Introducing dogs and cats

HalloweenJack

Two weeks ago we got a three month old cat. We already have an eight year old French bulldog.

Previously, the dog lived with my GF's family until he was seven and a half when we moved in together. In that time, he was always surrounded by other dogs and didn't seem to have many problems with them.

Since we moved in together, it's just been him on his own. As a French bulldog, his legs have been causing him problems, common for his breed according to the vet, and he has a fused vertabrae so he drags his legs around which means I can't walk him anymore. We are in the process of building him a wheelchair, though this is taking time.

Two weeks ago, we got a cat, which also coincided with the last time I was able to walk the dog.

So far, we can't leave them on their on. The first day, the dog had a panic attack and was breathing very heavily as if he'd just got back from a long walk. Gradually, he's calmed down and doesn't get so worked up around the cat anymore but we always keep them at a distance.

If they get close, the dog frequently lunges for the cat and twice now he has got at the cat. The first time, he "bit" the cat (I say it in quotation marks because its a play bite that he does) and unfortunately his teeth landed and he drew blood. The second time, he got on top of the cat and ended up licking him, though we were both very scared as it happened so quickly and we couldn't see what was happening 'til we separated them and saw the wet marks on the cat.

The cat doesn't seem to be terribly afraid of the dog and the dog doesn't bark or growl at the cat. However, we're both terrified of what might happen as the dog is 16kgs and the cat probably one or two. The dog's head alone is about twice the size of the cat. There was also one time where the dog bit another, smaller dog and started shaking him 'til we could separate them. This is out of the ordinary for him but it does weigh on our minds, especially when we see him preparing to lunge at the cat.

Any advice on what we can do? Do we have to just be patient or is there any way to speed the process along?

aonb

Anything new/change/difference coming into a dogs world is going to be a cause for gradual, supervised introductions. When it comes to DOG VS CAT there can be major issues. I introduced a feral kitten to our house with two JRT terrier x's . Fun and games ensued for many many many weeks. I could never let the cat near the dogs. One of them in particular would have killed her. Gradual and very slow exposure with lots of cross NO! Lots of treats for the dogs when they didnt go bonkers. I put up a child/stair gate between rooms after lots of looking at each other through a glass door. The kitten had the sense to stay well away from the dogs staring at her through the stairgate. as the cat grew, the dogs got so used to her being around - every afternoon for an hour or two, every evening for an hour or two she was in the room behind the stairgate. As I say, it was weeks and weeks and weeks before things were calm and the dogs were no longer a threat. Now the cat has grown, and has the run of the house. One dog is no more, the remaining dog ignores her pretty much, except to wait patiently for her to finish eating so he can helpfully clean up her plate and the floor around it. He also likes to come and get her out of bed in the mornings!! The cat adores the dog, and loves to snooze with him, and follows him about!

Sorry to read about your bulldogs mobility. Where are you getting his 'wheelchair' made? Would love to see photos!

DBB

Op, a play bite shouldn't draw blood... Perhaps on a thin-skinned bit of a human body from sharp puppy teeth, but absolutely not where there is fur which should protect the cat's skin, and not from an adult dog (remembering that Frenchies don't have the jaw conformation to do huge harm... But if they do draw blood, it means they're biting quite a lot harder than a longer-nosed dog would have to to achieve the same result). In other words, to draw blood despite furry protection suggests that it was somewhat more than a play bite.
Shaking a small dog is a very serious event which you need to pay heed to. I really can't emphasise enough... One dog shaking another is a sinister behaviour. It should never be shrugged off as nothing serious.
Climbing on top of the cat and mouthing him is a non-runner. You can't be letting him do this.

To me, these things that your dog has done are raising alarm bells for the safety of the cat.
The dog must not have free rein with the cat until he's far more reliable. For now, he must either be kept on lead, or in a crate, or behind some sort of a barrier when there's a chance of him and the cat coming into contact.
As aonb said, use treats, keep it all calm, and make all exposures to the cat pleasant, rewarding, and most of all, controlled, over quite a long time. No more free interactions... Your dog has shown that he's just not reliable enough yet.

boomerang

Agree with everything DBB has said. I introduced my greyhound to two cats so it can be done, but I can't emphasise this enough - it has to be done sloooooooooooooowly. Baby steps, OP, and keep everyone safe throughout the process.

I introduced my terrier to a kitten also and he most certainly wanted to kill it. It took six months.. yep SIX months of slow, very controlled introductions to get them friendly. They are incredibly close now. Absolutely adore each other and I'm glad I struggled on and didn't give up on them.

I used to carry the kitten inside my jumper because he was safe and cosy and my terrier knew full well he was there but wouldn't dream of trying to hurt him in case he hurt me in the process. Aonb had advised me to carry him around a lot so that's how I went about it and it had the added effect of making my kitten grow into a very affectionate cat who loves to be held and snuggled.

I have to agree with dbb on the shaking. That's worrying. He means business if he's doing that.

aonb

Deleted User wrote: »

I introduced my terrier to a kitten also and he most certainly wanted to kill it. It took six months.. yep SIX months of slow, very controlled introductions to get them friendly. They are incredibly close now. Absolutely adore each other and I'm glad I struggled on and didn't give up on them.

I used to carry the kitten inside my jumper because he was safe and cosy and my terrier knew full well he was there but wouldn't dream of trying to hurt him in case he hurt me in the process. Aonb had advised me to carry him around a lot so that's how I went about it and it had the added effect of making my kitten grow into a very affectionate cat who loves to be held and snuggled.

I have to agree with dbb on the shaking. That's worrying. He means business if he's doing that.

I had forgotten about carrying the kitten around. I used to pop my kitten into my dressing gown first thing in the morning (she was held in place with the belt!) - she loved it, I loved it, and the dogs knew she was there. It was as Builebeag said, great for bonding, but also let the dogs know that the cat was 'mine'. OP you should try this. I also got a cotton shopping bag - the ones used to advertise companies etc - that had long shoulder handles. I put the bag around my neck, and the kitten was popped in there while I pottered about. The dogs trailed after us :cool: But Im convinced, that especially for the cat-hating-terrier, the fact that I was carrying the kitten about really 'told' him that this kitten was something he wasnt allowed to harm!

HalloweenJack

Thanks for the replies and felt I should give yez an update.

Things are much better here, the stress has almost completely evaporated. It's hard to believe all this was going on relatively recently.

Dog has calmed down and ignores the cat about 90% of the time. No more licking now, though sometimes he gets close to the cat and has a sniff while the cat protests loudly.

Cat is doing very well. He is running around the place like a madman, seems quite at home.

It's got to the point where we have the doors open all the time in the flat because we feel confident that no major incident is going to happen. The dog sleeps at the foot of our bed while the cat tends to wander in at some point during the night because we've woken up a few times with him in the bed with us.