Help old dog adjust to cats and sleep quietly at night
June 20, 2022 1:47 PM Subscribe
How can we help our old dog adjust to cats and sleep quietly and comfortably at night?
We have an older Shiba Inu...12 years old. He's generally in good physical health. For most of his life we had cats. Though the dog and cats basically "tolerated" each other. But it was mostly the cats disliked the dog. Those cats passed away not too long ago. After their passing we definitely noticed our shiba was more whiney before bed time. Though once we went to bed(he sleeps in bed with us) he immediately would quiet down and sleep straight through the night.
Recently(about 2 months ago we got kittens). Our shiba has actually shown he can be friendly with other cats...one of the neighborhood cats he sees on our walks is one of his best buds. So we felt getting kittens might be good for him. We also wanted more cats. So far the dog and the cats get along fine. The cats wanna be his friend...he is entertained by them but doesn't love cuddling. During the day(I work from home) things are usually good. Sometimes one of the cats cuddles with the dog on his blanket. Eventually the dog will leave the cat but they are fine together.
The problem...at night the cats now sleep on our bed and since they've been on the bed the dog is now electing not to wanna be on our bed with the cats. What's most challenging....all through out the night we are waking up to a dog crying maybe about 6 times through out the night. He is so sad and obviously uneasy and unhappy about the cats on the bed. This has also led to me not getting a good night sleep. My wife doesn't seem as phased but in all honesty my health is suffering because I'm the type of person that really needs a full nights sleep.
Any suggestions on how to get our dog back to a place mentally where he is happy and sleeps with us? Do we need to kick the cats out of the bedroom? I want the dog to be comfortable and not stressed. He's slept on our bed all his life. I also wanna sleep at night. He does have some vision and hearing issues which seem more vulnerable at night. We tried a supplement that supposedly relaxes a dog but didn't do much. Any help would be amazing!
We have an older Shiba Inu...12 years old. He's generally in good physical health. For most of his life we had cats. Though the dog and cats basically "tolerated" each other. But it was mostly the cats disliked the dog. Those cats passed away not too long ago. After their passing we definitely noticed our shiba was more whiney before bed time. Though once we went to bed(he sleeps in bed with us) he immediately would quiet down and sleep straight through the night.
Recently(about 2 months ago we got kittens). Our shiba has actually shown he can be friendly with other cats...one of the neighborhood cats he sees on our walks is one of his best buds. So we felt getting kittens might be good for him. We also wanted more cats. So far the dog and the cats get along fine. The cats wanna be his friend...he is entertained by them but doesn't love cuddling. During the day(I work from home) things are usually good. Sometimes one of the cats cuddles with the dog on his blanket. Eventually the dog will leave the cat but they are fine together.
The problem...at night the cats now sleep on our bed and since they've been on the bed the dog is now electing not to wanna be on our bed with the cats. What's most challenging....all through out the night we are waking up to a dog crying maybe about 6 times through out the night. He is so sad and obviously uneasy and unhappy about the cats on the bed. This has also led to me not getting a good night sleep. My wife doesn't seem as phased but in all honesty my health is suffering because I'm the type of person that really needs a full nights sleep.
Any suggestions on how to get our dog back to a place mentally where he is happy and sleeps with us? Do we need to kick the cats out of the bedroom? I want the dog to be comfortable and not stressed. He's slept on our bed all his life. I also wanna sleep at night. He does have some vision and hearing issues which seem more vulnerable at night. We tried a supplement that supposedly relaxes a dog but didn't do much. Any help would be amazing!
I would shut the kittens out of the bedroom to sleep in another room - they'll be fine, they're young and will adjust. But the dog won't ever adjust, so I'd let him live out his life sleeping happily with his human pack on your bed, cat-free. Down the line the cats can get a chance at the bed - but for now, I would let the dog be the king!
Make the cats a nice place to sleep in another room and give them the run of the house all night. Cats are nocturnal anyway, they'll enjoy that; you can even put some cat toys out in a faraway room so you won't hear them playing. If the cats scratch at the bedroom door, place a fan on the hallway floor so it's blowing at the place the cat has to stand to scratch. They won't like being blown on and will stop scratching.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:43 PM on June 20, 2022 [14 favorites]
Make the cats a nice place to sleep in another room and give them the run of the house all night. Cats are nocturnal anyway, they'll enjoy that; you can even put some cat toys out in a faraway room so you won't hear them playing. If the cats scratch at the bedroom door, place a fan on the hallway floor so it's blowing at the place the cat has to stand to scratch. They won't like being blown on and will stop scratching.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:43 PM on June 20, 2022 [14 favorites]
Could you get actual pet beds to put on the bed so there's someplace cozy that the kittens will WANT to sleep (possibly with a warming/mylar/thermal blanket in there), leaving space for your dog? Maybe the dog gets too hot, but the kittens want a lot of warmth?
Also: could you get a bigger bed?
Finally: if you set up a high, spacious shelf with a bit of a lip that has soft padding (i.e. a high up cat bed), near your bed, there's a _great_ chance that the kittens will love sleeping up there. As long as they can see you. Basically, make a cozy cat fort with a view.
