8 mo. old BC living with "cat from hell"

[deadlywarbler]

I am certain I am not the first to post on this topic, but it is something of concern. I recently moved in with my partner and she has a 7-year old, poorly behaved cat. I am trying to find the best solution toward getting them to live together peacefully. Some advice would be very helpful. I will describe the two animals:

 

My BC: very well behaved and listens to commands. Was socialized at a very young age around cats and since has had numerous inconsequential interactions with cats. She always listens to me around them and has yet to show any aggression toward cats.

 

Cat from hell: This is a challenge, and I hate to sound like I'm placing all the blame here, but the cat has very poor behavior. She usually hisses and swats at almost any visitor, often hissing at her owner and myself. She has bad behavior toward other cats and dogs and often charges them in full aggression mode. (fear aggression I am assuming)

 

Initial interactions between the two were fine, but a couple weeks ago they caught each other off guard and the cat charged my pup. The pup was very scared, and assumed a very defensive position of retreat while making a pronounced frightened bark. This was the first time I have seen her so scared. The cat never made contact with her, but now the pup acts very scared around her. Not only that she will get a bit more offensive when she sees the cat and has occasionally raised her hackles and barked and advanced. This only makes the cat more aggressive.

 

So, there you have it. We are working to find a solution. Personally I'm much more concerned with protecting my pup in this sensitive phase of her life. The last thing I want is for her to develop an issue with cats. Any advice will be very helpful! Thanks!

[Camden's Mom]

I have a big, fat, difficult to live with, dominant male cat. Unlike your partner's cat, he is very friendly and quite a charmer... unless it concerns Camden, then he becomes that cat from hell. He was extremely cruel to my dog as a puppy and I made the mistake of always siding with the cat. As a novice dog owner I reasoned that, since the dog could actually kill the cat, I had to defend the cat at all costs. Wrong.

 

Things had escalated to a point where it was getting nasty. Camden was air snapping at the cat (very serious warnings) and it I had to change tactic or things were gonna' get ugly.

 

I began to treat the cat as if it were another dog in the household. I made every interaction fair. If the cat had started all the fuss he'd be the one to go in the bathroom for a five minute time out. If the dog had been the instigator he'd have to go to his mat for a five minute time out. If the cat started to creep up on the dog with bad intentions I'd say "NO, LEAVE IT!" to the cat and physically block him from approaching the dog. It sounds silly but, you know, Camden suddenly understood that I was sticking up for him. By using my dog's language/commands to communicate with the cat I was able to put Camden at ease over time. Things got much better, pretty quickly. In fact, to my great surprise, through sheer repetition the cat learned a few commands (no lie). At this point if the pets are being obnoxious in the kitchen I can say "out!" and the dog and cat run right out of the kitchen, do a quick 180 degree turn and lie in the doorway to watch my every move. The first time they did this I was flummoxed! Not only could I not believe the cat had learned the command but they were laying next to each other! What the...??

 

I won't lie, their relationship is not perfect, but who's is? They still get into little altercations at times but overall live rather peaceably together... something we thought might not be possible a year and a half ago. They have even started playing with each other although we monitor that closely so it doesn't stray into any negative interaction. So, this has been my experience with a cat from hell and a dog who had decided to stop putting up with the cat's antics. I know our situations are not identical but I hope it helps you in some way...

[deadlywarbler]

I have a big, fat, difficult to live with, dominant male cat. Unlike your partner's cat, he is very friendly and quite a charmer... unless it concerns Camden, then he becomes that cat from hell. He was extremely cruel to my dog as a puppy and I made the mistake of always siding with the cat. As a novice dog owner I reasoned that, since the dog could actually kill the cat, I had to defend the cat at all costs. Wrong.

 

Things had escalated to a point where it was getting nasty. Camden was air snapping at the cat (very serious warnings) and it I had to change tactic or things were gonna' get ugly.

