I don't know what to do....please help

Little Sashka spends these days in an almost permanent state of anxiety since we got the dogs. Sunday is fine with them - she grew up with dogs and is used to them. Even when Ruby chases her she just turns around and hisses and swats and then goes back to sleep, but Sashka gets to the highest possible place in the house whenever she even catches a whiff of the dogs and stays there until I go to her. Last night she got up on top of the highest built-in cupboard in the kitchen - her little ears were touching the ceiling, and when I got her down she spent the next five minutes growling at me every time I went near her - which she has NEVER done. Initially (when she was still up there) she was purring and loving when I went to her, and I know she wasn't ready to come down but she had to have her worm and flea treatment and unfortunately I just had to get her down.

Generally when I do go to her, she is very affectionate - head butts me, purrs, shows me her belly - behaviours that she isn't normally wont to display - and she still loves and trusts me, and wants cuddles.

It's just that two puppies take up a lot of time and effort, and I feel that I have been neglecting that cats lately because of this.

I adore my girls and I don't want them to be unhappy - does anyone have any advice on how I can get Sashka more used to the dogs being around (she's not too scared of Chester because he tends to sniff at her and leave her alone, but Ruby terrifies her) and also make her feel safer and less vulnerable? I am quite miserable about it...

Sarah, this article may help: http://www.thecatsite.com/Cats/Cat_B...s_to_Dogs.html

You could also try a Feliway plug-in (you can get them for dogs too, they're called DAP): http://www.catsplay.com/feliway.php3 .

Australian site: http://www.petalia.com.au/templates/...?Story_No=1763 and http://www.vetstop.com.au/info/feliway.htm

http://www.psol.com.au/aus/Others.ht...mone_Diffusers


and Bach Flower Essences: http://www.catfaeries.com/essences.html (to find out which one (or combination) is needed).

Australian site: http://greenpet.com.au/default.php?c...a2b80d25de94f1 .

you could try positive reinforcement. whenever the dogs come around (and ONLY when they do, for a while at least), give her one of her favorite treats so that she begins to associate the dogs with something good. even if she's hiding at the time, try to give her a treat.

also, make sure she has plenty of high places she can get to so she feels safe, and try to avoid getting her down from there. she wants to feel like you can't get to her. would it have been possible to give her the medicine the next morning when she had come down on her own?

Yes, but I have been leaving her till she's ready before giving her the meds anyway, and everywhere she goes she leaves little white flea eggs - we needed to flea bomb the house last night and we couldn't do that until she had been treated. It was kind of urgent but otherwise I would definitely have left her.

After I did it, though, she stopped growling and gave me a kiss. Weird...