My cat torments my dog

by Heather
(North Carolina)

We got Pal (the dog) when he was a puppy and about a year later decided to get a cat. We went to the pound and looked around for the perfect match. Alliegh reached through the bars of her cage and gently grabbed my hand as I walked by. Needless to say she came home with us that day.


She and the dog have always had a love hate relationship and as she gets older the more ornery Alliegh gets. Poor Pal can be laying in the sun minding his own business and here she comes bounding around the corner and bounce right on his head.

She'll walk up and stare at him for a few minutes and then walk away but not with out a nip to his rump first. She has taken to stealing his food and urinating on his bed.

The poor dog just takes it but he outweighs her by a good 60+ lbs and if he ever got good and mad she would be in trouble. I have no idea what she will come up with next. Any ideas? Some days I think she's going senile.

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Cats are jealous
by: Bob from Cat Illnesses

Cats can be very jealous - much more than dogs. I think you should try to give your cat a lot of attention (more than you usually do) over the next 2 weeks or so and see what happens.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Perhaps She Needs More Attention
by: Kurt (Cat Lovers Only Admin)

A couple of thoughts come to mind. The first and easiest conclusion to jump to, of course, is that she needs more attention. If that's true, then the "easy" fix is giving her more quality one on one time, and more toys and interactive play time.

Try giving her an additional 15 minutes a day of attention. Increase her exercise level to burn off some pent up energy and stress. See if she'll play fetch. Distract her with toys.

Alliegh may also feel somewhat threatened by Pal. Dogs and cats have different communication styles. While they can learn to get along, if there's any tension between the two it can be aggravated by misunderstandings.

If she does feel threatened, it may help to create a sanctuary for her. This would be an area that she can call her own. It would preferably include a scratching post or board, a cat tree or some comfortable place to sleep up high, some hiding places, and some toys. She could go to this area to retreat and not be bothered.

In addition to more attention, more exercise, and a sanctuary area, Feliway spray may also help to calm her.

I hope that helps a bit and please let us know how it goes with them.

-Kurt

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