 

I began to treat the cat as if it were another dog in the household. I made every interaction fair. If the cat had started all the fuss he'd be the one to go in the bathroom for a five minute time out. If the dog had been the instigator he'd have to go to his mat for a five minute time out. If the cat started to creep up on the dog with bad intentions I'd say "NO, LEAVE IT!" to the cat and physically block him from approaching the dog. It sounds silly but, you know, Camden suddenly understood that I was sticking up for him. By using my dog's language/commands to communicate with the cat I was able to put Camden at ease over time. Things got much better, pretty quickly. In fact, to my great surprise, through sheer repetition the cat learned a few commands (no lie). At this point if the pets are being obnoxious in the kitchen I can say "out!" and the dog and cat run right out of the kitchen, do a quick 180 degree turn and lie in the doorway to watch my every move. The first time they did this I was flummoxed! Not only could I not believe the cat had learned the command but they were laying next to each other! What the...??

 

I won't lie, their relationship is not perfect, but who's is? They still get into little altercations at times but overall live rather peaceably together... something we thought might not be possible a year and a half ago. They have even started playing with each other although we monitor that closely so it doesn't stray into any negative interaction. So, this has been my experience with a cat from hell and a dog who had decided to stop putting up with the cat's antics. I hope it helps you in some way...

This is encouraging to read. This cat has never shown any positive track record with other…living things. So this concerns me about them living peacefully together. I am guessing they will learn to live in avoidance of each other at worst. I am just very protective of the pup now that she's shown this level of aggression. It happens so fast too. I will probably start to block her physically or use pillows or water sprays to get her attention. My goal is to protect the pup so she doesn't feel a need to protect herself.

 

How long did it take to get the animals to this place? Would you recommend controlled meetings? Is it best to just get them in front of each other as soon as possible, or give it time? The pup hasn't shown any serious aggressive signs yet, but definitely did show some, so that concerns me. Thanks everyone!

[G. Festerling]

I love Camden's Mom's reply!!!

 

I have had cats and dogs around each other for years. 98% of the time with no issues. The other two %? Well, they take managing.

 

My older cats grew up with my older dogs. When pups came in, they would give me the go to hell look and proceed to deal.

None of my cats ever thought to attack a dog.

 

Is it wrong to assume that 1), you moved the pup into the cats space? And 2), that the feline delinquent never lived with dogs?

 

To me, the answers don't change the approach (and there I have to totally agree with ^^). It would however change my personal understanding and possibly improve my patience while dealing with it.

 

And a teeny, tiny bit off topic. Cats are cats. I have never actively set out to train one. Some come super sweet and others less so. Have had a bunch if you include a lifetime of being around them. So, besides basic manners like stay out of the human food, use the litter box, minimize scaling the curtains and for sure, stay out of the dogs food bowl (which here the dogs do the training) and some minor tricks like sit and roll over.....I have not ever invested time in changing a cats basic attitude. And really, I know of no personal friend of mine that has. So, reading your post, I (and admittedly I am funny about these things) am feeling some blame slightly put on your partners shoulder? If I am on to something....watch out for it....it will only add stress.

[Camden's Mom]

Well, I think I might be out of my depth giving advice on how to properly introduce and integrate them. Camden was introduced to my cat as a 10 week old puppy. It was at the age of about 6 months, after having been harassed by the cat and getting no support from me, that he started to become aggressive. Hopefully others can give you better advice on how to introduce an adolescent dog to a new (and hostile) cat...

I will say, the key thing for me was being fair. When I started to watch more closely it was often the cat instigating the altercations. Sure the whole thing would end up with Camden snarling and snapping but the truth is when I really started to pay attention I'd see that the cat has been eyeing and stalking the dog, escalating the tension. Stopping a bad interaction from getting to the point of a nasty altercation, combined with appropriately correcting the pet who was instigating it, seemed to work the best for me.

Things didn't get better overnight but I do remember it happened pretty quickly for us. Once Camden understood that I was going to stand up for him and defend him from the cat he didn't feel the need to take matters into his own paws (or teeth!). I'd say we saw a turn around in their relationship in that first week and within a couple of months things had improved tremendously.

ETA: Just saw G. Festerling's post and agree you have to at least consider the cat's perspective on the whole situation... even if it isn't a very friendly feline. Also, I think setting the goal of having them live in avoidance of each other is actually a very good standard. There's no reason they have to be friends... they just have to be able to live in the same space without always being on the brink of WW3.

