Cat, meet dog

Reznik

We have to take care of a dog for the forseeable future, a roughly 8 year od lhasa apso who isn't used to cats. My cat is a grumpy 11 year old lady who isn't used to dogs.

Now, the dog is perfectly fine. All he does is get really excited and jumpy when he sees the cat, and tries to chase her, but as soon as she's out of sight he doesn't really care and just goes about his business.

But, my cat is terrified and I feel really bad for her. She's gone completely silent and just moves from one hiding spot to the next, completely on edge and waiting for this dog to come at her.

Right now we have the cat with food, litter box and blanket in the basement with the stairs blocked off so the dog can't get down to her. She usually hangs around in the basement anyways, but even though she's 'safe' from the dog she's still totally freaked out.

What can I do to make my cat not scared, and the dog not chase her?

Esh

Old dog. Old cat. New tricks.

Good luck.

How long do you have the dog for? Is it worth keeping it to make your cat's life miserable?

Reznik

Esh wrote: »

Old dog. Old cat. New tricks.

Good luck.

Did you mean "unforseeable future"? How long do you have the dog for? Is it worth keeping it to make your cat's life miserable?

Well, it's my grandpa's dog. He's just gone into the hospital and won't be coming out. As far as I know there's nobody else in the family willing or able to take the dog, though everyone's quite attached to him.

In any case, this would be a bad time for me to bring up the subject of giving the dog away. So let's say we've got him for probably 3 months at least.

Esh

Well, just keep them separated I suppose. Lavish some extra treats on the cat and give her extra attention. Maybe put the dog out back sometimes and let the cat come upstairs for a bit.

Maybe over time the dog will get over it.

Al_wat

try to expose them to each other gradually.

Esh

Al_wat wrote: »

try to expose them to each other gradually.

Did you read what happens whenever the dog even sees the cat?

Al_wat

Ok let me try to elaborate.

An idea that could work for gradual introduction is: put the cat (or the dog) in a cage. Introduce the other animal. Only do this for a few minutes at a time, I'm not saying like permanently keep the animal in there or even do it for hours.

yes, they will freak out. But its about trying to get them used to each other. Its not an instant process, and truthfully might not even work.

I'm not some animal expert, but that's what i would try, and then see what happens from there.

Bliss 101

Be glad the lhasa apso isn't fucking dead. Frightened cats often respond with violence, and a small lap dog wouldn't stand a chance in that fight.

Al_wat's suggestion might work, as long as it's the dog inside the cage. Caging the cat would not end well. But honestly I'm of the opinion that an 11 year old cat is too old to be exposed to such stress. Adult cats do not respond well to major changes in their environment. I'd find someone else to take care of the dog.

Kistra

How long have you had the dog?

The dog is contributing to your cat's fear. You are going to have much more of a chance to get your cat to be calm and not scared around the dog if the dog is calm around the cat.

You want to get it so that each of them are blase about the existence of the other. Try rubbing each animal with a towel and put the towel in the room with the other animal that way they can at least smell each other and get used to the smells without the actual other animal being around.

Figgy

Esh wrote: »

Al_wat wrote: »

try to expose them to each other gradually.

Did you read what happens whenever the dog even sees the cat?

And that's how puppies usually react to cats too, but you can train them otherwise. Contrary to what Ghostbusters has taught us, cats and dogs living together doesn't have to be mass hysteria.

Treat this the same way you would treat introducing any two animals into a household. Gradually. The first step is putting a closed door between them and introducing them through the crack under the door. Let them sniff each other (if the cat will, without just bolting away from the door).

LadyM

The first thing you need to do is not let the dog chase the cat. Ever. Chasing the cat = fun for the dog, and every time it happens the dog becomes more convinced that this is an awesome and appropriate way to respond to cats. When the dog and cat are in the same vicinity, keep a leash on the dog and grab it up if you think the dog is going to chase. Also, start training the dog to calm down. This will involve rewarding the dog (bits of hot dog will do it) when it's calm and listening to you.

Figgy

I would look into a better alternative for rewards than bits of hot dog. There's nothing in there that a dog needs, and actual dog treats aren't much more expensive than a pack of hot dogs.

Alternatively, you could make your own.

harry.timbershaft

Esh wrote: »

Al_wat wrote: »

try to expose them to each other gradually.

Did you read what happens whenever the dog even sees the cat?

