Cats harrassing the dog

[Casey Laurie]

::sigh::
We have 3 dogs, two cats, and two guinea pigs.
The cats don't bother the guinea pigs, and the dogs are not allowed access to them. Our younger cat, Zoe, has actually made friends with one of the guinea pigs. Not a problem.

Jewel, our older cat, is queen of the realm. This is simply understood and accepted..or else, lol She generally ignores the dogs unless they are in her way when she's cranky about something.

Zoe, our younger cat, was raised with 2 of our dogs. She used to wrestle with them and really loved them when she was a kitten. As she grew older, she and Jewel started interacting more and bonding. She still likes the two dachshunds, but doesn't play with them anymore.

In May, we started fostering a dachshund/aussie mix (best guess).
Zoe started out terrified of her, even though Lilly never once bothered her. Once she got over her fear, she started testing Lilly.
Her favorite game was to stalk Lilly, smack her on the tush and then just sit there while Lilly barked at her, trying to get her to play. Lilly would eventually get tired of being ignored and move on..then Zoe would start over again, stalking Lilly and smacking her on the tush.

Lilly is a bit bigger than the other dogs. She weighs about 25lbs to their 17lbs each. She has been having unfortunate run-ins with both cats.
When Jewel wants something she can't have (like more dinner, or to go outside after dark), she gets cranky. When she gets cranky, she can get mean..more likely she will jump on our desks and knock things off until she gets what she wants...this doesn't work for her at all. All it gets her is tossed off the desk and scolded...anyway, if Lilly happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, she will tag her. The other dogs have simply learned to stay out of her way. Now Zoe has started the same sort of behavior. She doesn't knock things over, but she does tease Lilly, and is sometimes downright mean to her. She doesn't seek her out really, but it's a small apartment, and if Lilly is nearby when she's in a bad mood because we won't let her outside, she will attack her. I don't know if she is using claws or just smacking her, but either way, this is getting to be one frustrated doggie. Lilly has been incredibly patient about all of this. She will retaliate by barking and bouncing..and "talking"..she sort of scolds them, and she has now started chasing them on occasion, but I suspect that is to get them to move out of hitting range. Last night she skidded into the room after Jewel with tufts of fur in her mouth. Jewel just sat across the room not looking at her and grooming herself, and being rather deliberately "unruffled".

Jewel was not hurt at all. I think Lilly just grabbed at the fur on her hind quarter..sort of "goosed" her, like she will do with other dogs that won't play with her. I'm getting a bit concerned though, that if this doesn't stop soon, that it will escalate. Lilly has been extremely patient up until now, and I have been trying to just let them work it out, but I'm not sure if I should continue being passive about it all or step in. If the cats are attacking the dogs I will "split" them, but that's really all I've been doing so far.

The dog I can train to leave the cat alone, but if she is provoked like she has been, I really cannot blame her for retaliating. Can I train the cats to be nicer to the dogs? Like I said, Jewel only really bothers her if she's in her way, but Zoe actually seeks her out to torment her :shock:

[Lesly Stevens]

I had an old cat who was cranky like that, too! Right now I have two Standard Poodles (the BIG ones), a 20-yr. old cat, Babe, and a feral rescue I brought home from the property at work, whom I named Oliver. Some cats have the crankies like your Jewel when they're feeling crowded - too many other animals and/or not enough space. Do your cats have a place/space to go where the dogs cannot follow? Mine do. Everybody needs a solitary sanctuary sometimes! (Me, too!)

Babe just gets an attitude sometimes and spits and hisses, but everyone else simply ignores her. Oliver, the feral, is about 11 mo. old, and a real character. I kept him in a large dog crate initially, with blankets on both ends of the crate so he could sleep and potty in privacy, leaving a small opening in the middle for him to see out, and come close to sniff and touch the dogs and Babe, if he chose to. I'd let him out loose in the room with everyone else out of the room several times a day for about 3 wks.

Worked well, and now he thinks he's a SPoodle! LOL He sleeps with the Spoos, eats from their food bowls, stands under them and drinks water at the same time. He's rather full of himself, truth be told, and acts kind of nasty at times. Anyway, HE leaps up and grabs the neck of the Poodles, swings, and then jumps down and races off. He sometimes gets a bit too big for his britches, so the SPoodles put him in his place by grabbing him, or nose-poking him, or stop him with a big paw, then flip him over onto his back and thoroughly lick him into submission.

At first I worried about the SPoodle's eyes - I don't believe in de-clawing, just neutered him. Teeth can do damage, too. But, they seem to have things figured out. Oliver's jumping and acting like some kind of wild big cat going for the jugler looks worse than it actually is. My Poodle's throats are shaved to the skin at the front, along with faces, so I'd easily detect any broken skin.

You can train cats - mine line up with the SPoos when we're doing training moments throughout the day, and do downs, sits, shake paw, etc. I use the sound "Eh!" when my SPoos are into something or about to do something they should not, which stops them in their tracks, and this also works for the cats. Oliver caught on fast using the clicker and food treats. He will do anything for food - starved as he was when I brought him home (it's how I got him into the humane trap). Some people will squirt water to deter cats from doing something, but I've never tried that.


Lesly, Maddy, & Bo

[Daniela Jantzen]

Can I train the cats to be nicer to the dogs?

Sometimes it can help if everything good (cuddling, care, food) only happens in the presence of the dogs.
Another good option: clickertraining.
Show the cat via clickertraining exactly what kind of behaviour you would like to see (stay on the sidebord when the dogs are walking by, turn away from the dog, rub underneath the dog's chin etc.) and reinforce this.

I am currently working with two of our six cats who used to get involved into serious cases of mobbing lately. It took only a few days until the two of them started to snuggle up against each other again.

So believe me: training cats can be done. ;)

Danny