[simba]

Cats can learn commands- people just don't usually do it. It can be harder if you're used to dealing with dogs.

 

I tend to remove or shout at the cat when it is being a pest to the dogs. And I would agree with avoidance being an excellent goal.

[deadlywarbler]

I love Camden's Mom's reply!!!

 

I have had cats and dogs around each other for years. 98% of the time with no issues. The other two %? Well, they take managing.

 

My older cats grew up with my older dogs. When pups came in, they would give me the go to hell look and proceed to deal.

None of my cats ever thought to attack a dog.

 

Is it wrong to assume that 1), you moved the pup into the cats space? And 2), that the feline delinquent never lived with dogs?

 

To me, the answers don't change the approach (and there I have to totally agree with ^^). It would however change my personal understanding and possibly improve my patience while dealing with it.

 

And a teeny, tiny bit off topic. Cats are cats. I have never actively set out to train one. Some come super sweet and others less so. Have had a bunch if you include a lifetime of being around them. So, besides basic manners like stay out of the human food, use the litter box, minimize scaling the curtains and for sure, stay out of the dogs food bowl (which here the dogs do the training) and some minor tricks like sit and roll over.....I have not ever invested time in changing a cats basic attitude. And really, I know of no personal friend of mine that has. So, reading your post, I (and admittedly I am funny about these things) am feeling some blame slightly put on your partners shoulder? If I am on to something....watch out for it....it will only add stress.

G. Festerling, no blame put on my partner at all. She's as sensitive as I am to the whole situation. The only potential stress is that we each have different allegiances to each animal. I'm trying to be fair about it and definitely see the cats perspective. Your assumptions are correct. We did introduce the dog into the cats space and I know how territorial they can be. She never lived with dogs either. Now however, this is neutral ground but the cat is still acting really nasty toward the dog. This is not a big surprise since she basically acts nasty to everyone and everything.

 

I hate to feel resigned to the notion that the cat won't change, though this may be the case. The pup, however, can change for certain so I want that change to be toward the positive. Hence all my efforts are going toward her.

 

I will definitely use fairness in their interactions where each will get a fairly stern correction for bad behavior and praise for good behavior. I'm no cat expert, but have lived with them all my life. I have been around the loyal ones, the scared ones, the sweet ones and the challenging ones. This cat is different from any I've met before. The difference I see between dogs and cats is that dogs are so invested in working with you where as cats seem less interested in their day to day interactions involving humans (though I know they need attention and companionship at times) I guess they are just more solitary animals. Anyway, I'm running on now. This is probably betters suited in a cat forum.

 

I have to say I am impressed with my pup in regards to her. She tends to stay out of the fray, but shows a strong awareness of the cat. I watch her like a hawk to make sure I catch any bad behaviors. I will also make a point to stand up for her as much as possible, though this actually does put me in harms way. =/

[gcv-border]

I have not had to deal with a nasty cat - dog interaction, but have had to deal with a killer cat - kitten interaction. I managed to get the killer cat (Isak) over his attitude successfully using a different approach than Camden's Mom - although I do like her approach given the situation she had to deal with.

 

I used an approach that relied on separation and positive reinforcement (treats).

 

Background: Isak was ~7 years old and was living successfully with another cat. Never any issues. I brought in a 6 month old kitten (Mesa). He wanted to KILL her from the first time he saw her. He would attack her so ferociously that she would eliminate (pee and/or poop). Long story short, after trying to gradually introduce the 2 over a period of ~2-3 months, I finally changed tactics. Both cats were kept totally separate for a period of ~ 2 weeks. [Each in a different room.] They did not see each other, not even at feeding time. After that separation period, I would bring them both in the kitchen where I placed them in front of their prepared food dishes which were at opposite ends of the kitchen(2X per day). Once finished eating, separate again. I gradually, GRADUALLY would increase the 'interaction' -- move dishes closer, increase the time out of the room. I ALWAYS observed them (Isak) to make sure he didn't start thinking about attacking Mesa. [i could tell by his posture and his stare.] After about a month, I started bringing them out at mid-day and gave them turkey bits. Again, gradually increasing the closeness. My goal was to let Isak know that whenever he saw Mesa, he was going to get something good. Therefore, Mesa = goodness.

