Hi everyone... I just signed up to the forum and really need some help, which is why I'm posting!
I have two wonderful 6-year-old cats. They are both rescues (we got them as kittens, abandoned) and they came together, so they've lived happily and peacefully with each other for as long as they've been with us.
The problem is, we just got a new dog that we rescued. The cats have made it clear that they HATE dogs. Hate, hate, hate. We took this dog in because otherwise she would have gone to a kill shelter and she's SO cute that I couldn't resist. I'm determined to keep her, but the cats, at this point, are not looking very forgiving. They hiss whenever the dog gets near and try to scratch (NOT declawed)/bite her, so we've kept the dog in her crate when we can't watch her and keep her away from the cats when she's not in the crate. Of course, though... I don't want to keep her in the crate forever. I want her to be able to roam free.
Some more info: The rescue dog is a 3-year-old Chihuahua, very laid-back, nervous around cats but more curious than anything. Never bites or barks (she whines a bit when in her crate but that's normal crate-training behavior). The cats have NEVER been housed with a dog for an extended period of time.
Can anyone help with some advice, tips or tricks to get my silly cats to at least tolerate my new hopefully-permanent-resident dog?
I have two wonderful 6-year-old cats. They are both rescues (we got them as kittens, abandoned) and they came together, so they've lived happily and peacefully with each other for as long as they've been with us.
The problem is, we just got a new dog that we rescued. The cats have made it clear that they HATE dogs. Hate, hate, hate. We took this dog in because otherwise she would have gone to a kill shelter and she's SO cute that I couldn't resist. I'm determined to keep her, but the cats, at this point, are not looking very forgiving. They hiss whenever the dog gets near and try to scratch (NOT declawed)/bite her, so we've kept the dog in her crate when we can't watch her and keep her away from the cats when she's not in the crate. Of course, though... I don't want to keep her in the crate forever. I want her to be able to roam free.
Some more info: The rescue dog is a 3-year-old Chihuahua, very laid-back, nervous around cats but more curious than anything. Never bites or barks (she whines a bit when in her crate but that's normal crate-training behavior). The cats have NEVER been housed with a dog for an extended period of time.
Can anyone help with some advice, tips or tricks to get my silly cats to at least tolerate my new hopefully-permanent-resident dog?