Pet questions! Getting a cat and dog to get along.

PepperStick

I posted a few weeks ago about getting a new puppy. He's a Redbone Coonhound and naturally has a hunting instinct which does not sit so well with our cat.

Our kitty has lived with another dog. We got her while we were still living with DH's parents and they had a Golden Retriever. They ended up being very good friends and it was absolutely adorable.

My main concern is how stressed out our cat seems. She's constantly hiding in the bedroom and really only comes out now to eat or when the pup is in his kennel at night. At first when the pup would see her, he'd obviously get really excited but he's pretty good about leaving her alone with the command "Leave it." I've also held/pet the kitty in his presence to try and show him that she's higher up in the pack than he is.

I'm also trying to convince DH that she needs a cat tower in living room. Right now her only high place is the bed (the dog is not allowed in our room.) and where her food is, which is on a jut out type window sill in the dining room.

Is there anything else I can do? I know they might never be the best of friends but I don't want my kitty stressed out anymore. She's losing weight and fur and it's making me really sad. Our puppy is almost 5 months old and our kitty is a little over 3 years old.

Gah, and as usual, my post is super long. Thanks if you read it all!

RondackHiker

She needs a cat tree and other places to escape.

Perhaps a shelf above the couch, or other places to jump up?

Puppy gates she can jump over work well too.

What do you mean by a hunting instinct that doesn't sit well with kitty? What does he do? He can't chase her, ever.

Also, holding and petting her doesn't show the dog she's higher up. The dog needs to learn the cat is yours, and as such is not to be chased or pestered, or molested. Just like you don't let him chew on your hands or shoes.

I'd consider a feliway spray to help kitty feel calmer. Make sure she has access to food and water wherever she chooses to hide, and make sure puppy has plenty of exercise. Consider keeping him leashed if kitty is roaming so he won't chase her.

PepperStick

RondackHiker said:

She needs a cat tree and other places to escape. Perhaps a shelf above the couch, or other places to jump up? Puppy gates she can jump over work well too. What do you mean by a hunting instinct that doesn't sit well with kitty? What does he do? He can't chase her, ever. Also, holding and petting her doesn't show the dog she's higher up. The dog needs to learn the cat is yours, and as such is not to be chased or pestered, or molested. Just like you don't let him chew on your hands or shoes. I'd consider a feliway spray to help kitty feel calmer. Make sure she has access to food and water wherever she chooses to hide, and make sure puppy has plenty of exercise. Consider keeping him leashed if kitty is roaming so he won't chase her.

@Rondackhiker  When we first brought him home he would chase her into our room or down her kitty door into the basement where her litter box is. He's much better now about leaving her alone when we say and we are always there to stop him as soon as he starts. He will try to jump at her when she's on her perch where her food is but we correct him every time.

But he's still a puppy after all and does try to chase her occasionally.

As for the hunting thing, I'm mostly going by what my vet said, that he's bred to hunt small animals, like raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, etc. So a cat is perfect hunting material.

Also, do you have a good way to show him that the cat is "mine" and is not to be bothered/mess with?

@darbie914 -- The Golden she lived with was mostly calm but had some extreme bursts of energy as he never goes outside. I think the reason they got along so well was because we brought our cat home when she was really young (6ish weeks, she was a barn cat from a friend's place).

@idani -- Thanks! That's a good idea about letting kitty sniff around his bed and such when he's outside or something. She does have her own safe places, like I mentioned, our bedroom which the dog is not allowed in, the basement which has her litter box and where her food is. 

::Off to Amazon to get a kitty tower and some feliway::

secretsout

I would just make sure that the cat has plenty of safe places and easy access to food/water/litter box, without having to cross the dogs path if that's possible.  We got a puppy when our cats were about 2 years old and it took them a long time to come around to the dog.  They would sometimes come check him out when he was sleeping or when he was crated, but for the better part of two years, they stayed in the basement where they dog didn't have access--it wasn't a bad place to stay.  They had toys, we watched tv down there to hang out with them, etc.  We tried to encourage the dog and the cats to spend time together at first, tried to "introduce" them and all of that, but it didn't really work.  He was an active puppy and is a big dog at 90 pounds.  In the end, it just took a lot of time.  At one point, I wondered if they would ever come around again, but now, they are great friends when the cats are harassing him.

If your kitty is having health problems, I might make a visit to the vet, but I would probably give it more time, and work on a few other solutions for making sure she feels safe and has a good dog-free zone.

Mrs.adambabycakes

Also, try and get your puppy outside every day for walks (30 min).  Throw a ball and have him bring it back.  A long leash helps when teaching fetch, or "bring" is what I call it with my dogs.  He needs an activity outside is basically what I'm saying.  GL.

mrs.schmitty

I am also not an expert but have some experience introducing cats and dogs into our home.

We brought home one of our dogs after having our cats for about a year and then brought another one home a year later. Both of our dogs are hounds which are primarily bred to hunt small animals as well.

It definitely takes time but eventually they learned to co-exist. Like others have said, it's important to make sure that cat feels safe and introduce them slowly and carefully. We were actually advised not to hold the cats or pay them too much attention with the dogs around initially. 

Because of this, we mostly kept them separated for awhile. Over time, the cats got more comfortable and would come into the room with the dogs (and us) in it and eventually the dogs learned to give them their space.

Now they mostly just all ignore each other. Every once in awhile, one of the dogs will get too close to one of the cats but as soon as the cat hisses or swats at them, they run away and hide.

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