 

After about 3 months from the separation, I started leaving them out in the house together. We had a couple of altercations, but nothing like before and with much, much less frequency. Eventually, (maybe ~6 months later), peace was achieved.

 

Good Luck with your guys.

[JohnC]

Great responses and I agree with fairness being key.

 

I once introduced two pups, a Lab and a German Shepherd, into a three cat household. These weren’t “dog aggressive” cats, but they were older indoor/outdoor cats who were very dog wary. I instituted a nightly treat-time ritual. The dogs had to sit and stay, while I gave each of them treats in turn and tossed treats to the cats who, at first, were all the way on the other side of the room. Once the cats understood that the dogs were under control, I encouraged them to come a little closer each night by tossing the treats a little nearer to me. Eventually I had the five of them sitting together in a circle as I handed treats to each of them. Not only did this teach the cats to not worry about the dogs, but it was great self-control training for the dogs and taught them not to steal from each other or fight over food.

 

In only a few months, the cats were allowing the dogs to mouth them and they actually started taking naps with the dogs. One of them even started coming on walks with us, confident that his big friends would take care of him. While every situation is different, with patience and positive reinforcement it's surprising what can be done.

[G. Festerling]

yup, and getting yourself in the fray could be treacherous!

 

You are right, I mis spoke...alliances is a much better way to put. Blame was a bad choice of words on my part.

[htmlgirl]

Hello!

 

I've been lurking for a year and haven't introduced myself yet, but this is a topic I have experience with!

 

I have a 14 month old border collie, Penny, and a very grumpy 13 year old cat, Precious. Precious can be sweet and cuddly with us, but she hates company and most people and is very quick to swat and bite. She has been known to chase and attack people who have come in to feed her while we're away on vacation, to give you an idea of her unfriendliness! She will even get hissy and swatty with us, especially if we try to have her do something she really doesn't want to do, or just generally annoy her that day.

 

There is very good advice given above, and we have done a combination of Camden's Mom's advice and the separation and positive treats approach described by gcv-border. We did start out keeping the two separated by baby gates, etc when we brought Penny home at 8 weeks, and that lasted a few months until Precious was more relaxed with her being nearby.

 

We now have only one baby gate that we will leave up, creating a "cat haven" in a spare room. It's one with a cat door in the middle of it as our cat won't jump over things, and Penny respects the gate and won't jump it. It makes a lot of difference for Precious knowing she can go in there and have peace and quiet. I've even put the cat food in there and that helped as well.

 

One of the big things we did when we took the gates down and started working with them being in the same space together, was putting soft paws on the cat. (https://www.softpaws.com/) Precious can be very swatty, even now that she tolerates Penny quite well, and this helped keep Penny's eyes and nose safe. Precious doesn't like being handled to have her nails done (and is a nightmare at the vet) but we're lucky that with my husband holding her and me trimming/nail-capping we're able to get it done fairly peacefully. I have heard that most vets will help out with putting the nail caps on as well.

 

And the one other thing that I recommend is having a great recall with your pup. Penny loooooves her "sister" and will sometimes try to get her to play, and occasionally still try to herd/chase her the rare time that the cat runs down the hall, and I'm able to call her to me even if she's started after her. I've found "off/leave it!" and "watch me" training with treats really helpful too.

 

Hope this helps!

Cheryl

[juliepoudrier]

Has any thought been given to using appeasing pheromones or similar for the cat? Or anti-anxiety meds? I know meds aren't always the answer, but if the cat's general behavior is in any way related to anxiety/stress, perhaps addressing that while also addressing the added anxiety/stress of having a new puppy to deal with might help?

 

I've always been pretty lucky to have cats who were willing to give dogs/puppies a chance, but part of that is, as others have noted, making sure I protected everyone. Granted, in my case, it generally meant making sure the dog-friendly cats weren't mauled by over-exuberant puppies, but in the OP's case I think I'd at least look at the cat's behavior even before the advent of the puppy and see if that couldn't be addressed. Doing so may at least lessen the cat's bad reaction to the puppy and may make the cat and everyone she interacts with a little bit happier.

 

J.

[deadlywarbler]

Hello!

