Cats and dogs

[Lucy West]

I'm delighted to report that things with my recently adopted cocker, Toffee, continue to go well.    

However, the one thing that slightly distresses us is that our cat is suffering from the new addition to our family.  I'd heard/read that cats are supposed to lord it over new dogs, but our cat doesn't seem to be asserting her rightful place.  At first, Toffee ignored the cat, but, now, whenever Toffee spots her, she chases and barks at her.  Her tail wags while she's doing it, so I imagine she means to be playful, but our cat is upset and hardly dares come out of the one room we've designated as a safe house.  When she's chased, all the cat manages to do is take to the high ground and hiss.  It's severely restricting her previous run of the house (which only Toffee now enjoys).  

We've been trying to discourage Toffee, but have so far not succeeded.  Is it best that we don't restrain Toffee and perhaps the cat will eventually take a swipe at her, which might command Toffee's respect?  Is there anything else we might do?                    

[munners]

Hi Lucy

ihave six cats which were all here before the two dogs at first my dogs would chase the cats at every opportunity they thought it was a great game.But now they are fine i always would stop the dogs so they knew it was not on the cats are not toys.And i am sure the cats let then know this aswell.They now eat from the same bowl and the cats sleep with the dogs infact the dogs get greeted by the cats first now when they come into the room.I would suggest you just keep telling toffee no and give her something else to do and she should soon get bored with the cat game it worked for me.



                            good luck
                                       
                                   Nicki                    

[viv]

Lucy,

When William (14mths) came to our house we had and still have 2 cats...one is a very dominant cat and stood her ground and with in days William knew to give her a wide berth.  Leo.(the other cat) gives it the big one outside with other cats but turned to jelly when faced with William...who give him his due really only wants to say hello to them... Leo would bolt out of the cat flap whenever the dog came within miles of him, i even said out loud that if it didn't settle down soon William would have to go back (with fingers crossed). I decided to shut the cat flap so Leo couldn't get out and made him face up to William, which he did and William found he was very low in the pecking order of the house.

Had Willy a few months now and every thing is peaceful..they don't sleep with each other but Willy is allowed to sniff them but if he oversteps the mark he is told off...by the cats not me
They sort it out themselves it just takes time...

Viv                    

[Christine]

I'm glad this has been brought up as when we collect our new puppy it is one thing that has been worrying me when it comes to how our cat reacts to him, our cat is the same she has the run of the house at the moment, she has never been bothered with the other animals I have (Fish, Rabbitt, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Chinchilla) I know I have a lot .  I am glad that there are success stories out of this, I just hope we get one!                    

[Inca]

Hi Christine
We have two cats that where here before Inca arrived. It might take a couple of days but they will eventually sort out there own pecking order. I would discourage the pup from chasing the cats though. A few firm no's and he will get the message.

Incas mum                    

[Fran]

I have not had as much luck as you all

I have had Suzie since April last year.  My cat Sniff is still TERRIBLE!!!  (I did at one time have 2 cats but the other one left home eventually and moved in with a neighbour because Sniff was also so horrible to her!).   I have tried everything to change Sniff's attitude but she refuses to relent!  Suzie does not even pay her much attention but the cat lashes out and hisses all the time.  She refuses to come downstairs unless Icarry her (which end's up with me being scratched) or she spends her time in the downstairs bathroom.  This sometimes end's up with Sniff not eating her food some days or doing her 'business' in the shower or bath!!!!   There seems no way to resolve this awful situation at all!

Can anyone offer a very upset Fran and Sniff advise?
                     

[Mike]

Was your cat always a bit 'anti-social', for want of a better word, Fran? If so, that's her basic personality, and there might not be much you can do except live with it, and keep the cat as much as possible out of Suzie's way. Some cats are just like that

I've got two cats, both were here before either of the dogs. Manoon the eldest could be considered 'anti-social', since she walks through the house hissing and grumbling at the other cat and the dogs - it;s as if she's saying "dont even bother, talk to the hand!"   She always was that way though. The other cat, on the other hand, sleeps and plays with the dogs as if she were one herself.

By the way, Manoon is my favourite... what does that say about me?!   In fact, here she is... (excuse the dribble  )                    

[Fran]

Thanks for your reply Mike.....

