Cat Still Hates Puppy, Can I Help?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Cat Still Hates Puppy, Can I Help?

    We are going on the fourth day having Tasha here.  The day we brought her home, the cat just hid in a bedroom all day and didn't come out until nighttime when Tasha was locked in the bathroom.  The next day she got curious and was hanging out with us in the other rooms but growling at Tasha if she came near.  She did get curious to swat at Tasha's tail playfully.  Now on day four She is still growling and swatting not so playfully at Tasha's face whenever Tasha gets near her.  The cat does kind of stalk Tasha and it looks like she would want to play with her if she could just lighten up.  Is there anything I can do to help the cat accept Tasha?  I want to start letting Tasha have access to the whole house at night, would this make matters worse?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Put the pup in a crate and let the cat investigate that way. It is helpful because it shows the puppy who is boss (the cat), the cat gets a boost of confidence and can check out the pup on its own terms.
    • Gold Top Dog
    4 days isn't too much time.  I would do as Sheprano suggested for the time being.  A friend of mine went through probably a good couple of months, before the cat would take to their new puppy.  Until then they had to be supervised at all times, and crating the pup helped tremendously in acclimating the cat to the dog and vice versa.  
    • Gold Top Dog
    A crate is a great way for the two to get used to each other without the risk that the puppy will learn he can make the cat run so he can chase it!  That's a hard habit to break and easier to prevent altogether.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I personally would not let the dog have freedom until you know that the cat is comfortable with the dog. As Chuffy said... best to prevent problems. I have introduced dogs to cats a lot. In fact I'm going through it with our foster puppy. He can have his freedom now when I'm watching, as he runs and plays with our border collie. The cats do keep their distance but I give them respect and don't let the little wild guy have total freedom. They get a break when he is back in his crate. I also have him on the leash quite a bit and some of the cats will move around a bit then. I have allowed him to approach them, depending on the cat and the cat's personality. I usually do allow the cat to give the pup a little swat....teach the dogs to respect the cat. And I did that before I let him loose at all. He had already learned a degree of respect from some of the cats. And he already understood a bit about aah! you leave that kitty alone. In my house cats always rule. Thats the way I feel in order to make it safe for the cats. Though cats have their claws and can be quite tough with them, if a dog gets to chasing a cat and that prey drive gets too overloaded they can and will kill cats. Once my dogs and cats get aquainted and the dog has learned the respect they will often play with one another. There again I personally won't leave a highly chase driven dog  with the cats when I'm not home. A game can sometimes too quickly turn into something else. I'm not saying it will always happen, but I want to be there to control the degree of play. I do have the dogs with me at night, as are the cats, but that didn't happen until I knew that the dogs had full respect of the cats and also the dogs are not running through the house loose. They are in the bedroom with me. When I'm not home, there is only one of our dogs that I trust to leave loose in the house with the cats.  I wouldn't get discouraged and please do give your cat time to get comfortable with it all. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    While I agree with the majority of the posters here, I never kept my dog crated.  The cat, however has total freedom.  I did keep the dog tethered to me or confined to a single room when I wasn't able to supervise.  The cat slowly came around and is now able to take food and push Xerxes away from his bowl.  That being said, I will not allow both dogs and the cat total access.  Especially in a household with more than one dog, total access is a recipe for disaster when there is no human to supervise.  My dogs are totally prey driven, and a cat, even if family, can become a prey item at any time.
     
    That being said it took about 30-45 days before my cat became totally comfortable with Xerxes as a puppy, and about 2-3 weeks before she became comfortable with Gaia, who came to me as an adult.
    • Gold Top Dog
    One thing I am greatful about Tasha is from what I have seen so far she has no prey drive.  And she weighs less than the cat.  hehe.  Thank you everyone for the great advice[:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    I had my 2 cats for 10 years before we got 2 Shih Tzus.  It was quite a transition period for the cats, but was also one of the reasons we chose a breed that is known to get along with other animals and is also less threatening to the cats due to their small size.  I used baby gates.  I started with the pups only having access to the main living quarters when we were there to supervise (they were also in potty training!) and they were (and still are) crated at night and when we're not at home, so that gave the cats some freedom to move about. We slowly moved the baby gate further back in the hall and allowed more freedom as the dogs earned it but kept the gate up so that they could not enter the "cat room" where their food, water, and litter are kept.  The gate gives the cats the security they need to leap out of the dogs' reach.  One of our cats adapted quickly and gave the pups a swat when they got too rowdy or too close.  The other cat chose to live in the cat room for about 8 months!  No kidding, she wouldn't come out of that room unless it was go into my room - but never into to the main living area.  Now, one year later, that same cat that wouldn't leave the room now "snuggles" and rubs up against one of the Shih Tzus' and she comes out to the kitchen every morning and drinks from the dogs' water bowl. 