 

I've been lurking for a year and haven't introduced myself yet, but this is a topic I have experience with!

 

I have a 14 month old border collie, Penny, and a very grumpy 13 year old cat, Precious. Precious can be sweet and cuddly with us, but she hates company and most people and is very quick to swat and bite. She has been known to chase and attack people who have come in to feed her while we're away on vacation, to give you an idea of her unfriendliness! She will even get hissy and swatty with us, especially if we try to have her do something she really doesn't want to do, or just generally annoy her that day.

 

There is very good advice given above, and we have done a combination of Camden's Mom's advice and the separation and positive treats approach described by gcv-border. We did start out keeping the two separated by baby gates, etc when we brought Penny home at 8 weeks, and that lasted a few months until Precious was more relaxed with her being nearby.

 

We now have only one baby gate that we will leave up, creating a "cat haven" in a spare room. It's one with a cat door in the middle of it as our cat won't jump over things, and Penny respects the gate and won't jump it. It makes a lot of difference for Precious knowing she can go in there and have peace and quiet. I've even put the cat food in there and that helped as well.

 

One of the big things we did when we took the gates down and started working with them being in the same space together, was putting soft paws on the cat. (https://www.softpaws.com/) Precious can be very swatty, even now that she tolerates Penny quite well, and this helped keep Penny's eyes and nose safe. Precious doesn't like being handled to have her nails done (and is a nightmare at the vet) but we're lucky that with my husband holding her and me trimming/nail-capping we're able to get it done fairly peacefully. I have heard that most vets will help out with putting the nail caps on as well.

 

And the one other thing that I recommend is having a great recall with your pup. Penny loooooves her "sister" and will sometimes try to get her to play, and occasionally still try to herd/chase her the rare time that the cat runs down the hall, and I'm able to call her to me even if she's started after her. I've found "off/leave it!" and "watch me" training with treats really helpful too.

 

Hope this helps!

Cheryl

This does help! I think developing a separation area for the two of them would be a good idea. I'm pretty sure the cat will be pretty nasty even through the kid gate at first, but likely might just learn to settle down. Meanwhile I'll be working to keep the pup from getting overly excited and at worst snappy.

 

I'm sad to say that her recall is not good. In fact just a couple minutes ago she decided she just wasn't going to listen to me at all when I called her. That drives me bonkers. I need to get better at reinforcing every time she comes. I am usually able to call her off things, unless she's really charged. Any advice for those times when she is really riled up to get her settled? As it is I just step in front of her and make her lay down. That seems to get her off things, but I can't always be there to step in her line of sight.

[deadlywarbler]

Has any thought been given to using appeasing pheromones or similar for the cat? Or anti-anxiety meds? I know meds aren't always the answer, but if the cat's general behavior is in any way related to anxiety/stress, perhaps addressing that while also addressing the added anxiety/stress of having a new puppy to deal with might help?

 

I've always been pretty lucky to have cats who were willing to give dogs/puppies a chance, but part of that is, as others have noted, making sure I protected everyone. Granted, in my case, it generally meant making sure the dog-friendly cats weren't mauled by over-exuberant puppies, but in the OP's case I think I'd at least look at the cat's behavior even before the advent of the puppy and see if that couldn't be addressed. Doing so may at least lessen the cat's bad reaction to the puppy and may make the cat and everyone she interacts with a little bit happier.

 

J.

I had not thought about that… I'm not to keen on jumping straight to meds, but it might help. I'll have to talk to my significant other not hat one since she is the cats guardian.

 

The cat's behavior was there years before the dog came into the picture. In many ways she has gotten a little better, but the dog is a big set back. She always was pretty nasty with people and animals in general. It's sad because I really do love cats, but this one is challenging that in me.

[htmlgirl]

This does help! I think developing a separation area for the two of them would be a good idea. I'm pretty sure the cat will be pretty nasty even through the kid gate at first, but likely might just learn to settle down. Meanwhile I'll be working to keep the pup from getting overly excited and at worst snappy.

