new dog and existing house cat issue

dougm1970

so..2 months ago got a rescued dog, a lurcher from <snip> saluki x whippet we think (24")....anyway, <snip> tried him around cats and he was fine, passed no heed of them.
so..get him to our house, cat on chair and he just walks past it, looks and walks on..no issues at all.
after week one or two dog got....agressive is too strong a word...he would make as if going for the cat, enough to make cat hiss at him.
once then he got too close and cat scraped him leaving a bloody scratch on his nose / face.....rather than put dog off it made them enemies.
the cat would stay in house all day and on milder nights stay out...we have a warm insulated shed with a cat flap and his bedding in there too.
but now we are at the stage where cat will not come into the house, hangs with next doors cat, next door neighbour fine with that...we feed the cat every day...sometimes trying to get him to be in the house with us while dog in another part of the house, closing kitchen / living room doors.
dog chased him down the garden last week and petrified him.
but now the issue is...hes been missing for 3 days now...some neighbours say not to worry that he might be off hunting mice or something and come back after a few days.
my questions are...will he come back ?....and what do i do about the situation if he does....my son thinks a muzzle on dog so he cant harm cat and let both be in a room with us, but i am worried about over-stressing the cat.

em_cat

dougm1970 wrote: »

so..2 months ago got a rescued dog, a lurcher from <snip>, saluki x whippet we think (24")....anyway, <snip> tried him around cats and he was fine, passed no heed of them.
so..get him to our house, cat on chair and he just walks past it, looks and walks on..no issues at all.

Saluki x whippet are sight hounds and have very strong prey drives. If the cat moves in a way that resembles prey, the dog is only doing what it naturally wants to do. You need to train the dog to ignore the cats behaviour if it ever returns. Also the cat is feeling put out by introducing another animal, cats are extremely territorial. I'd say watch some of the Jackson Galaxy Cats from Hell.

after week one or two dog got....agressive is too strong a word...he would make as if going for the cat, enough to make cat hiss at him.
once then he got too close and cat scraped him leaving a bloody scratch on his nose / face.....rather than put dog off it made them enemies.

Not necessarily, both animal need to learn to live in each others territories and positive training methods can help this. Both animals have the right to defend themselves if necessary but both also have to learn to 'listen' to each other. Again this is training and it can be done.

the cat would stay in house all day and on milder nights stay out...we have a warm insulated shed with a cat flap and his bedding in there too.
but now we are at the stage where cat will not come into the house, hangs with next doors cat, next door neighbour fine with that...we feed the cat every day...sometimes trying to get him to be in the house with us while dog in another part of the house, closing kitchen / living room doors. dog chased him down the garden last week and petrified him.

Again the dog is doing what it is naturally bred to do, the cat is being recognised as prey and the dog is defending its territory. This is down to training.

but now the issue is. ...hes been missing for 3 days now...some neighbours say not to worry that he might be off hunting mice or something and come back after a few days.

He may come back or may not, is the cat neutered? Might help if he's not but no matter what you need to train your dog not to chase him or see him as a toy.

my questions are...will he come back ?....and what do i do about the situation if he does....my son thinks a muzzle on dog so he cant harm cat and let both be in a room with us, but i am worried about over-stressing the cat.

Ok so will you muzzle train the dog or just plonk it on? Yes you can train the dog to wear the muzzle, but what will you do? Have it muzzled all day & night? That wouldn't be considered humane.

If you don't feel like you have the time or want to put in the training to have the two coexist peacefully and respectively of each other, then it would be in the best interest of the dog to seek assistance from the <snip> or return it to the <snip>, as part of your contract, so it can rehomed elsewhere.

We have free roaming guinea pigs, a yorkie x and pomeranian. All live peacefully together, both dogs received clicker training for the leave it command and over time they learned that the piggies are pets. The piggies don't perceive the dogs as threats and the dogs know they are not toys.

They watch them or ignore them thats it, all get treats together, in separate areas as one of the piggies will knick the carrots or fruit pieces from Mr C. I will reiterate that the training has taken time, longer with the Pom and our Yorkie was use to a multi species home as he was in foster with the ISPCA for over a year so this made it a bit easier.

I will add that all animals have their own space that others will not go into.

Knine

Unfortunately some dogs take a few weeks to settle in & show their true colours. One of my own was with my friend & did the same thing. This rescue may just never accept living with a cat & putting a muzzle on, the dog will still be able to terrorise it & that will definitely not improve relations.

I do hope your cat comes back but you may need to make a decision as to which you keep. I find it much easier to introduce puppies to other small furry or feathered creatures then adults. Some Breeds such as sight hounds & certain terrier breeds will see them as prey no matter what you do!

Cherry Blossom

Guys, rescues cannot be named on thread under any circumstances.

em_cat

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Guys, rescues cannot be named on thread under any circumstances.

Apologies.

boomerang

The dog can be trained to respect the cat. When the cat is in the house, the dog will have to both wear a muzzle and be kept on lead around the cat initially, until it learns that the cat is off limits. A dog crate is also a great way to desensitise the dog to the presence of the cat. I did this with my rescued greyhound and my two cats. In the beginning she would have chased them given the opportunity. Now she ignores them. No muzzle, no lead. The key thing here is that the process takes time.

Also two provisos: My cats are indoor-only. I have no doubt that if they were outside and ran from my dog, she would chase them. But within the house they are safe. Also, my cats were dog-friendly before they were introduced to my greyhound and were never afraid of her. With your cat it may be different.

I sincerely hope the cats come back.

Graces7

Cats will only tolerate so much, then they walk.

My big boy here? we were in a rental where I was feeding, outdoors, a feral who was hand tame with me. He used to chase Boycat up trees daily. Boycat is a total wuss who will not fight back.

Finally he did what cats do; vanished. he was an older cat... I guessed where he had gone, to a neighbours, and got him home and he was allowed to be an indoor cat , he had always had that choice but ...

They cannot take too much aggro. he is fine with my three new ones but I make sure he gets privacy too

It taught me that with cats, their needs can come before their love of us.

we moved soon afterwards and the feral escaped.

Sadly I tend to agree with Knine. I had the cats first and when dogs arrived gave them abundant space and we familiarised slowly and were able to keep them apart enough.... HOPE the cat comes back; ask around as he may have sought refuge locally as mine did..

dougm1970

he came back last night...just wandered into the drive like he was never away....he was here indoors with us for a few hours, had a good feed, fell asleep on my lap for an hour.
we kept dog in my sons shed with my son (this is a shed my son has kitted out with xbox, couches etc..so like another room really)
cat wanted to go out himself at midnight....we were away all day today but kids told us he was near house today.
so...phew.
thanks for all the replies...i'm taking notes