Re: cat beds: get a giant dog bed so the cats can stretch out when they are grown and want to sleep stretched out. The tiny ones are sometimes good for kittens (and might actually be good now), but eventually most cats find them too small.
posted by amtho at 3:41 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also: could you get a bigger bed?
Finally: if you set up a high, spacious shelf with a bit of a lip that has soft padding (i.e. a high up cat bed), near your bed, there's a _great_ chance that the kittens will love sleeping up there. As long as they can see you. Basically, make a cozy cat fort with a view.
Re: cat beds: get a giant dog bed so the cats can stretch out when they are grown and want to sleep stretched out. The tiny ones are sometimes good for kittens (and might actually be good now), but eventually most cats find them too small.
posted by amtho at 3:41 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Move a bookshelf or armoire so it is within view of your bed, and there is a path that kittens can navigate to the top of it (perhaps chair > dresser > bookshelf, or you could go hardcore and put floating shelf steps on the wall) and put some cozy fleece blankets up on top. Maybe some extra padding, or some toys and catnip, or whatever makes the kittens want to be up there other than the creepy people watching opportunities. Invite the dog to bed, put the cats up high, see what happens.
They are still kittens so now is the right time to instill habits in them. So if it’s training them to not be in your bedroom at night, or training them to sleep nearby but not with you, or whatever it may be, get together with your SO and commit to a single plan and stay consistent.
posted by Mizu at 9:39 PM on June 20, 2022
They are still kittens so now is the right time to instill habits in them. So if it’s training them to not be in your bedroom at night, or training them to sleep nearby but not with you, or whatever it may be, get together with your SO and commit to a single plan and stay consistent.
posted by Mizu at 9:39 PM on June 20, 2022
Bigger bed that has room for everyone or a bed-height surface next to the bed with a comfy cushion on top to extend the available sleeping area for pets
posted by Jacqueline at 4:34 AM on June 21, 2022
posted by Jacqueline at 4:34 AM on June 21, 2022
Cat / dog tax pls. I mean, come on, kittens!!
posted by ClarissaWAM at 3:11 AM on June 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ClarissaWAM at 3:11 AM on June 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have five cats, but no dogs. Not quite the same, but maybe some of this will be of use to you. Two of my cats are very bonded and will sleep snuggled with each other, but the others prefer more space. What helps in my house is to set off spaces for sleeping. I have two cat beds on my bed, another on a bedside table just above bed level, and then a couple more spots with little blankets that the cats like. Most nights, three of the cats sleep through the night in bed, and the other two come for an hour or two of cuddling before retreating to other spots. We have approximately one billion sleeping spots throughout the apartment, all of which are regularly utilized, but they all want to sleep near me at night.
It could be that a little more time sorts everything out, especially if you can make a cat sleeping space on one side of the bed and a dog space on the other. My first cat has always been the slowest to adjust to newcomers, taking 1-2 months after meeting the newcomers to get back to all her routines, including sleeping in my bed if the newest cat is there. Are the kittens actually sleeping at night or more active? If they are bopping around a bit, perhaps a very vigorous playtime and late kitten dinner can help. Do you spend any quiet time in bed, say reading, where you can invite the dog and the kittens up with you, and pet or brush them, so that everyone is getting positive attention and views it as happy time to be all together? If one of you goes to bed first, and then other comes shortly after with the cats, will the dog stay?
FYI, I don't agree with some of the previous comments about cats. At least three of mine would be incredibly unhappy and stressed if I shut them out of my room, to the point that I would consider it abuse to do so for these cats in particular. Stress is linked to a lot of medical problems in cats, unsurprisingly. Cats are also not really nocturnal, but naturally crepuscular (most active at dusk and dawn). In my experience, cats can also adjust really well to a predictable schedule. Kittens are tougher, with more energy, but again, you can increase the chances of them sleeping most of the night by wearing them out and feeding them not long before bed.
posted by ktkt at 12:17 AM on June 26, 2022
It could be that a little more time sorts everything out, especially if you can make a cat sleeping space on one side of the bed and a dog space on the other. My first cat has always been the slowest to adjust to newcomers, taking 1-2 months after meeting the newcomers to get back to all her routines, including sleeping in my bed if the newest cat is there. Are the kittens actually sleeping at night or more active? If they are bopping around a bit, perhaps a very vigorous playtime and late kitten dinner can help. Do you spend any quiet time in bed, say reading, where you can invite the dog and the kittens up with you, and pet or brush them, so that everyone is getting positive attention and views it as happy time to be all together? If one of you goes to bed first, and then other comes shortly after with the cats, will the dog stay?
FYI, I don't agree with some of the previous comments about cats. At least three of mine would be incredibly unhappy and stressed if I shut them out of my room, to the point that I would consider it abuse to do so for these cats in particular. Stress is linked to a lot of medical problems in cats, unsurprisingly. Cats are also not really nocturnal, but naturally crepuscular (most active at dusk and dawn). In my experience, cats can also adjust really well to a predictable schedule. Kittens are tougher, with more energy, but again, you can increase the chances of them sleeping most of the night by wearing them out and feeding them not long before bed.
posted by ktkt at 12:17 AM on June 26, 2022
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posted by SageTrail at 2:12 PM on June 20, 2022 [4 favorites]