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Old August 3rd, 2004, 03:03 PM
Carrie Carrie is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Unhappy aggressive cat

I really hope you guys can help, I've read all the threads on aggressive pets but my situation is a little different. I have 2 cats, both declawed, and I've moved in with my fiancee who has a small dog. My one cat is very mean to the dog, whenever the dog tries to walk past the cat, the cat smacks him or tries to attack him. (The other cat is fine with the dog.) The poor dog is scared to death of the cat and won't even walk into the same room with him. The cat has also taken over the dogs bed. We have been living together for 6 months now and it's only getting worse. I've had to start locking up the cats when we aren't home for fear of what the cat will do to the dog next. Please help!!!
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Old August 3rd, 2004, 04:59 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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One problem is that cats who are declawed sometimes become very defensive because they know they have lost their main defense.

Your cat is now probably acting this way because he knows the dog is afraid of him and is taking advantage of that fact. Did you do proper introductions with the cats and dog to get them slowly used to each other?

All cats are different, but moving to a new home, with new people AND new pets is very stressful for many cats and this stress often comes out as aggression.

When you say he is trying to attack the dog - has he ever hurt the dog? Bitten him or drawn blood? Does the dog ever approach the cats? Do the cats have a "safe" place they can go to get away from the dog? A room with a baby gate works well for this. If cats do not feel they have a place to retreat to they become stressed.

Try keeping the dog on a leash. Have him in the same general area as the cat, and get some catnip, toys and some treat that your cat really loves and give it to him when the dog is nearby. Do not give this treat at any other time. The aim is to make the cat think good things happen when the dog is around. If you are playing with him and giving him treats and he looks as though he might go for the dog, clap your hands and say "NO!" and toss a toy to distract him. If that doesn't work , you may have to resort to giving him a little squirt of water.

You might want to go to a health food store and get some "Rescue Remedy" for your cat to help him calm down.

Never punish the cat for going after the dog. This will only increase his stress and likely make him more aggressive.
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Old August 4th, 2004, 09:37 AM
Carrie Carrie is offline
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Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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He has never actually drawn blood but there have been times when we'd walk in the door and the dog is lying on his back yelping and the cat is standing over him. The cat actually stalks the dog now. I'll try your suggestions, thanks so much!
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