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Recently I decided to get a dog. It's working out pretty well and he is a good-natured little fella. He's the only pet I have at my house. However, I visit my parents every month or so, plus I'm spending the summer with them and so far the family cat does not care at all for my dog. The cat is 12 and a little short-tempered. But he grew up with our (now deceased) German Shepherd, so dogs are not a foreign concept for him.
At any rate, he spent the first week hissing at and attacking the dog. Then he avoided all of us for awhile. I think he was kind of jealous. Cat has chilled out a lot now and will let the dog in close proximity, but still claws him up if he gets anywhere near the cat's face or frontal area.
The dog is not aggressive and would like to be friendly with the cat, but he gets a smack-down pretty regularly and has developed a fear/fascination with kitty...
Is there anything I can do to desensitize them to each other? At least get them to a point where maybe they aren't friends, but they can exist together without the cat trying to harm the pup? We've been trying to make sure the kitty gets as much attention as the dog...not sure what other tactics I can take to help them get along a little better...
Introductions take awhile, which is why the rec is to keep the animals separated but able to smell one another until they get used to each other's presence. The cat is just not used to your dog and needs time to adjust, as well as its space.
Don't force it, the cat will come around in time. It is not an issue of jealousy and no amount of attention form you is really going to help the situation; it might even be communicating to the cat that its behavior is acceptable/good. Be patient and don't reprimand the cat or try to reason with it by using coercive language as it won't work. Also, allow the cat a separate room/area in which it feels safe but from which it can smell the dog when it visits.
And of course the dog doesn't mind the situation; dogs are generally bigger and/or stronger than cats, so they tend not to feel as threatened.
With a dominant cat, the dog usually does just fine and avoids. Cats don't generally keep up the hate unless the dog doesn't get the message to just look, don't touch
The cat needs a room that is "his" and that the dog can't get into. I use baby gates for that. The cat has a safe place to retreat to when the dog bugs him. They will come around in time.
Introductions take awhile, which is why the rec is to keep the animals separated but able to smell one another until they get used to each other's presence. The cat is just not used to your dog and needs time to adjust, as well as its space.
Don't force it, the cat will come around in time. It is not an issue of jealousy and no amount of attention form you is really going to help the situation; it might even be communicating to the cat that its behavior is acceptable/good. Be patient and don't reprimand the cat or try to reason with it by using coercive language as it won't work. Also, allow the cat a separate room/area in which it feels safe but from which it can smell the dog when it visits.
And of course the dog doesn't mind the situation; dogs are generally bigger and/or stronger than cats, so they tend not to feel as threatened.
Yeah...in the past I've only introduced kittens to dogs, and that wasn't hard at all. Never had to do dog-to-cat introductions before. I hadn't considered that I might accidentally be giving the cat signals that it was ok to do this. I will try to be careful not to encourage it.
The cat is definitely dominant over the dog. When I first got the pup, he was smaller than the cat but that didn't save him from the wrath of kitty. He's 25 lbs now but he is submissive around other animals. I don't think the cat feels threatened anymore...he struts around where he wants, doesn't avoid the dog and takes swipes at him randomly. I guess this is a bit of an improvement, because he was super pissed in the beginning but now they can be in the same room and even on the same couch....peacefully...for the most part. The cat is unpredictable though...he let the dog sniff him for awhile today and didn't react, but then later in the yard, he attacked the dog unprovoked and chased him around...
Sometimes it just takes time. My Parents cat lives with two dogs and is Ok with them but it took years for him to get use to my dogs ( Jazz and Dash) when we visit and living only 120 miles away we do tend to visit often during the year. Now he has accepted my dogs and when I added Dazzle (dog) last year he and Dazzle hit it off right away. When Dash died last year I think the crazy old cat even missed him some as he would look around like he was looking for Dash. The cat does have a room that is baby gated off and has a small cat door so he can come and go. It said a cat up to 15lbs could get through the cat door so his food and litter box are safe behind the gate...Well it was Dash who was a 50 lb border collie mix that found out that information was wrong and a 50 lb dog like himself could squeeze through the cat door too! Cat did not like that much as Dash would eat his food but now he seems to miss that.
Yeah...in the past I've only introduced kittens to dogs, and that wasn't hard at all. Never had to do dog-to-cat introductions before. I hadn't considered that I might accidentally be giving the cat signals that it was ok to do this. I will try to be careful not to encourage it.
The cat is definitely dominant over the dog. When I first got the pup, he was smaller than the cat but that didn't save him from the wrath of kitty. He's 25 lbs now but he is submissive around other animals. I don't think the cat feels threatened anymore...he struts around where he wants, doesn't avoid the dog and takes swipes at him randomly. I guess this is a bit of an improvement, because he was super pissed in the beginning but now they can be in the same room and even on the same couch....peacefully...for the most part. The cat is unpredictable though...he let the dog sniff him for awhile today and didn't react, but then later in the yard, he attacked the dog unprovoked and chased him around...
Sorry, I'm trying not to laugh as I read the part about the cat chasing the dog around the yard He probably did so b/c they were in a new space...?
It certainly sounds like the cat is establishing dominance. He will probably continue to swipe at the dog as a dominance gesture. As long as no one is getting hurt, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
IMHE, the cat's behavior is fairly common. For whatever reason, cats like to dominate the household, especially if they were there first. My neighbor warned me about that when I adopted my cat as I already had a GSD who is my loyal best friend and who does not take well to dominant strangers. Now, 3 years later, they have worked things out. The dog is clearly dominant: I can't even play with the cat without the dog getting in her face (my dog is protective and really doesn't like it when the cat bites me, even in jest). However, the cat is able to hold her own, and usually gives the dog a few good swats before running off to her safe area. The swats are usually with claws retracted, so they are not serious or intended to harm but merely to intimidate. I wouldn't say that they are "friends" but they certainly tolerate one another.
Actually, we had the dog first. If it had been the other way round I don't know how it would have turned out.
What we did was slowly introduce the two of them to each other in gradual stages, starting off with them able to see each other through a glass panelled door.
It seems to have worked out okay.
However your parents have a set in its ways twelve year old cat.
I'd find it hard to change my ways and put up with the invasion of a young energetic kid at that equivilant age!
4 months ago, I introduced a puppy to my 15 year old cat. My cat didn't mind at all. Also doesnt mind when my friend's puppy comes over to play. However, I brought home a little kitten and my cat was not happy. Took exactly 3 weeks until they could coexist. Kitten didnt mind but the cat did. First week, the cat would not get within 20 feet of the kitten and hiss/growled a lot. Slowly, he got over it and by the third week I could leave them alone without worrying. I kept them in different rooms for a week. I made sure to give the old cat lots of attention. The cat will get over it, eventually.
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He probably did so b/c they were in a new space...? 