Sheesh. Have you ever been in this situation? I have. Expose them gradually - if there's a chance it's going to work, that's the right way to do it. Give them something to focus on, when introducing them, that's not each other - like treats for both of them.

Reznik

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. So far I've tried the bit with the towels like Kistra suggested. I'm going to get some cat treats and then see about introducing them while keeping the dog on a leash. We have a harness for my cat, too. Should I use that? She absolutely hates it though so I don't know if it would make things worse or not. But I have a feeling that even with the dog on a leash and treats in front of her, the cat's just going to bolt upstairs and hide under a bed the second I bring her anywhere near the dog.

Kistra

Reznik wrote: »

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. So far I've tried the bit with the towels like Kistra suggested. I'm going to get some cat treats and then see about introducing them while keeping the dog on a leash. We have a harness for my cat, too. Should I use that? She absolutely hates it though so I don't know if it would make things worse or not. But I have a feeling that even with the dog on a leash and treats in front of her, the cat's just going to bolt upstairs and hide under a bed the second I bring her anywhere near the dog.

Do you live with anyone else? Because when you start out you want them far enough apart that where the first animal just barely notices the other and that won't be close enough for you to give treats to both of them.

If not, you might want to just walk the dog past the room that the cat is in a couple of times a day on leash while treating the dog for looking at you and walking nicely beside you and throw a couple of treat in for the cat (without the dog noticing?). Most likely, this won't be enough for the dog to notice the cat, but the cat will notice the dog and the fact that good things appear every time the dog does.

Awk

In all honesty, you have a 11 year old cat. You're ruining her life by bringing in this dog. Find a different caretaker for the dog. This isnt going to work. None of this "put the cat in a cage and slowly introduce them". She will hate the dog til the afterlife.

And dont bring out the cat leash, she will only associate the hatred of being in it with the dog.

Reznik

Unfortunately it's not my choice to have this dog. Not my house. My mom brought him in. And like I said before, no one else in the family is stepping up to take care of the dog.

I think the cat is starting to get used to the idea of a dog being in the house, just hearing all the noises but not actually seeing the dog. I'm hoping that she'll relax a bit over the next couple of days if she doesn't actually come into any contact with the dog. With the whole gradual introduction strategy, how long should I give it before I decide it's just not working? I don't want to push it if it's just going to stress the cat out more.

I guess I'll just give her lots of tuna and treats and make sure the dog doesn't get past the barrier into the basement. My mom at least acknowledges this isn't fair to the cat at all, so I'm hoping she'll be able to give the dog to somebody else soon.

VisionOfClarity

When introducing new animals the old animal is supposed to have free run of the house while the new one is confined to a room. Keeping the cat cordoned off alone while the dog hangs out with the fam is not helping things. Honestly, the poor thing is miserable and if your mother insists on keeping the dog then you should rehome the cat with someone who will take care of her.

Bliss 101

Frankly I think your cat is in a horrible situation, like I said earlier, but if this is how things have to be, then do everything you can to make the cat feel like she's still the queen of the house. It's her home and territory, and she has nowhere else to go. She does not understand the dog's body language, she's never even seen such a creature before, and being a cat she has no rational faculties to help her deal with the situation. She probably feels a bit like Ellen Ripley on the Nostromo right now. Cats can suffer extreme health problems because of stress, and like I mentioned earlier (with just a little bit of hyperbole, ahem), she may end up causing serious harm to the dog if the dog corners her.

Your best bet is to train the dog to not chase the cat, through positive reinforcing, although this will have to involve restricting the movements of the dog at first. Do not compromise the cat's territory. She must be allowed to go pretty much everywhere she normally likes to go. Most importantly, she must have access to you guys; if you shun her, she'll figure she's been evicted from the "clan".

Restrict the dog to some location the cat doesn't normally care about. From there, you can start the training, but the focus of the training needs to be: I'm training this dog to enter a cat's territory and behave with respect. Mind you, this is not a statement of "cats > dogs" or "the cat was there first"; all I'm saying is, the needs of one species are easier to meet than the other's. Dogs prioritize their social group (their "pack"); cats prioritize territory. This is the fundamental difference between their species. They might start getting along great if you give them both what they need.

Red Raevyn

Our cat was about 6 when we rescued a 55-pound Pitbull/Bulldog/Boxer/?? mix. Our dog is amazing with people and very obedient in general, but because his first (abusive) owners were shitheads, he isn't well socialized with other animals. For the first few days he was ok with our cat, but when she tried to eat his food one night (the cat is... well, a cat, and food > self-preservation) we found ourselves at square 1, with him wanting to chase the catburger at all costs.

