dogs one of which is a Shih Tzu . She also likes to chase cats . Our female cat Mei Li is a not afraid of the dogs at all , if they bug her she will just look them right in the eye and whack'em . Our male cat does not care for the dogs at all . The cat have  their own room . It has a gate up to the doorway  , cats can come and go as they please but the dogs cannot .  It is a "safe place " for the cats to go . This is also where they eat , where their litter box is .. Perhaps you can create a  " safe room " for your cat . It may take quite some time for the two to adjust .. When your dog does chase the the cat distract the dog by saying " No Chase " or something similar  . Honestly , she may never stop completely but they should get used to each other in time .
 
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