why is my cat acting this way toward my dog?
April 10, 2010 by
Filed under Bird Bath Fountain
My boyfriend and i just moved in together about 2 months ago and he has an 10 year old cat named Sphinx, very friendly and loves to play with his toys and people. He will play only when he wants to, and knows when he wants to be alone, he has never been around animals before.
I have a 2 year old shetland sheepgod (sheltie) named Sadie, who is the friendliest, most energetic, most obediant dog in the world, all she wants to do is play, jump, lick, proove how many tricks she can do to please you, and follow you around with ever step you take. She has been around many many animals since she was a pup as i worked at a pet store and brought her to work every day, she stayed in doggy daycare, but always had a chance to interact with bunnies, hamsters, dogs, cats, rats birds, ect.
When we first moved in to our house, my cat (sphinx) just hid and never came out, for the last month he has been doing little things to the dog to see what he can get away with, now that he sees that the dog (sadie) is trained to like all animals and wont stick up for herself or fight back, the cat (sphinx) just runs her around the house. Sphinx will be laying at one side of the house and if sadie even walks by to go to HER water fountain sphinx runs after her and meows and chases sadie away, sadie just then comes to mom or dad and hides behind us..
She is so scared to even walk by sphinx because he always scares her away, sphinx has even taken to eating the dog food ( just cuz she can), and sadie just hides behind me. my dog is a little diva, like having a bath, getting brushed and putting bows in her hair, but i dont want a prissy dog, i love everything about her personality i dont want to change a thing, but she has never been put in the position to fight with anyone or anything but I want her to defend her territory and fight back atleast a little smack the cat around a little.. HELP!!??!!??
to top it all off, sphinx is declawed, so my dog is getting beat up by a clawless cat lol.
My questions.
why is sphinx being such a bully?
How can i teach sphinx that sadie just wants to play and she wont hurt him?
how can i train sadie to toughen up a little and fight back to sphinx without sending the wrong impression that its ok to growl or be defensive?
can anyone help? im all out of ideas?
i think he is being a bully because he can be.the dog is doing nothing to defend itself or even showing the cat it doesn’t like what he is doin. I think you need to interfere with the cats actions and make him realize he can not bully the dog. Snap your fingers in front of his face and say NO very firmly when he does something to the dog. Your dog sounds very sweet and doesnt deserve the cat taking advantage of that. hope things work out and they begin to get along
Ok I have some ideas. Being a pet owner, especially cats and dogs you may want to try taking your dog out each day for a short ride or walk with you. Try to set up some a lone time for her with you so that the cat can’t steal your attention your giving to the dog. Also most cats hate being sprayed with water. Get a plant water spritzer or a good water gun with some distance on it and when the cat tries to boss the dog around hit him with water. Also if possible set up a place where the dog can have alone time. Not sure how, given cats can get into places that dogs can’t, but a little creativity and advice from your local pet store might give you some ideas. Hope this helps