Now, they regularly sleep next to each other on the couch. Here's my advice based on my experience.

1. Bliss is right that you need to make this work around the cat. Why?

• She was there first (it's an invasion for her, whereas for the dog it's "ooh new place to be".
• She's the prey.
• Dogs are more easily trained than cats

2. The dog should be constrained all the time until he does not want to chase the cat.

• This means he should be kept in a room or part of the house (not the cat!) in general, and be on a leash when there are times where you want to work together. We kept our dog in one room with a gate for 2 years while they gradually adjusted and he learned to not pay attention to the cat. (We probably could have done it in one year, but there were other factors unrelated to the pets)
• We did bring them out together whenever we could pay attention to them, with the dog on a leash. If he lunged at the cat, or wouldn't chill out and stop giving her the "OMGOMGOMGOMG" eyes, he went back in his room. If we were playing video games or something and couldn't pay full attention, he was in his room.
• It's good to use something that can be seen through like a gate or screen door, so that the two animals are seeing and smelling each other.
• There is a big difference between not chasing the cat, and not wanting to chase the cat. The latter is far more important.

3. Work with them whenever you can.

• The more often you can work with them, the quicker the process will go. It sounds like your dog doesn't have a terribly strong drive to chase, so your timetable may be more focused on the cat being ok with the dog.
• Teach the dog to do other things with the cat present, when possible.
• When the dog starts to chase the cat, stop it and have it lay down.

4. Monitor yourself.

Dogs are incredibly receptive to your mood. I feel like I spent as much time teaching my wife as my dog. When she got tense and expected him to be aggressive towards the cat, it usually happened. They both needed to relax before we had a shot.

5. Be prepared to never succeed.

These are animals, and like people they all have personalities, etc. 11 years is a long time for a cat, and some cats are just !@#$ers. Even if the cat never adapts and ignores the dog completely, it will always be your/the dog's (your) responsibility to not force the cat to live in an environment where it never knows when a fluffy destroyer is going to pop out from around the corner.

Of utmost importance: Go read at least one of Cesar Millan's books. He's very insightful and I guarantee you that you learn from it. I think it is especially important little dog owners - it's very easy to treat them like cats/stuffed animals, but they need to be treated as dogs.

phoxphyre

Red Raevyn wrote: »

<snip -- brilliance>

The advice that Raevyn gave is the best I've seen. We have done this for all our cat-to-cat introductions (yes, this isn't exactly the same) and it works a treat. Following his advice, I would say all you need is time. They may not be best buddies at the end. But they ought to be able to share a heater.

Food association might also help. By this, I mean feed the cat where he can smell the dog. Week by week decreasing the distance between dog-smell and food-bowl. This would be best done when dog isn't going ape

Good luck!

Reznik

Thanks for all the advice.

Today we tried something where we put the dog on a leash in the living room, and I brought the cat up out of the basement. The cat was on the couch across the room from the dog and just froze there for about ten minutes. The dog got excited, but couldn't charge at the cat because of the leash. Eventually he calmed down and I gave him a treat. I tried to give the cat a treat but she was too busy trying to kill the dog with her mind. The dog would still get excited any time the cat made a noise, but I think this is progress? Then I let the dog outside and let the cat go up to the second floor, where she finally relaxed in one of the rooms and ate her treat.

Kistra

Reznik wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice.

Today we tried something where we put the dog on a leash in the living room, and I brought the cat up out of the basement. The cat was on the couch across the room from the dog and just froze there for about ten minutes. The dog got excited, but couldn't charge at the cat because of the leash. Eventually he calmed down and I gave him a treat. I tried to give the cat a treat but she was too busy trying to kill the dog with her mind. The dog would still get excited any time the cat made a noise, but I think this is progress? Then I let the dog outside and let the cat go up to the second floor, where she finally relaxed in one of the rooms and ate her treat.

This is a good start, but you will make progress much faster if the dog isn't excited about the cat when you do the exposure. Try giving the dog a new chew toy, or sit on the floor and play with it, or find some way to keep the dog distracted so it isn't even looking at the cat.

If good things come from you every time the dog notices the cat, the dog is going to be seeing the cat and instantly turning to you for good things to start. This will also keep the dog looking away from the cat which will make the cat more comfortable.