About 2 weeks ago I received a family members cat due to some unfortunate events with the family members and also having one of their cats attack her on multiple occasions. We thought it was better to come to a home with no other cats in the house, but a dog who is nice with other animals and tends to not really get interested in other animals. The family also had big dogs that the cat got along with pretty well and never attacked them or hissed at them so we thought she would be ok coming to our house to get away from the mean cats.
The dog who lives at our house is a Chihuahua mix age 3 and the cat is supposedly the same age as her, but we aren't certain on much regarding the cat because she was a shelter animal and previously a stray. They are both females and both spayed.
We let her get used to the upstairs master bedroom when she first came to us. She hid under the bed for the better part of 3 days before being confident enough to come out a socialize. We were keeping the dog clear of the room until the cat got settled in, however in the nature of being curious, slipped between our legs one day going into the room and made contact with the cat. The dog went up to the cat and greeted her with no rushing or intent on hurting the cat. Our dog is pretty good with all animals and just wants to be friendly. The cat hissed and backed up and continued hissing even though the dog was not paying attention to the cat. We immediately removed the dog from the situation after we realized what was happening and decided to put up a baby gate so she couldn't attempt to get in anymore. After we did this we allowed the door to stay open and for the cat and dog to be able to greet and see each other at the gate if they so pleased. It's been this way for about 3-4 days now and they will occasionally greet each other at the gate. Sometimes the cat will touch noses with the dog and then walk away, other times she will hiss and try to bat at the dog. I will occasionally sit at the gate and give both the cat and dog treats so long as the cat wasn't hissing. They were able to be a foot apart without any issues if I had the dog lay down and the cat wonder nearby for treats. But as soon as it's a contact without me between them the cat will hiss and stand on her hind legs. Neither animal shows signs of stress outside of the greetings and the cat will often lay on her back with her belly showing near the gate even if the dog is whining for our attention. The dog just wants to say hi and after they greet the dog will just walk away and find something else to do showing no signs of interest in the cat in most cases. We tried spraying feliway around the room to make her feel more comfortable. The most recent greeting was earlier today where she almost batted at the dog for getting close to the gate, in which I had the dog be taken elsewhere in the house as I sprayed feliway at the gate hoping that if they greet while it's there it will be more enjoyable for the cat. She has also started excessively meowing and howling for us when we leave the room which is another reason I sprayed the feliway on the gate.
Our main concern right now is trying to just get the 2 of them ok enough with each other to be in the same room. I don't ever intend on them to be friends and get along like life time buddies ever. I have tried everything I have heard of to make the greetings more pleasurable and we keep waiting and hoping exposure therapy will work for the cat, but I feel there is more we can do for both of them. I have thought about spraying the dogs collar with feliway and seeing if the cat reacts better that way or spraying the cat's collar, however I am afraid of causing her to dislike the feliway and think of it negatively because so far it has worked really well for calming her meowing.
I am a first time cat owner, but have done a lot of research and I can't really find a way to make this better for them.
TL:DR Cat that had problems with other cats was brought to my house with a dog who is nice to animals. She doesn't seem to want to get along with Dog even though she got along with other dogs. We have them separated by a gate and they greet each other on occasion. Cat sometimes hisses and tries to bat, other times touches noses with the dog and walks away. Tried to spray feliway to calm cat, only helps meowing. Cat will be relaxed even with the Dog being close on the other side of the gate whining for us, but still has negative interactions with Dog. Sat between them and gave treats, they seem to be ok with each other when I am there between them, otherwise not. Dog doesn't ever show signs of aggression, just wants to say hi. Can't find a solution online or anywhere else. Don't want to give Cat away, because it means she goes back to shelter.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/b51lqt/cat_and_dog_greeting_issues_need_advice/
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