TLDR; very social cat has become sedentary and willfully solitary since a dog was brought into the home. All attempts at introductions result in aggressive hissing and howling, and recently peeing, in the presence of a dog. The cat refuses to leave the bedroom even when the dog is not in the home. How can we help the cat learn to tolerate the dog, and promote complacence from the dog when a cat is around?
We adopted a lab-heeler mix (1.5 years) from the shelter a 5 weeks ago and our cat (6 years) has had a terrible time adjusting to him in our two-story home. When we first adopted the pup, we had a barricade up to keep the two separate. The cat would roam downstairs to the main level until the dog would bark at her, at which point she retreat to underneath the bed. We eventually replaced the barricade with two baby gates: one at the bottom of the stairs, the other to a hallway that leads to two other rooms. Since the replacement, our cat has refused to come downstairs even when the dog is crated or out of the home with one of us.
This cat is very social with humans and it has been pretty sad to see her spend literally all day alone in bed - if we bring her downstairs when the dog is crated or out of the home, she immediately runs back upstairs, under the bed. We placed her litter box and food out of the bedroom bathroom to outside of the bedroom, but she won't go to either until late at night.
We've tried introductions with the cat on the stairs at one side of the baby gate, and the dog at the other. She will hiss and howl at him for a bit before retreating. It is not to say the dog is totally innocent here; he will bark at her or start to lunge. But the cat's behavior will persist when the dog is totally distracted with a bone or toy. We reward the dog when he is distracted in the cat's presence.
A couple of days ago, we decided to remove the baby gates because we figured that the cat will never leave the room unless she knows she is safe around the dog. We brought the dog upstairs on-leash, but the hissing and howling not only increased but accompanied by her peeing... several times when the dog got near. We've repeated this every day since with the same outcome.
Moreover, I'm wondering what we can do to help the cat learn to tolerate the dog so she can return to the healthy, social lifestyle she deserves. I know that the reinforcement for the dog's good behavior must persist for quite some time to stop all potential chasing, staring, or barking, but how can we get the cat out of the room when there is literally no threat of a dog? There are several rooms in the house with places for her to play, sleep, and sunbathe that the dog can't go to, but again, she refuses to leave the room.
We encountered a similar issue several years ago when a kitten was brought into a former home - hissing and at the kitten for about 6 months until she warmed up to her. The key difference is that she would still hang out around us as opposed to hiding all day.
If anyone has any similar experiences, I'm all ears to your remedies and input. Thanks for reading.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/oicsww/how_can_i_get_my_cat_to_tolerate_the_dog/
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