So I have four cats and two dogs total. Three of the cats and one of the dogs we have had for 10+ years and have never had any behavioral issues. About 3-4 years ago we adopted a 5 year old pitbull. She got along with all the cats and my other dog perfectly fine. There have never been any issues with chasing, biting, barking, etc.
Now 2 months ago we adopted a male adult cat. He gets along with the three original cats. We guess he has never been around dogs before because it became clear he is fearful of them. When first adopted he was kept separate from the dogs but when he heard them outside the room he was in he would begin hissing. When he was introduced to the dogs he would hiss and swat at them. My older dog did not react much other than some barking which has subsided.
Now my younger dog, the 5 year old pitbull, acted afraid of him for a few weeks and wouldn’t even look at him. We guess the cat pushed her too far because now she will snap/bark at the cat and chase him when she sees him.
I have seen the dog chase him unprovoked but I also see him swat at her unprovoked. Our biggest concern is the dog getting a hold of him and hurting the cat. We started feeding the dog and cat near each other to let them get used to one another. They’ll sit there and eat without any problems and generally they can be in the same room without fighting but if they walk past one another then the issues usually start again.
The past few weeks I’ve been hoping they can work if out and get used to each other but things are getting worse. The dog is already on Prozac so I will be making an appointment with her vet to see if she has any recommendations. In the meantime I wanted to see if anyone here had some input. I’ve never had to deal with behavior issues so I’m lost on this. Rehoming either of them is not an option.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/hh70jw/dog_chasing_our_new_cat/
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