The Dog and the Cat

[Smaug]

Well, it has been a while and the cat still refuses to accept the dog as anything but a nuisance.  The dog would love to play with the cat but has never been able to get within claws reach of the cat.  The cat is older, 4 years or so now.  I thought I made progress one night when the cat calmed down and laid on the floor and the dog laid on the floor about three feet away and they just stared at each other.  This went on for about 20 minutes.  The dog got bored and walked up to the cat and she resumed her hissing and swatting.  The cat is an inside outside cat so she still has her claws.  The puppy has never approached her aggressively and sometimes will just lay down and kind of crawl towards her.  The pup really wants to make friends but the cat just doesn't seem to want any part of it.  My wife tells me it is a hopeless cause and I am going to give the cat a heart attack.  Should I give up?  I am officially at a loss.

[marinafb]

  I had a cat that treated the dog like that i think once they realize the dog is there to stay most of the the time the end up getting along. It just takes time and its painful because you love them both and you want them to get along.Since the cat is older it might take longer but the pup will learn it's place real fast. good luck

[Kiahpyr]

I have 3 cats. Our first cat loves the dogs, 2nd cat is okay with them. She will rub on them one second and the next hiss. She is a very moody cat and does that with people. She's kind of physco anyway. Our 3rd cat hates the dogs. He always hisses and throws a fit. He will never get used to them. I have given up. They live peacefully respecting each other. I would just let them be. As long as the dog isn't chasing the cat or tormenting her.

[Smaug]

Well, that's kind of the problem.  Since the cat is an inside outside cat she will not tolerate being only an outside cat.  I have the cat's food and water and litter box set up in my garage which is enclosed and has central heat and air.  The cat will run to the garage and make me open the door, run in eat her food, etc, and lounge around the garage.  I feel guilty because the garage doesn't offer much enjoyment for the cat except she is isolated from the dog.  That is why I was trying to have them come to an understanding.  I think the understanding has been accomplished, but the understanding is cat does not want anything at all to do with dog but puppy isn't buying it.  Guess time will tell......

[ZooCrew]

My parent's two cats took a long time to get used to their dog.  They will never be friends, but as he has aged, they now tolerate him alot more.

I would give it some time.  When I say it took a long time, I mean it took over a year for them to even partially accept him.  Age will help, especially once the pup is out of the puppy stage.  Cats don't tend to like quick puppy movements and sporadic behavior.  I agree to give it some more time.

[Mom2Sadie]

I think it just takes a long time - they don't say "fighting like cats and dogs for nothing". Awhile ago, before I had Sadie and Maggie, I moved back in with my parents and their two dogs with my cat Gus who had never seen a dog. It took a couple of months but in the end everyone got along great. I actually got my second cat because he was so lonely when we moved. Puppies are hard for cats to take. They have so much energy and they're so fast about everything. My cats still get startled of Sadie's movements. They actually get along really well with her but they have their moments. There's occasionally some hissing and I think it's mostly because Sadie's sort of dopey and she doesn't get the warnings. To a cat a raised paw is aggression, to a puppy it's play. Stuff like that just takes a while to sort out. Don't give up yet. Most cats and dogs, in my experience can learn to live peacefully with each other with time. It is stressful though, I feel your pain

[marinafb]

    oh yea i forgot over time when the dog grows up it won't be all that exciting any more. It's kidda like kids after a while they stop poking and slapping and all that other stuff!

[macybean]

I have three cats. One couldn't careless about the dogs, and they don't mess with him. One gets annoyed, but will hang out around them if I'm there. The third is scared of the dogs.

I keep a low baby gate up in the bathroom door (easy to step over and dogs won't jump over it to get *in*-they would if they were stuck in the bathroom). It gives the cats somewhere to go if the dogs are pestering them.

I don't recommend making your cat live outdoors only. The cat sounds like she's doing pretty well, considering your dog is still so young (and hasn't been there too long). She needs to be able to defend herself from the dog, especially once the dog gets bigger (Riley can get pretty darn bouncy and it could be dangerous around a cat... but they don't let him do that around them and he knows it now).

[NoDogNow]

I only ever had ONE cat, and I was like, 8. 

So I'm not recommending this course of action, only relating it. Every time I see a cat and dog scuffle, it makes me laugh.

I got Poof from a dairy farm where my papa was working; they had too many barn cats, and she was very snuggly and sweet--at the farm! And at home, too. As long as the dogs weren't around, she was a slobbery lovey purrer who liked nothing better than to curl up under your arm.  But she HATED Katiedog and Spotty, with a passion that I, as a human, reserve  for pet store people. 

I was determined they were going to be friends though, and refused to pay any attention to the grownups who were giving me a hard time with all their "it's not natural" crap.

I spent the whole summer carrying Poof in a huge macrame zipper beachy bag my grandmother had brought back from Mexico the year before. Every time she hissed at one of my dogs, or clawed at them, whatever--I would put her inside the purse, and zip it closed, basically netting her.  Then I would call the dogs, and pet and kiss them while she was bagged right next to me.  I wouldn't let her out until she calmed down. Once she was calm, I'd let her out, and would love and snuggle her, until she'd start tangling with one of them again--at which point she'd get bagged, and so on, and so on.

I know, it sounds just horrible, and she didn't like it much, believe me.  And being a cat, she was stubborn about the whole thing, too.  Either of the dogs would have quit torturing her in a week to avoid getting bagged.  Not Poof.  It was SEPTEMBER before that cat finally stopped confronting Katie and Spotty every time my back was turned.

I don't know that she ever LOVED the dogs, but she got along with them.  By Christmas time, I could even get her to lay on the arm of the sofa, while I cuddled the dogs next to me on the other side. 

So...do you have a big macrame bag? 

[paharts]

i've had my oldest kid [yoshi, a cat, not declawed] for about 11 years. the next oldest is about 6 years [holi, a basset]. we brought holi home when she was 6 weeks old. yoshi did not like that strange thing wobbling across the floor to things it couldn't really see. yoshi stopped sleeping with me for several weeks to show his disapproval. eventually, yoshi tried to play with holi a bit and holi tried to play with yoshi a bit. but holi would often get too playful so yoshi would ... i spied and witnessed it ... place a paw on each side of holi's face then bite her right on the nose! yoshi never once used a claw. he is my angel boy. we brought in other dogs [temporary & permanent] and he decided they weren't worth his time.

now we have 2 dogs and a foster [who's not experienced with cats or house-bunnies], 2 cats & a kitten [they will never be declawed or outdoor kids], 2 rabbits. the 2 cats have decided that as long as the dogs mind thier Ps & Qs, they will let the dogs stay; they will smack if their personal space is intruded upon. i respect this because they do not go overboard and have their own space to get away from everyone.
the kitten is a bit of a different story. i've been her mama since hubby found her at around 5 weeks old. when we found rosie, dusty got jealous and would smack [with claws] rosie for no reason. since dusty is only 6 months old & rosie is fearful of all things, i have been disciplining dusty. it took a few weeks but i think the problem is resolved now.

in the end, everyone happily lives in the house. actually, most of the squabbles are either between the 2 humans or a pair of cats .
it sounds like your cat will not run away and that is the main motivator for dogs to go after anything. i would keep the cat inside, be sure he has his own space to retreat to, be sure to give him at least as much rubs and attention as before the pup arrived, and give it time. i'll bet one day you will suddenly realize that things have been going well.

good luck and i hope to eventually see positive news