 

I'm sad to say that her recall is not good. In fact just a couple minutes ago she decided she just wasn't going to listen to me at all when I called her. That drives me bonkers. I need to get better at reinforcing every time she comes. I am usually able to call her off things, unless she's really charged. Any advice for those times when she is really riled up to get her settled? As it is I just step in front of her and make her lay down. That seems to get her off things, but I can't always be there to step in her line of sight.

We did have swatting through the gate at first too, and at the beginning we had to start with a towel over the gate so they could still hear and smell each other, and then we went to using a clear plexiglass piece in front of the gate and giving the cat treats when she was looking at Penny but not hissing etc. We did the same when we took the plexiglass away and it was just a gate as well. I have seen some baby gates that are more solid and the cat probably wouldn't be able to reach through that would work too! More like a screen instead of the bars. I think it was about 4 or 5 months before we took away the extra gates and left just the one up to "cat-haven".

 

I've seen lots of good advice on recalls on the boards here, I found what helped me was keeping treats handy and randomly calling Penny throughout the day and treating her every time. I still do treat her nearly every time actually lol. I have been told by our trainer that if you've blown using "come" as your recall word, to switch to a different word like "here!" and start over with it from the beginning. We had a rough patch with recalls around 7 or 8 months with puppy teenager brain but it got a lot better again after a few weeks.

 

I use "watch me" a lot with Penny, if I can get her attention on me instead of whatever is exciting or distracting her then it helps her calm down and focus on commands. I started teaching it to her at 8 weeks and it's one I use every day. So for example if she was play-bowing at the cat, I call her and she will sit in front of me and we'll do "watch me" for a few treats while she calms down and the cat can go on her way. My hand signal for it ended up being me touching my nose lol, and if she's very distracted it works if I put my hand in front of her with my index finger out, then pull it up to touch my nose.

 

It might work for your pup, it might not if she has a solid command that she knows really well and is her most comfortable one, like her lay down maybe, than that might work just as well!

 

I did try the pheromone collars for our cat previously, and I didn't notice a difference in our case. But it doesn't hurt to try either the collars or the Feliway pheromone products to see if it helps her be more calm.

[HJTRAS]

cats can do damage to a dogs eye easily. just be careful.

[juliepoudrier]

If the cat from hell would tolerate it, I'd just trim her nails. I just use people fingernail clippers for mine and get them done easily (but none of mine qualify as cats from hell either).

 

J.

[deadlywarbler]

Thanks everyone for the insight. I think there will be light at the end of the tunnel, but I just can't see it yet. Keeping nails trimmed and interactions positive and controlled will be the best bet right now, I think. I will post up progress in a few weeks should anyone be interested or dealing with similar issues. Thanks!

[Camden's Mom]

Please do keep us updated. It's always nice to hear how things are going. Plus, you may discover a way of handling the situation along the way that none of us thought of. Good luck!!

[deadlywarbler]

Please do keep us updated. It's always nice to hear how things are going. Plus, you may discover a way of handling the situation along the way that none of us thought of. Good luck!!

 

Wanted to post a quick update, though I wish I contained good news. I have been watching the pup and the cat's interactions through a screen door, which we have introduced in small amounts with food present. There are two basic causes for the altercations, which involve the cat hissing and swatting aggressively through the screen and my pup growling and advancing at her. When this happens they are literally face to face, so if the screen wasn't there it wouldn't be good. The main problem is the cat will charge the dog without much warning and this sets off my pup as she feels a need to defend herself (I'm guessing). The other day I took her to a friends house and she showed interest in their cat, but did not show a single bit of this behavior, so my guess is that she has pegged our house cat as a threat.

 

The pup is easy to calm during these situations. I can keep her in a down/stay while she looks out at the cat. Each time she looks at me she gets a click/treat. Each time she softens her attention (brief look-aways, or relaxed body position) she gets a click treat.

 

I hate to sound like I'm placing blame, but the cat seems to the root of the issue. The whole thing started the first time the cat charged my pup. Now the situation is totally heightened. At least I can control the pup, but I am VERY concerned for her behavior since she is a teenager. The cat has had these behavior issues since she was a kitten and I'm concerned that it's not likely to go away with behavior modification, etc. The root issue is that the cat will charge even from very far away. I can't blame the pup for going on the defensive.