I adopted  the 2 cats  from the RSPCA and I think they were having a laugh when they told me they were sisters so they couldn't be seperated!  Sniff drove the other cat away by much the same way she is treating Suzie.  Sniff is lovely as long as she is getting all the attention.  To put it mildly... yes she is one 'anti-social' cat (not with humans though)  My children, my mum and my sister think it is cruel to keep her as she is obviously so 'unhappy' but I would be to upset to send her back to the RSPCA to be re-homed, so as you suggested I think we will all just have to carry on as we are.  (My real worry is that one day she might actually catch Suzie with her claws in her eyes).                    

[Christine]

Hi Fran, it looks like your in a bit of a mess, I hope we dont have the same problem, our cat could also been said to be 'anti social'.  I dont know if this is good advice or not, but have you tried putting them in a room together to maybe prove to your cat that Suzie is no threat to her?  Give her lots of attention when your in the room to show their is no favouritism to Suzie  I hope things get better, keep us updated and dont stop trying, you should get there in the end (I hope)                    

[Mike]

Have you got a catflap Fran, so Sniff can escape if she feels the need?

Putting them in the room together, under your supervision (especially if Sniff is wont to get her claws out  ), can sometimes work and is definitely worth a try, but some cats dont like being forced to do something they really dont want to do - it sounds that Sniff is going to deal with this in her own way and over a longer period of time, I think.

If Sniff continues to not eat food or do her business in the litter tray because she's afraid of having to get past the dog - then I have a friend who's got a litter tray and food upstairs as well as down, to help make the cats life a little easier.                    

[Fran]

Thanks Christine & Mike....

I have a cat flap, I have tried many times having them in the same room together.  I think I have tried everything.  After 7 months of 'trying' I really feel it's not going to happen.  I have done the thing with leaving Sniff's food upstairs or whichever bathroom she is hiding in but I think that might be just encouraging her more in her in her behaviour.  I don't think I could deal with having a litter tray upstairs though.  I do also worry that Sniff is not getting enough to eat.  Ohh, the other really annoying thing is she cries at the front door (usually around 3.00am!!!!!) to be let in other than use the cat flap.

Fran :-                    

[Anita]

We have had the problems with the cat getting used to the new puppy. It has gone better than we thought it would.

I think our cat (Holly) is ok when she's in a good mood, but she can be a bit baggy. She's always been very people orientated and since she lost her brother we were the centre of her world.

We try and give her some quality time when Phoebe is out or in the kitchen drying off!

Holly goes from sitting 2 inches away from Phoebe or spending all day upstairs out of the way.

I am just letting her do her own thing so she feels most comfortable. Holly was here first.                    

[munners]

Hi Fran

My eldest cat is just the same with all the other cats and the dogs she would look through the window rather than come in through the cat flap asking to come in.We would then go though the routine of carrying her up to my room where we even started to feed her.Late one night i was making tea in the kitchen out of site of the cat flat and in came Remi as she walked past the dogs she gave the dogs a kiss i was speechless all that time we thought she was afraid she was getting us at it.we now pay no attention when she acts up so she just gets on with it and is now eating with all of then she is still the boss as far as she is concerned but like us they ignor her now so give it time  you never know.


                                  nicki                    

[Mike]

Your story just made me smile, Nicki  

In the end, I also mostly left my cat to her own devices, in the belief that she'd change her behaviour if she wanted to. Curiosity gets the better of them in the end - especially if you dont force anything on them.

Manoon's best described as an outdoor cat, in that all summer we never see her except at feeding time. She even sleeps outside. During the winter she does come in reluctantly, and I've seen her many times in the hallway staring longingly at the lounge door, but still too hesitant to come in.

Recently, she's started to come in of her own accord, and just walk into the centre of the room, look around to see where the dogs (and other cat) are, one hiss just to make sure they leave her alone, then she'll make herself comfortable. Considering how independant and 'anti-social' she is, I'm happy with this                      

[Fran]

Hi all,

The last posts on this topic were in January when I was having a nightmare time with my cat... FINALLY all is now happy (but only over the last couple of weeks!)  They both sit in the kitchen next to each other looking at me at 'treat' time. The cat now quite happily walks past Suzie without worrying.  The only time the cat still snarls is when Suzie keeps dropping one of her many tennis balls infront of the cat thinking she is going to throw it for her to catch (bless!)