Is it possible to rehabilitate dogs with serious cat issues?

[Kladdkaka]

I would love my house to run like a nature reserve with all the creatures happily living together and singing kum-by-ah around the fireplace. Unfortunately it's more like an ex war zone with UN peacekeepers ensuring the previous waring parties are kept apart. Is there any hope?

I have 2 westies, a boy and a girl. The boy was first. He was a bugger for chasing the cat, but the cat was a bugger for clouting him when nobody was looking. Generally they got on, would sleep in the same room, lie in the same garden without too much mahem.

Then we took the female in from a rescue. She sees the cat and goes into terrier kill mode. And all hell lets loose. I believe she has only 2 thoughts in her head, food and cat! I dread to think what would happen if she got hold of him. Thankfully we have taken steps so she can't.

But now the other dog also gets into a completely frantic cat chasing state. It like the female's cat antics have unleashed his inner monster. Although in his defence, he only wants to menace cats and chase them, when they stop he goes mad barking to get them to run again.

So now the little buggers are never allowed off lead, apart from at the dog park. The dogs live on the main floor of the house (with me). The cat lives in the attic (with daughter) and has an elaborate system of ladders and holes to get there without going near the dog zone. He is mission impossible cat. He now has a girlfriend who lives upstairs with him, she's never even met the dogs. The dogs do tend to lurk around the doors leading to the cat zones in the hope of a bit of aggro.

Despite all this, I take them to my mum's with me and she has 2 ginger toms. The dogs never give these cats any aggro. In fact the female won't even go in the same room as the boss cat as she is so scared of him.

So do I just have to accept this segregation arrangement or can they be rehabilitated?

[Kladdkaka]