 

So, I am at a loss. The peace of our new house is being stained by this. I am obviously very concerned for the pup, who's upbringing I have been very diligent about ( proper training, socialization and controlled exposure to people and animals ) To date she is doing so well is all of that. In the past few days she played with a rambunctious 2 year old child, a bunch of other puppies and dogs and interacted peacefully with a cat.

 

If anyone sees anything in this that seems like a mistake, please let me know. Thank you!

[waffles]

Are the cat and dog 100% (as in, always) separated by the screen door you describe? Are they ever both loose in the house, room, together?

 

What have you done to help the cat?

 

I would continue to keep the cat and dog separate. I would make sure a full vet workup is done on the cat (if it has not been already), to rule out any medical reason or pain as the cause for the cat being cranky, even before the pup came along. I would then make sure the cat is getting its needs met-does she have windows to look out? Does she have interaction with her owner or any stimulation through out the day- play time, exercise, snuggle time, whatever she may enjoy? Are there scratching posts out for her? Does she have the ability to climb and get up high, away from the things that bother her? Does she have hidey-holes, places to hide that are away from people (the pup obviously) or whatever stresses her out? Having places to climb up high or hide in the main portions of the house are key, as you say she gets upset with visiting humans even. What happens when the cat acts out? Does someone spray her with water, yell or swat her away? These are obviously not going to help the cat calm down or feel more secure in her home.

 

I hope some of these questions help. I would do everything you can to make the cats life (independent of the dog) better than it has been (not saying your partner has not provided well enough for her). By trying to better her well-being, it will make things easier when and if the time comes to slowly let the dog and cat in the same area together. Putting some shelves on the wall for her, buying a tall cat tower/condo, trying to find toys she likes/catnip, may in time, help her feel more confident and less like she needs to 'hate' everything around her.

 

I know a few people who have had some success with the Feliway line of products and you can also give L-Theanine to cats (many give it to their dogs).

[deadlywarbler]

Are the cat and dog 100% (as in, always) separated by the screen door you describe? Are they ever both loose in the house, room, together?

 

What have you done to help the cat?

 

I would continue to keep the cat and dog separate. I would make sure a full vet workup is done on the cat (if it has not been already), to rule out any medical reason or pain as the cause for the cat being cranky, even before the pup came along. I would then make sure the cat is getting its needs met-does she have windows to look out? Does she have interaction with her owner or any stimulation through out the day- play time, exercise, snuggle time, whatever she may enjoy? Are there scratching posts out for her? Does she have the ability to climb and get up high, away from the things that bother her? Does she have hidey-holes, places to hide that are away from people (the pup obviously) or whatever stresses her out? Having places to climb up high or hide in the main portions of the house are key, as you say she gets upset with visiting humans even. What happens when the cat acts out? Does someone spray her with water, yell or swat her away? These are obviously not going to help the cat calm down or feel more secure in her home.

 

I hope some of these questions help. I would do everything you can to make the cats life (independent of the dog) better than it has been (not saying your partner has not provided well enough for her). By trying to better her well-being, it will make things easier when and if the time comes to slowly let the dog and cat in the same area together. Putting some shelves on the wall for her, buying a tall cat tower/condo, trying to find toys she likes/catnip, may in time, help her feel more confident and less like she needs to 'hate' everything around her.

 

I know a few people who have had some success with the Feliway line of products and you can also give L-Theanine to cats (many give it to their dogs).

Thank you for this! To answer you questions, she has not been worked up by a vet in years. This is a good consideration. Currently she is being kept separate from the dog in a screen-in porch. Out there she has views of the outside, high spots, scratching posts, toys, chew grass and cubbies to hide away. She has a good place out there. The only thing that has been lacking in the recent week has been her normal amount of human interaction. But then these behaviors where there even when she had that.

 

The dog and cat are never allowed free roam of the house. We started them on leashes some months back and they were doing great getting treats and even sniffing each others noses. The cat would just hang out on top of the couch and watch the dog. All seemed great. The day that the cat charged the dog (unprovoked and very unexpected) she really scared the pup and since then the pup has been very reactive to her, mainly when she charges.

