We have a 6mo old spayed female Tabby that we adopted last week. We had previously adopted Muffin, who turned out to be terrified of dogs. We unfortunately had to give her back to the rescue as the situation seemed far too stressful for her. But, we were able to find Tabby, who was fostered with boxers, and we have a boxer, Roscoe, and so she has moved in quite easily with us. She will curl up and sleep with him, and he doesn't seem to mind her at all either. They coexist nicely. The problem that I am concerned with now is that almost every evening she seems to get very frisky with him and takes to swatting his face and sometimes even biting his chest and legs. He has not bitten her back yet, he usually just tries to get away from her, but she chases him and keeps going after him. And she will usually hiss at him as well. I have been reading about some of the cat behaviors and am wondering if I need to put her in a time out for this? I usually put him outside or in my daughter's room where I can shut the door to isolate them. I don't want him to feel punished though since he is not starting the problem. Other times during the day they will sniff around each other, but not really play. But this usually happens at the same time each evening. She does not show this kind of aggression towards us, just to him. What should we do? Thanks
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cat getting too aggressive with the dog
- Thread starter cj0626
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Sounds like a rather dominate kitten trying to show her much bigger companion who's boss - and wanting to play rough with him like she would another cat. He can't quite return that play himself so when he just takes it she gets urged on to just keep picking, simply because he's not responding as a cat would. If one cat gets too rough with another in play it'll get a smack across the head and likely bitten back.
Think of it a bit like two kids. One much younger who doesn't know that they shouldn't hit, kick, or pull hair, and one older who knows what will happen if they retaliate in any way.
Two solutions: redirect her play to you and toys and wear her out, thus giving poor Roscoe a break. Or get another cat, one close in age/size and energy level so that it can hold it's own against your very rowdy girl - I suggest a 6 month to 1 year old male kitten.
A time out won't get you very far since this is her just being a kitten. Likely, you could put her in a time out for 30 minutes and the moment you let her out she'd run right back to him and start antagonizing him again.
Think of it a bit like two kids. One much younger who doesn't know that they shouldn't hit, kick, or pull hair, and one older who knows what will happen if they retaliate in any way.
Two solutions: redirect her play to you and toys and wear her out, thus giving poor Roscoe a break. Or get another cat, one close in age/size and energy level so that it can hold it's own against your very rowdy girl - I suggest a 6 month to 1 year old male kitten.
A time out won't get you very far since this is her just being a kitten. Likely, you could put her in a time out for 30 minutes and the moment you let her out she'd run right back to him and start antagonizing him again.
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Agree with strange wings. Going for the legs and belly is a signal for "let's play!"
Offer Tabby more interactive play time from you at that time of evening, instead.
Offer Tabby more interactive play time from you at that time of evening, instead.
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- #4
Great suggestion. Husband got out the bird on a string and ran her crazy for about 45 min. She loved it and actually slept better last night. Didn't spend half the night meowing and climbing all over the bed. And let the dog go to bed without attacking him. We are going to start making it part of her evening routine and see if it helps. Thanks so much!
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OH yes, nightly Games is a must! My cats know what time Games commence around here and I'd better get off this machine and get started on time or ELSE!
Rotate toys. String on a stick Games are great but Tabby may get bored with it. Chasing the Crumpled Paper Ball is a good one, as is the Laser Pen Red Dot. My cats always enjoy a good rousing Game of Hike and Peek, too.
Tolly likes to play Fetch with his Fur Mice and Mazy cat likes to chase jingly balls.
Paper Bag Forts (cut off any handles) and Newspaper Tents also add variety.
Cats love to pounce on things they can't see, so Catch The Bump Under The Rug (or Newspaper) is also popular.
Use her cat tree (or get one if she doesn't have one) in the Games to encourage jumping and climbing and leaping. You are in for some real laughs every night! Nightly Games with your cat can be better than a sleeping pill, for all of you!
