Ways to help a dog and cat get along

[PookieDo]

I am long term sitting a dog, I know the dog very well and it knows me iyswim. Dog has stayed before and has met cat lots of times. But it was not long term before it was a week or 2 at most or a day visit

Cat is a house cat who doesn’t go further than the garden. Cat and dog are similar size

Cat and dog don’t fight or anything at all but they don’t understand each other’s body language so they make each other jump a lot ie the cat is slinky and sneaky and makes the dog jump when cat comes out of nowhere 😂, dog is bouncy and playful and makes the cat jump and very much

Dog can be jealous of any attention cat gets but there is rarely hissing or spitting or physical touching so I am not too worried it’s negative. Does this sound like it has good potential?

I just would like some good advice how to integrate them well to live together so neither become unhappy although I am not sure they will ever be close friends. I don’t want my cat to be unhappy

The dog is much more interested in cat than the other way round but they will sniff at each other. Cat tends to enjoy subtly positioning itself to block dogs way through doors too 😂 and occasionally the dog will go into ‘chase’ mode and there is a minor scuffle/stand off is this pretty normal stuff?

So it's easier to train the dog to be polite around the cat and then the cat will probably teach itself how to behave to not arouse the dog too much. We have a super high chase drive border collie puppy and he has learnt to be calm around the cat in most scenarios.

Basically: when the cat is getting attention, give the dog a treat. The dog will not be jealous if the cat getting fussed is a signal good stuff will happen.

When the cat walks in or walks about, reward the dog for remaining calm. If you can get a reaction where the dog looks at the cat then looks at you for the treat that's ideal as in the dog's mind the presence of the cat is awesome and means it will get treats. Bonus is that the dog will be less inclined to chase the cat. Personally I would not allow chasing as it is self rewarding, I would put a pet gate up to prevent any chase going on for more than a few seconds. If the cat is standing its ground that's not too bad though, just watch the dog doesn't get a claw to the eye.

It all sounds normal. ferret's advice is spot on. Mine just gradually settled down and they more or less ignore one another now apart from a bit of sniffing now and then, and the occasional 'partners in crime' escapade if they accidentally get into the kitchen (cats knocking left overs onto kitchen floor for dog to eat; dog getting lid off food bin for cats to jump in).

Everything ferretface said. Also time. It took mine about 4-6 months before they really settled in together (but i had a puppy, not full grown dog, so i think it took longer as the pup had so much to learn). Now they will sleep together, when the cat allows.

Thanks that’s really helpful

The chasing tends to be when the cat has made the dog jump and it’s very brief, seems like an instinct reaction and before I can even speak it is over.

Outside of the house the dog will try to chase all cats it comes across which doesn’t help 🙄 so I am using treats to try to stop that

Very bad night last night
Up till now relatively quiet between them

A Tom cat has been coming in our garden for a while now upsetting cat but I am usually there with dog to chase it off

Last night I was upstairs and cat was alone in garden, Tom cat came in and got into a horrible fight with my little female cat

Luckily she’s ok physically but she was upset and scared for hours and the dog was so aggressive towards her afterwards. I kept them separate as much as I could but dog was going crazy! Whether it was the noise of the cat or body language but it drove dog mad and he kept trying to chase her off

Is all calm now but I feel really bad for my cat!