Dog and cat suddenly not getting along. Any advice?

So my boyfriend has a dog (redtick coonhound, never been hunted) and I have a cat. The dog and the cat have been spending time together for about a year and a half. At first the cat mostly hid from the dog while the dog was really curious and wanting to play with the cat.

Eventually the cat warmed up more and would hang out by the dog and wait around the corner for her and they’d play chase (we’d see her poking her head out to look for the dog and she’ll wait by the door when the dog goes outside). Once the dog caught the cat, she’d roll over and bat at the dog playfully.

The past few days, they’ve suddenly not gotten along very well. The cat seems easily agitated by the dog while the dog still just wants to play. She’s been swiping at her. Tonight actually startled me. I didn’t see it, but my boyfriend said the cat swiped at the dog and the dog started whining. I turned and saw the dog run towards the cat and admittedly it frightened me. The dog didn’t actually do anything to the cat but was acting super wound up and whining. The cat ran up the stairs and the dog wanted to follow and was kind of freaking out what we wouldn’t let her.

My boyfriend said we need to figure this out before one or both of them get hurt (I’m thinking the cat is more likely to hurt the dog as the dog has never shown aggression towards the cat while the cat is not afraid to swipe at the dog). I’d like to think that if the dog was really going to go after the cat suddenly, then the cat would know to run/get somewhere up high like she used to do before she was comfortable around the dog.

Some potential causes: 1) our house is under major construction right now (ripped up kitchen floor) and I know animals don’t like change like this. But this has been happening for awhile and the animals have recently been acting this way. 2) the dog was gone for a week while my boyfriend went back home and maybe the cat was happy the dog was gone and now angry she’s back(?). I’m unsure and unsure what to do. It’s not like I can separate them, we live together, but I don’t want someone getting hurt.

Thanks for reading.

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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/eib1bl/dog_and_cat_suddenly_not_getting_along_any_advice/