Cat terrified of new dog

Hi everyone, new here and really in need of some advice.

We picked up a lovely 2 year old male Pomeranian on Saturday and since then, my cats life has been absolutely awful. She's 1 year old, very feisty and stubborn, never been afraid to do what she wants but also very loving. She enjoys playing with other cats, and has never seemed scared of our neighbours big labrador when it barks or comes near her. When looking into getting a dog, I did a lot of research on which breeds were best with cats, and poms came out as one of the best, which was perfect as they fit well with our lifestyle too.

The little man came from a home with a cat and didn't seem bothered by it at all, which made us feel positive about the meeting. How wrong we were! We left his home with a blanket covered with the his scent and agreed to go back and pick him up a few days later so the cat could at least have the opportunity to get used to the dog smell. I saw her as the one that would hiss and growl at him to start off with and he'd learn to stay away, although she's never displayed those behaviours near us, she's also never hidden away or shown she was scared of anything. The day we got her, she came straight over to us and curled onto my OHs lap, she has never hidden. We knew it would be hard for her but I never expected her to be so scared, she's absolutely terrified and it's breaking my heart to see her like that, I can't stop crying about it. 

Every time he sees her, he chases her and barks (or yaps as he's so little, smaller than her) so I have to tell him off and try to comfort her. She's hiding upstairs all the time and won't come down, unless it's to go outside. She's barely eating and her hair is falling out a lot more than usual. All I want to do is hug her and comfort her, I'm so stressed about the whole situation, I'm terrified she won't come home and I cannot imagine my life without her! I'm so tempted to take the dog back, I don't want to ruin my cats life or her health to impacted by this but I also really wanted a dog for a long time. He's also become overly attached to me within 24 hours, he will not leave my side, which gives me no time to spend with the cat. Luckily she's always slept on our bed and he's too small to jump up onto it so bed is out of bounds for him, she's free to continue sleeping there and it's where we can give her some comfort. 

She makes these really low, deep moaning sounds that I've never heard from her before. I realise that we've turned her life upside down but I really really thought she would be angry, not terrified for her life. I believe he just wants to play with her but she obviously doesn't know that. She was such a happy little cat and now I've ruined her life and I can't cope with it. 

Has anyone got any advice on what to do? Will it get better for my cat and any tips to help her be less scared? I don't want to give up on the dog because he is so lovely normally, it's just this one thing but it is incredibly important to me!

Sorry for the long post, I just hope someone has some tips or has experienced something similar and can tell me it will get better for my beautiful girl!

You need to keep the cat and dog separate unless supervised. Additionally, I would keep the dog on lead at all times until he leans not to chase. A training lead that means he can be attached to you but leaves your hands free is a good idea, and can be really helpful in these cases. I'd also recommend obedience classes and home training to ensure the dog learns a really solid 'sit' 'down' 'stay' 'come' and 'leave' or 'no'.

You could also look at getting a dog crate so that when you're not around the cat can get used to the dog whilst knowing that the dog can't get to her (note: I wouldn't suggest crating a dog for a whole day, but a couple of hours is fine). I used the crate method when introducing my greyhound to life with cats, and it worked very well.

Lastly, make sure your cat has access to plenty of vertical space so she can get out of reach but can still observe the dog safely. Daily interactive playtime will help build her confidence again too.

Do me sure the dog gets plenty of exercise and stimulation too - a bored dog is far more likely to cause trouble than a tired dog.

[article="29827"][/article][article="29682"][/article][article="0"][/article][article="0"][/article][thread="297074"][/thread]