PS in addition to great fun, this habit will help keep Tabby fit and active, develop her personality and keep her mentally stimulated, and help you bond with her.
Rotate toys. String on a stick Games are great but Tabby may get bored with it. Chasing the Crumpled Paper Ball is a good one, as is the Laser Pen Red Dot. My cats always enjoy a good rousing Game of Hike and Peek, too.
Tolly likes to play Fetch with his Fur Mice and Mazy cat likes to chase jingly balls.
Paper Bag Forts (cut off any handles) and Newspaper Tents also add variety.
Cats love to pounce on things they can't see, so Catch The Bump Under The Rug (or Newspaper) is also popular.
Use her cat tree (or get one if she doesn't have one) in the Games to encourage jumping and climbing and leaping. You are in for some real laughs every night! Nightly Games with your cat can be better than a sleeping pill, for all of you!
PS in addition to great fun, this habit will help keep Tabby fit and active, develop her personality and keep her mentally stimulated, and help you bond with her.
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Make sure Roscoe gets his time, too. He sounds like a very good dog to be so tolerant of Tabby's antics.
Some people think boxers, and related breeds, can't live with cats because they'd hurt them.
Some people think boxers, and related breeds, can't live with cats because they'd hurt them.
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Originally Posted by strange_wings
Make sure Roscoe gets his time, too. He sounds like a very good dog to be so tolerant of Tabby's antics.
Some people think boxers, and related breeds, can't live with cats because they'd hurt them.
......
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- #8
Playtime last night helped. We are definitely learning that cats are polar opposites of dogs. Play for Roscoe can be an hour of fetch a stick. But Tabby needs lots of variety. We have built her a small cat tree while we are working on the bigger one. We are converting an old freestanding cabinet into a cat castle. Love the laser pen idea, the dog would love that one too. Thanks so much for the great input. I love this forum!
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You're welcome! by the way cats love card board boxes too. Some people have actually made cat condos out of boxes.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=212840
I hope you will post pictures of the cat tree and cat castle! They sound great!
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=212840
I hope you will post pictures of the cat tree and cat castle! They sound great!
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- #10
Will definitely put up pics when the castle is done. Tabby has not attacked the dog in two nights, she is loving her evening game time. She has started a new behavior that, although I feel is hysterical and cute, hubby might not be that excited. He plays the bird game with her, she plays better for him and that leaves me in charge of the nighttime routine with our daughters. Well, for two mornings now, we have been woken at 0600 to the sound of a bird stick being drug to his side of the bed, meowing the whole way! And, like the well trained people that we are, we get up, make coffee, and play chase the bird with the cat. Too cute.
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Aw, it might be a good idea to put that up, though. Just so you don't have to worry about her deciding to eat part of it.
I have one kitten that loves to play fetch with her crinkle balls. She won't leave me alone until she gets too tired to play anymore.
I have one kitten that loves to play fetch with her crinkle balls. She won't leave me alone until she gets too tired to play anymore.
Kudos to you for learning about your cat and meeting her needs. I get frustrated when people don't want to do the work and wish I read a lot more stories like yours. I give my cats cardboard boxes too. Here's a link to my old blog and a post about how my kitties and I played with them.
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- #13
Great thought strange_wings, I put the stick away where she couldn't find it last night. Finally got the cat house finished and moved in the den. She prefers her perch since she can watch the birds, but she is curious about it. We have a ramp from the bottom to the top and a hole cut out in the top for her to get topside. I figured the cost of the cat house in materials is $21 ($5 in carpet and $15 in rope.) We spent more on rope since we prefer the look of it to the carpet, and the cost of the perch in materials is $5. Not bad for some new cat digs. And kudos to all the TCS members-because of y'all, Tabby gets to keep her claws. I must ashamedly admit that we were going to declaw her, until I joined this forum and read more about it and actually educated myself. I would never consider declawing my dog, yet thought it was just what you did with an inside cat. So, claws stay, and we just keep building her more scratchy toys!
