Hello Cat Forum,
It's been awhile since I've been on. I'm having a problem with one of my cats though and I thought this would be the best place to answer.
QUICK BACK STORY
We have 3 indoor cats and a dog. The cats are around six years old and our dog is almost a year and a half. We've had them both since they were babies. When we got the dog, we set up a baby gate to our bedroom (the dog was not allowed in there, but the cats could go in and out) and taught the dog to respect the cats. He learned that if he approached them slowly, they would sometimes let him smell their butt or lick their ear before jumping away onto some piece of furniture. Up until a month ago, things were going well. All the cats tolerated him, shared the sofa with him and one of them would even cuddle with him.
PROBLEM
Our problem lies with our cat Tipsy. He is a spunky cat - very curious, very vocal, very smart. He was the first to be comfortable around the dog and would lie in the middle of the floor while we played ball with the dog, daring the dog to go around him. The dog is sweet, but a bit of a lug, and would sometimes bring Tipsy toys (and drop them on his head) or lay down right next to Tipsy and squish him or his tail. It was annoying to Tipsy and Tipsy soon started putting up his paw and swatting at him. This progressed to Tipsy swatting at him every time he even came close and then running up to him at times with his paw in the air. It is an aggressive move, but our dog is in no harm. The problem is our dog is a big wimp and shuts down when Tipsy enters the room. As soon as Tipsy jumps over that baby gate, he will run into the corner or under our legs and assume a submissive opinion. At first we just picked Tipsy up every time he confronted Oso, put him in the other room and closed the door for 5-10 minutes. Our other cats would have just eaten some food, drank water, gone on the kitty condo or found a place to lie down, but for Tipsy it's torture. He wants to be with us and sits by the door (sometimes scratching and meowing until we let him in). This stopped his behavior initially, but it's come back and gotten worse.
If it was the dog doing it, we would change things around so that he knows we are the leaders of the house (hand feed him, walk in the door before him, make him do a trick or sit for everything), but I don't know how to do this with cats. I noticed Tipsy was getting a bit possessive of a certain space by the window and was not only going after our dog when he was near it, but sometimes making the other cats move for the spot too. I simply moved furniture around so he no longer can take control of the spot.
Any ideas for making Tipsy feel a little less entitled? We don't mind him protecting himself, but he's bullying the dog. I'd love for him to be a bit more respectful of the dog since we all share this space. He is certainly feeling like he is in charge at the moment.
OSO MEETING THE CATS
SNOWBALL AND OSO SNUGGLING
It's been awhile since I've been on. I'm having a problem with one of my cats though and I thought this would be the best place to answer.
QUICK BACK STORY
We have 3 indoor cats and a dog. The cats are around six years old and our dog is almost a year and a half. We've had them both since they were babies. When we got the dog, we set up a baby gate to our bedroom (the dog was not allowed in there, but the cats could go in and out) and taught the dog to respect the cats. He learned that if he approached them slowly, they would sometimes let him smell their butt or lick their ear before jumping away onto some piece of furniture. Up until a month ago, things were going well. All the cats tolerated him, shared the sofa with him and one of them would even cuddle with him.
PROBLEM
Our problem lies with our cat Tipsy. He is a spunky cat - very curious, very vocal, very smart. He was the first to be comfortable around the dog and would lie in the middle of the floor while we played ball with the dog, daring the dog to go around him. The dog is sweet, but a bit of a lug, and would sometimes bring Tipsy toys (and drop them on his head) or lay down right next to Tipsy and squish him or his tail. It was annoying to Tipsy and Tipsy soon started putting up his paw and swatting at him. This progressed to Tipsy swatting at him every time he even came close and then running up to him at times with his paw in the air. It is an aggressive move, but our dog is in no harm. The problem is our dog is a big wimp and shuts down when Tipsy enters the room. As soon as Tipsy jumps over that baby gate, he will run into the corner or under our legs and assume a submissive opinion. At first we just picked Tipsy up every time he confronted Oso, put him in the other room and closed the door for 5-10 minutes. Our other cats would have just eaten some food, drank water, gone on the kitty condo or found a place to lie down, but for Tipsy it's torture. He wants to be with us and sits by the door (sometimes scratching and meowing until we let him in). This stopped his behavior initially, but it's come back and gotten worse.
If it was the dog doing it, we would change things around so that he knows we are the leaders of the house (hand feed him, walk in the door before him, make him do a trick or sit for everything), but I don't know how to do this with cats. I noticed Tipsy was getting a bit possessive of a certain space by the window and was not only going after our dog when he was near it, but sometimes making the other cats move for the spot too. I simply moved furniture around so he no longer can take control of the spot.
Any ideas for making Tipsy feel a little less entitled? We don't mind him protecting himself, but he's bullying the dog. I'd love for him to be a bit more respectful of the dog since we all share this space. He is certainly feeling like he is in charge at the moment.
OSO MEETING THE CATS
SNOWBALL AND OSO SNUGGLING
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