i adopted an adult cat about a month ago. I have a 70lb boxer mix. we started slow and didn’t let them interact, then we cracked the door and let them see eachother, then we put the dog in the kennel and let the cat sniff him, and we put the cat in a carrier and let the dog sniff her. We are now at the stage where we put the dog on a leash and let the cat out for a little bit a day, we supervise them and redirect behavior from him when necessary. He fixates on her and had barked/lunged at her twice now but we separate them and redirect this behavior when it happens. this has caused her to be a bit more cautious around him, not scared, just keeping her distance.
He’s a big dog and I don’t think he wants to hurt her necessarily, I just think he wants to chase her and I simply don’t want anything bad to happen as a result on accident.
They are totally fine in all other scenarios except for when he’s on the leash. that’s when he feels like he can act up. I’m starting to lose hope and I just feel like a failure of a mother and that I put the cat in an unhealthy living situation. I’m calling in a friend tomorrow who is a behavioralist, but on our phone consult she didn’t seem hopeful and that makes me anxious.
I guess what I’m asking is, at what point do I say “this just isn’t going to work” for both of the animals sakes? I don’t want to think negatively but I’m so lost. Has anyone else persevered through this?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/rbiwvd/dog_and_cat_not_getting_along_has_anyone_else/
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