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How long is my cat going to hate my dog for?

4 replies

cupcakes · 25/01/2006 17:38

We've had the puppy 2 weeks and the cat hates him. Initially she disappeared for almost 2 days (ages for her) and now we have to call her in and rein in the dog so that she can get past - she won't come in of her own free will. She now eats her food on top of the piano and spends the rest of the time sleeping behind the sofa and sitting on the windowsill. When he sees her he goes crazy and barks and throws himself to the floor whilst she flattens her ears, hisses and occasionally swipes at him.
Do they get over this or is this it now?

OP posts:
parkj83 · 26/01/2006 10:13

Depends on the age of the cat and the puppy.

TBH, (sounds mean I know), but the cat needs to swipe pup on the nose, to teach puppy to back off when asked. Pup also needs to learn not to bark and go crazy when he sees cat.

I had a cat who wasn't keen on dogs, and I ended up having to move in with my mum. She has a lurcher (Saluki x) who loves to chase cats. Bear in mind both animals were mature, so it took longer to teach them. Advantage with puppy is that they're (normally!) quick to learn

Is the cat fond of cuddles, or sitting on your lap? The idea is that you get cat smell on a sweater, or similar item of clothing, and make a fuss of puppy. Puppy smell goes into that clothing and mixes with cat smell. Cuddle cat. Cat smells puppy smell, but (hopefully!) gets used to the smell. Puppy also smells cat, but gets used to the smell. Try and make puppy sit before you fuss him. The aim is to keep him calm, whilst getting used to the smell of cat. The cat, well, they have their own way of interpreting things! :O

By the time we moved out (11 months later), they were very tolerant of each other, and the cat only got annoyed if she felt boxed in.

HTH, good luck

cupcakes · 28/01/2006 09:16

That's great - I'll work on that smell tip. The cat loves sitting on dh so will use him + jumper as link (although she hasn't recently as she prefers to keep her distance).
Am really glad to hear that it worked out in the end.

OP posts:
parkj83 · 28/01/2006 12:58

Yep, just takes time and patience

Picked that tip up off a greyhound rescue site, about how they try and "persuade" greyhounds not to chase cats . Tried it on my mum's dog cos he's half saluki. They love to chase cats! He chased one at night, and the cat ran under a street sign, but Toby didn't see it. Knocked himself out for a couple of mins!

PS that was before we moved in!

Good luck, happy cuddling

magnolia1 · 28/01/2006 18:09

4 ever

Well in my case it seems like it but to be honest the dogs learn to stay away

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