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June 16, 2010 11:21 AM Subscribe
I'd like to add a kitten to the family. However, I have a toy fox terrier which makes this difficult. Every cat I've had in the past would eventually begin stalking the dog, pawing him on his hindquarters and biting his neck. The dog would cower 24/7 and I ultimately needed to keep them in separate areas of the house, at all times, to protect him.
I've tried various methods to prevent this, but since the last time I've owned a cat was over five years ago I'm open to re-trying anything.
Best answer: Seconding the above - we got a 6-year old cat (very fat, very cuddly, very lazy) and he could care less about my chihuahua, despite being about 5x his size.
posted by Fifi Firefox at 11:41 AM on June 16, 2010
posted by Fifi Firefox at 11:41 AM on June 16, 2010
Squirt gun the cat whenever it engages in such behavior. Cat will figure it out pretty quickly.
posted by jscalzi at 11:45 AM on June 16, 2010
posted by jscalzi at 11:45 AM on June 16, 2010
How long have you given them to adjust to each other? In my experience, it takes about a month of a cat in a new situation to get a good read on if it's going to work out or not. Even my most timid dog will eventually turn around and tell the [animal in question] to back off.
The other poster has a point -- an older cat will be less likely to care if the dog exists. Kittens are all about the pouncing. But they grow up and stop eventually, and the dog might feel a little more confident if it has a size advantage.
posted by MeiraV at 11:45 AM on June 16, 2010
The other poster has a point -- an older cat will be less likely to care if the dog exists. Kittens are all about the pouncing. But they grow up and stop eventually, and the dog might feel a little more confident if it has a size advantage.
posted by MeiraV at 11:45 AM on June 16, 2010
This is going to sound slightly counter-intuitive but, if kitten is the way you want to go, have you considered getting two? As MeiraV says, kittens & the pouncing go together. But two kittens would have each other to wear themselves out with. Just a thought.
posted by machine at 1:26 PM on June 16, 2010
posted by machine at 1:26 PM on June 16, 2010
You can train a kitten out of a bad habit more easily . We got a kitten when my daughter was 9 months old, and the cat thought that the baby fingers of someone learning to walk were just the best toys. I think she scratched the daugher twice and never did it again. When the girl was a toddler, she was not as nice as she could be to the cat, and kitty tolerated it. We suspected that kitty had learned never to scratch the daughter. Getting another cat that actually scratched back (gently) cured the toddler from harassing cats.
posted by frecklefaerie at 1:42 PM on June 16, 2010
posted by frecklefaerie at 1:42 PM on June 16, 2010
The thing about adopting a kitten is, you never know what kind of personality that cat is going to grow into. All kittens are crazy and some eventually mellow out, and others don't. My suggestion is to adopt a mellow adult cat. Good shelters keep files on their animals and they generally know whether or not a cat gets along with other cats or dogs. In my experience, there's usually a grace period too with a pet so if it's just not working out, you can bring the cat back.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 1:59 PM on June 16, 2010
posted by MaryDellamorte at 1:59 PM on June 16, 2010
Additional discouragement --> If the new cat begins biting, you could try spritzing your dog's back with Bitter Lime or Bitter Apple spray. You can get it at the Pet Store, it's non-toxic, should be non-staining, and extremely bitter.
I haven't tried it with cats, and it's most discouraging for actual mouthing or biting, unfortunately not pawing or scratching.
posted by SarahbytheSea at 5:08 PM on June 16, 2010
I haven't tried it with cats, and it's most discouraging for actual mouthing or biting, unfortunately not pawing or scratching.
posted by SarahbytheSea at 5:08 PM on June 16, 2010
two kittens, preferably Rag Dolls, who are lazy and cuddly and wonderful at any age. Also, when introducing them, make the cats think that they're kings of the house. Pretend like the cats live there, and you're introducing the dog into the family. If the cats feel in charge/don't feel threatened, they'll be less likely to attack. Also, I suggest letting them get used to the house first, and then the dog. both at once can be too much.
posted by shesaysgo at 9:09 PM on June 16, 2010
posted by shesaysgo at 9:09 PM on June 16, 2010
Best answer: If you don't want the dog to be pounced on or harassed at all: I would get an older cat that has been raised around dogs (there are usually a billion of them being given away for free all the time, and most of them get euthanized because KITTENS OMG CUTE). Kittens are cute and fuzzy, but they are by definition in the middle of developing into a highly-efficient predator. Millennia of evolution have caused kittens and young adult cats to have an unquenchable desire to practice their hunting skills on pretty much everything (shadows to ankles to small and easily-hurt pets) from about 3-4 months up to maybe 2-3 years.
If you are willing to put your dog through a couple weeks of kitten-related harassment: Squirting kittens with water will eventually train them that certain things (bare feet, tiny dogs) are Off Limits as prey toys, but IMO it takes 1 week to 1 month of really consistent squirting to really eradicate the behavior. You would also need to keep the kitten isolated from the dog when you weren't at home until training was complete -- otherwise the kitten will pounce on the dog when you're gone, totally undoing all your long evenings of cat-squirting. Two kittens can be a blessing or a curse: the good part (as mentioned above) is that they have each other to pounce on and play with. The bad part is that then you have to keep track of the whereabouts of both kittens in relation to the dog. Also, some kittens grow into cats that are just plain attack machines and can't easily be trained out of attacking smaller critters. I had a cat like this, and the Super Soaker just seemed to fuel his desire to try to get at small animals (eventually he killed both my guinea pigs, and we just never had animals that weren't significantly bigger than him until he died). If you get an adult cat, you'll have a better idea what you're getting. I would suggest a fat lazy neutered male -- many of them are very chill creatures.
posted by kataclysm at 8:57 AM on June 17, 2010
If you are willing to put your dog through a couple weeks of kitten-related harassment: Squirting kittens with water will eventually train them that certain things (bare feet, tiny dogs) are Off Limits as prey toys, but IMO it takes 1 week to 1 month of really consistent squirting to really eradicate the behavior. You would also need to keep the kitten isolated from the dog when you weren't at home until training was complete -- otherwise the kitten will pounce on the dog when you're gone, totally undoing all your long evenings of cat-squirting. Two kittens can be a blessing or a curse: the good part (as mentioned above) is that they have each other to pounce on and play with. The bad part is that then you have to keep track of the whereabouts of both kittens in relation to the dog. Also, some kittens grow into cats that are just plain attack machines and can't easily be trained out of attacking smaller critters. I had a cat like this, and the Super Soaker just seemed to fuel his desire to try to get at small animals (eventually he killed both my guinea pigs, and we just never had animals that weren't significantly bigger than him until he died). If you get an adult cat, you'll have a better idea what you're getting. I would suggest a fat lazy neutered male -- many of them are very chill creatures.
posted by kataclysm at 8:57 AM on June 17, 2010
Response by poster: I've decided to go the adult cat route - I actually never thought that was an option since I assumed adult cats would be unable to be retrained not to attack the dog.
posted by biochemist at 9:27 AM on June 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by biochemist at 9:27 AM on June 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yay! Adopting an adult cat is good for your karma as well as your dog.
posted by parkerjackson at 11:33 AM on June 17, 2010
posted by parkerjackson at 11:33 AM on June 17, 2010
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posted by parkerjackson at 11:27 AM on June 16, 2010