 

The cat never gets yelled at or sprayed with water. When she is charging my girlfriend will hold up a pillow to block her view of the dog. If you try to contact the cat at all you will certainly get bit or scratched. Makes sense given how wound up she is in those moments. One thing that might be perpetuating things is that my girlfriend will clap loud while walking toward her when she's doing something wrong. This is probably not helping.

 

The cat has two ways of acting out. With humans she displays a general grouchiness and doesn't want to be walked near to or pet. She will hiss and swat. I have read this can be a type of dominance aggression. She will walk close to you feet and weave in and out and then swat and get mad at you.

 

The other acting out is the full-on charge, which she only shows to the dog, but she has done to me once. This is the bad one and it's full hissing, swatting and baring teeth.

 

I think we have done a fairly good job at providing a safe and interesting spot for her to be during the day. We were hoping that the ability to see each other through a slider door would help, but it has lately only made things worse, so we need to go back to the drawing board.

 

My inclination is to introduce short term medication to facilitate the behavior modification. Does this sound reasonable or am I just grasping at the easy solution?

[waffles]

I would try looking into Feliway products or if you think the cat is that miserable, then a trip to the vet for some testing (bloodwork, urinalysis) may be a good idea. Then if everything looks good health wise, you can ask the vet what they might recommend for her behavior, maybe a prescription med might be in order or just something over the counter first (theanine for example).

 

I would also look for a vet that specializes in cats or cat behavior. We have one in our area that only sees cats and everyone seems to love them.

[juliepoudrier]

I'm glad Waffles mentioned the things she did. I would also ask if you and your girlfriend have discussed your expectations regarding your puppy and her cat. Despite the cat being a grouch, if she is getting less attention because of the presence of the puppy, then that's certainly not helping her attitude.

 

What I'm worried about is this situation creating a source of friction between the humans. Obviously your main concern is your pup, but from your desciption of the situation it sounds as if your GF has lived with the cat and all her quirks just fine up to the point when you combined households and the puppy was part of that package.

 

I'm not trying to assign blame here, just suggesting that you look at the larger picture, especially from the cat's point of view. No doubt the puppy is cuter and a lot more entertaining than the cat, but the cat's emotional needs should be considered as well--and she was there first. It may be that medication would help the cat in a more general way (as opposed to just in dealings with the puppy), and that could be a good thing. I second the suggestion for a vet check to make sure there's nothing physically wrong with the kitty and then going from there, maybe starting with pheromones as already suggested and then progressing to mood altering meds if a vet (or vet behaviorist) thinks it will help.

 

If the cat is older, it's unlike she'll suddenly have a change of personality, and the best you may be able to do is keep them separated. But please remember that the cat shouldn't end up getting the short end of the sitck if separation ends up being how you have to manage the situation.

 

J.

[deadlywarbler]

I'm glad Waffles mentioned the things she did. I would also ask if you and your girlfriend have discussed your expectations regarding your puppy and her cat. Despite the cat being a grouch, if she is getting less attention because of the presence of the puppy, then that's certainly not helping her attitude.

 

What I'm worried about is this situation creating a source of friction between the humans. Obviously your main concern is your pup, but from your desciption of the situation it sounds as if your GF has lived with the cat and all her quirks just fine up to the point when you combined households and the puppy was part of that package.

 

I'm not trying to assign blame here, just suggesting that you look at the larger picture, especially from the cat's point of view. No doubt the puppy is cuter and a lot more entertaining than the cat, but the cat's emotional needs should be considered as well--and she was there first. It may be that medication would help the cat in a more general way (as opposed to just in dealings with the puppy), and that could be a good thing. I second the suggestion for a vet check to make sure there's nothing physically wrong with the kitty and then going from there, maybe starting with pheromones as already suggested and then progressing to mood altering meds if a vet (or vet behaviorist) thinks it will help.

 

If the cat is older, it's unlike she'll suddenly have a change of personality, and the best you may be able to do is keep them separated. But please remember that the cat shouldn't end up getting the short end of the sitck if separation ends up being how you have to manage the situation.

 

J.

Thank you! There is definitely the potential for friction, so I'm trying to be as fair as I can. I will look into the Feliway products and definitely into L-theanine. Thanks everyone! I'll keep posting as things progress.