Hi All, Need some advice as we are to the point of getting an animal behaviourist in. We have a 16 year old cat and since we got our puppy he absolutely hates him. We baby gated the stairs and the cat could still pass through the sides but he hates the dog so much he moved upstairs permanently. We then moved house, been here 10 weeks, the baby gate is in place. The last couple of days I have carried the cat down to our small courtyard garden Hubby took the dog out) he loved it. He ran in and back up the stairs when the dog came home. Now the cat is instantly sitting on the stairs crying.....if we open the gate and the cat gingerly comes downstairs, the dog chases him till the bottom of the stairs when I shut the gate. The pup is now 10 months old and we are considering removing the gate and letting them sort it out themselves. We really can't cope with the constant crying, we pop over to see him to fuss him, but as soon as we walk away he starts crying. Last night I went to bed early to fuss him, I fussed him for 5 mins then he went and sat in the stairs crying, keeping me awake. We spoke to the vet and he doesn't think removing the gate is a good idea but didn't offfer any other advice!! Would our lab be ok being allowed upstairs at 10 months? The cat gave the pup a slap on the nose tonight which was good (thankfully he didn't scratch) so the dog is now nervous. Can someone help, not sure we can take this situation anymore
Re: At The End Of Our Tether Hi there So sorry you're all experiencing this. I have no experience of this so I'm not qualified to give advice. But I didn't want the evening to end without you getting a reply. Just googling around a bit, I'd say it sounds like you do need proper, qualified help. The best I could find was this from the aspca. A little discouraging at first but scroll down to the tips at the end, you'll probably have to adapt them slightly... All the best, wish you well x https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-dog
Re: At The End Of Our Tether Thanks for that, funny I've started doing tonight what it says in the article in regards to treating them both when they are calm. Unfortunately hubby stupidly picked up his glass just as the pup sprang forward to say hello and the cat slapped him on the nose. The pup is now terrified of the cat (but am hoping he starts to lose interest). Will try to continue the introductions every day with treats. In the meantime the cat has finally stopped crying so I can sleep.....maybe he feels calmer knowing the pup is now terrified of him!
Re: At The End Of Our Tether It sounds like you have started to make progress I can appreciate hoe frustrating this has been. Getting them calm (dog on lead if needed) and giving them both treats is a very good thing to do. Letting them interact, as long as there is no chasing, is probably a good thing, but keep it controlled and just watch out for the cat getting near the dog's eyes with his claws. At 10 months I'd let a pup go up and down stairs, but at a walk (using the lead if you have to).
Re: At The End Of Our Tether I have been in this situation. I trained my dog not to go upstairs. It was a slog but I did it. You really cannot let them sort it out themselves. At 10 months your dog is a large and powerful beast, far too much for an elderly cat to be able to cope wth. Think how you would feel if the dog seriously damaged the cat, or worse.
Re: At The End Of Our Tether I have had HUGE progress in the last two days with Monty (4.5 months) and our three cats (12yrs, and 2x 3yrs). A normal day would involve Monty in the kitchen behind baby gate. Baby gate on stairs. Baby gate sectioning living room into two. 1. all baby gates shut? check 2. all cats above ground and safe? check 3. release the hound. check (Monty tears through house leaping and bounding, chasing anything that moves) 4. Oh no, a cat has jumped down. rescue cat back to high ground 5. oh no another cat has jumped down... etc 6. reach patio, distract hound, open door, release Now... and I know some aren't keen on this concept, I have been taught to use my voice to show dissatisfaction and to refocus his attention onto me. A sharp gruff noise to get Monty's attention. Not scary or nasty. Similar to what an older dog might do. IT HAS WORKED WONDERS! NB: he is a working Springer and maybe Labs are a little more sensitive? I have no idea. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I sat in the garden in the sun with three cats and the dog. He did not bother them at all. He just wasn't really interested. He was happy sitting with me or with his toy. He did take his toy over to one of them at one point hoping she'd play with him, but that was it. It was a massive step for us. Also, walking through the house now is also super easy. The cats are on the ground, and he will walk (yup, WALK, not run, leap and bound) right past them barely noticing them! And this is in two days! All I really need to do is say his name now (nicely) and he looks at me and seems to know to slow it down. If he ignores, I let him know I'm not happy with that with a sharp gruff, followed by a nice and pleasant "Monty, come" once he's looking at me. Sure it doesn't work all the time... and I could show you the bleeding cuts on my legs from yesterdays failed training session where he decided to run round in crazy circles and snap at me on each pass... but it's progress...!
