Cat and Dog Relationship Advice!!

Stoney_G

Hi Guys,

About 9 months ago I moved in with the OH. He has a dog and I have a cat. We were under no illusion that they were going to be best friends but in reality the dog just wants to kill the cat!!

We have a house where you open the front door onto the stairs and a door to the downstairs, this means that we can keep them separate -dog downstairs and cat upstairs.

Aside from the fact that they cannot be together as they will tear the house apart in an attempt to chase / hide, we are finding that the night-time situation is becoming increasingly difficult.

My cat refuses to go out in the day. She prefers to go out at night. The problem being that she cannot leave the house herself. Due to the layout of the house there is no window for her to leave by and no catflap (the only door being the front door). We have experimented and found that she will go out for a few hours but likes to come in for ten mins then leave again. In the middle of the night this is awful because she cries outside the front door which causes the dog to bark and then wake the house. We let her in and then she wants to go out again.

I know there isn't an immediate solution for this but does anyone have any advice or experience with this sort of thing?

We are thinking of bringing in a pet behaviourist for the dog as he is quite aggressive with other dogs and to see if she could help with this situation.

Thanks!!

rising_from_the_ashes

Can you not put a cat flap in the front door?

If it leads straight to upstairs (cat territory) and she (or the dog) can't get through the other door leading to the downstairs section (dog territory), this would seem like an easy solution - to this part of the problem anyway!

Stoney_G

We have thought about this, but were concerned as it is the front door. We have a garden and a gate but still, there are security issues...

It would be the most simple solution to this tiresome problem - particularly when she wants to play at 3am

Fire_Fox

Does the dog chase all cats or just yours, what about children? How did you conduct pre-training and introductions? Why do you think a catflap is a security risk? What will you do in winter if you won't to install a catflap? Will your insurance cover a behaviourist? Can you move, are you willing to? Are you willing to give one up for rehoming?

rising_from_the_ashes

I've not heard of anyone ever having a security problem due to a cat flap - what sort of security issues?

If you don't want other cats coming in your house, you can get ones which are activated with your pets' microchip - they're a bit more expensive but saves a load of unwelcome visitors.

Stoney_G

Re: security issues, it's just having a big hole in the front door that bothers me!!! Maybe I'm over-reacting slightly...

The dog chases all cats but is fine with kids. We tried to introduce them with him on a lead and do this still now, but with no luck, hence the idea of the behaviourist coming in for a few sessions, to show us how to do it properly. It's not such an issue that we need to move or re-home either of them, it's more an annoyance during the night when we're trying to sleep. Some nights she's quite as a mouse but other nights she's desperate to go out.

I think I'll have to research more into cat flaps and maybe get over my self with them!!

Thank you for your replies

Fire_Fox

Stoney_G wrote: »

Re: security issues, it's just having a big hole in the front door that bothers me!!! Maybe I'm over-reacting slightly...

The dog chases all cats but is fine with kids. We tried to introduce them with him on a lead and do this still now, but with no luck, hence the idea of the behaviourist coming in for a few sessions, to show us how to do it properly. It's not such an issue that we need to move or re-home either of them, it's more an annoyance during the night when we're trying to sleep. Some nights she's quite as a mouse but other nights she's desperate to go out.

I think I'll have to research more into cat flaps and maybe get over my self with them!!

Thank you for your replies

TBH if the dog hates all cats I would be amazed if you could resolve that with a couple of behaviourist sessions. Did you undertake any clicker training or scent swapping with the dog beforehand? The situation sounds horrendous for the cat, to live in constant fear of being chased and to not be able to get out. Cats are intelligent and sensitive creatures, they need mental and physical stimulation and to feel safe in their territory. What will you do if the dog injures or kills your cat? With the best will in the world it would be so easy to accidentally leave a door open (if not you, a guest or plumber say).

Cat flaps are not a hole, they have a door on the front which (if you get a chip or magnet activated one) is locked apart from when the cat goes through. I very rarely say this but I think you should start looking to rehome your cat, a rescue may be willing to put you on their website so that your cat is rehomed straight from you to another loving home, and a homecheck is carried out. Sorry to be harsh but to me this is about a lot more than your sleep.

tizerbelle

Stoney_G wrote: »

Re: security issues, it's just having a big hole in the front door that bothers me!!! Maybe I'm over-reacting slightly...

Just a little - it's a cat flap - they are tiny, it's not like the huge dog flaps that are virtually half a door.

The flap will be low down and at most someone might get their arm through it but they wouldn't see anything and assuming you have your lock high enough up the door they won't be able to reach it. Just don't leave keys or anything that can be hooked using a wire in the hallway.

shandypants5

Stoney_G wrote: »

Re: security issues, it's just having a big hole in the front door that bothers me!!! Maybe I'm over-reacting slightly...


I think I'll have to research more into cat flaps and maybe get over my self with them!!

Thank you for your replies

I wouldnt worry too much about security with a cat flap in the front door.

As long as no one can get an arm thru and reach to unlock the door then its no worse than your letterbox really.

There have been problems with burglars using long poles and a hook through a cat flap to steal car or house keys, but if your front door is visible from the street then this would be unlikely.

Any one who WANTS to get in your house is coming in anyway, a properly fitted cat flap makes it no easier for them.

Anyway, with a dog like yours no one is even going to TRY.:D

viktory

Difficult situation and my sympathies lie entirely with the cat. I had a cat for about 2 years then got the dog. The dog was a pup and I was reasonably confident that she wasn't going to kill the cat (I was right!) but it has taken over two years for them to be able to co-exist. Honestly. There is no quick solution and the whole situation is really, really unfair on your poor cat. Act now - or get one of the pets re homed.

Stoney_G

I think some people have misunderstood what I'm saying.

The cat is not living in constant fear, she is a very happy cat and goes in and out of the house all the time. The two live separate lives. If there was a problem I would have acted months ago, I think there is an over reaction about re-homing and the like which is completely unnecessary.

Thank you for the comments about the cat flap, I will be looking into this further.