    It just takes time - sometimes A LOT of time; it depends on the personality of the kitty and of the dog.

    Hang in there and give your cat the privacy she deserves.  Even if they don't become "pals", they will likely learn to tolerate one another in due time.  4 days is nothing; it was her house first and she probably feels like her territory has been invaded.  She's probably hoping Tasha will just go away, but when that doesn't happen, she'll get over it.  My dogs had to learn that "Kitty Doesn't Play!"  Good Luck!
    • Gold Top Dog
    Well, let's see....I've had my two cats for 7 years now and the pup for about 6 months.  I was never worried about the dog hurting the cats. He is a sweetheart. I worry about the cats hurting him. haha.  My orange cat is just grumpy.  He still doesnt like my dog and they usually leave eachother alone now.  If my dog gets too close to the cat, the cat gets very loud and annoying. If the dog doesn't back off, the cat will charge him.  He has no front claws but can still hold his own.
    Im still hoping the cat will just chill and accept the dog one day, but not likely.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Well it is slowly getting better, she still growls at Tasha more than half of the time but sometimes she lays down very near Tasha, and other times she almost plays with her.  Here are some pics.  I had to put them together because Tasha will not sit anywhere on her own unless its my lap.  It worked because Tasha was tired and not in hyperactive mode (the cat hates her in hyper mode)  It has been one week now.  I know it takes time, just updating[:D]
    [linkhttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/Lilea_S/PICT0176.jpg]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/Lilea_S/PICT0176.jpg[/link]
    [linkhttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/Lilea_S/PICT0177.jpg]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/Lilea_S/PICT0177.jpg[/link]
    [linkhttp://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/Lilea_S/PICT0178.jpg]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113/Lilea_S/PICT0178.jpg[/link]
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: Chuffy

    A crate is a great way for the two to get used to each other without the risk that the puppy will learn he can make the cat run so he can chase it!  That's a hard habit to break and easier to prevent altogether.
    Or even worse--the cat will hurt the pup with its claws, and the pup will end up with a cat phobia...
    • Gold Top Dog
    They played a little bit last night.  Chasing each other through the house.  It was SOO funny watching the cat chase the puppy!
    • Gold Top Dog
    As one poster above mentioned it can take over a month.
    In the introduction period of any dog I never leave them alone, and if I see an attempt of dog chasing cat I shut it down.
    Now, all my dogs respect the cats and the other way around.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Our 5 year old cat, Cletus, is quite adaptable and used to dogs. My sister bottle raised him when he was left on the vet clinic steps at a few days old with his littermates. Cletus grew up with big and small dogs and was my sister's great dane's favorite squeaky toy. (She used to gently carry him around, entirely in her mouth. You only knew she had him by the look on her face and the muted squeaky meow from her mouth[:D]) But Cletus still took a week or so to get used to Lucy when we brought her home from the shelter this spring. He wasn't used to being around a dog that pestered him more than he pestered her.

    Our 13 year old cat, Kate, is finally starting to feel comfortable around Lucy after about 8 months. But Kate's one of those fussy cats. She gets upset if I rearrange the furniture and she still hasn't forgiven me for getting our Dalmation 12 years ago.[:D]
    • Bronze
    I introduced a full-grown dog to my two cats three weeks ago.  One of the cats is 3 years old and the other 5 months old.  The cats are mainly indifferent to the dog, who had no idea what they were.  I do not allow him to bark at them--that makes all the animals tense.  I supervised them closely, and warned the dog in a low voice whenever he got too bold with the cats---for his sake. Before you know it, he'd startled the 3 year old.  She whipped around and delivered a stern Chun-Li-esque 98-hit combo to his muzzle.  (Or that's what it looks like, anyway.)

    However, even though she has all of her claws, she did not use use them.  Her upper-body power and speed was enough to startle him.  Now he strictly respects both of the cats, and they carry on being aloof, as cats do.  However, the older cat has forgiven him and will walk beneath his legs and rub her tail against the underside of his body.  The younger one tries to engage him in play, but she is all of 6 lbs, and he is 99 lbs, and they can't seem to work out how play is supposed to go.  [:)

    Despite all this, he is STILL in his kennel whenever I am asleep or no one is in the house.  I cannot take the chance that he will hurt one of them, or they will hurt him--the potential for harm to BOTH is always there.

    Above all, be patient.  Teach the dog to respect the cat, and do not push the cat into anything.