Ragdoll Cat Forums

So far both cats seem to continue to settle in however I have some questions about my male Benito.

It was decided from day one that I would keep the routine of having my Scottish Terrior sleep with me in bed even the day I brought the cats home. Although the dog is only allowed upstairs to join me on the bed the downstairs is the dog and parrots domain while the upstairs is dedicated as the cats domain.

It only took about a week before the cats were secure enough to venture through out the house and both cats seem to be comfortable enough and are not stressing out at all. Both are eating well and drinking nicely out of their fountain and eliminating well.

My female Julianna and Mercedes (my dog) get along fairly well. She will invite the dog to play with her and my dog has very good manners with the cats (surprising for a terrier huh?) will follow Julianna's lead for what she wants. The dog has not not chased them or has been rough with any of them at any time and the dog is kenneled when I am not home to observe interaction with the animals. Benito my male has no interest in the dog or any of the other animals in my home. He loves the humans and wants attention a lot with us. Julianna and Benito will play wrestle with eachother and seem to be good budies for eachother.

My problem is developing between Benito and Mercedes. Since Mercedes has always slept with me this is not something new for Benito. He is allowed to lay in bed with us and he enjoys coming up in the bed for pets and is normally well behaved. Unfortunatly twice he has hissed and smacked Mercedes when she has attempted to get closer to me to lay down. At first I believed it was because Benito was scared or uncomfortable with Mercedes but now I don't know what to think. This is because Benito has also ran after my dog to "attack" her. So far I have been able to stop any altercations as I watch interaction between everyone very closely. I am concerned with Benito going after my dog. Lupe, my housemate is very close to the dog and it upsets her that Benito goes after her.

I know I am fortunate that Julianna and Mercedes are developing a relationship of friendship but am at a loss with understanding why Benito is attacking Mercedes. The dog is developing a fear of him and is very weary around Benito. The home Benito came from had 4 springer spanials who live indoors and use to get along with them. I understand that we are all going through the adjustment period but I need to understand what may be going on in Benito's head and need advise to help him overcome his need to attack the dog. Could this be a teritorial thing with me. He has developed quite an attachment with me and seems not to want to share me when we are all in bed. However when downstairs in the dogs space he still went after her to chase her away from me.

I am still learning all I can about cat behavior so I could surely use this boards advise and experience. My objective is to help Benito understand that his behavior towards Mercedes is unacceptable and that the dog will not hurt him. I need to help them both get along better but am not sure how to do this. I don't want to make things worse but I cannot allow it to continue for fear of further esclation of the cat hurting the dog.

Sorry this post is so long and I appreciate the patience with reading it. I want what is best for all my animals and expecially for my newcomers and resident animals.

Rebecca

It sounds like the cat wants a dog free space around himself as far as Mercedes is concerned. You need to work on his accepting the dog closer to him comfortably. If you are holding the dog, at least he cannot run off, but the cat still wants to be with you. That might be enough carrot to bring Benito closer. With cats, one would use interactive games to entice two that do not get along to be closer to each (and the game). Your goal is to have as many good experiences when they are close together as possible - and as few negative.

Thank you so much for your reply Jan.

I try not to put other types of animal behavior into cat behavior. My experience is with parrots and dogs. I can talk all day about parrots and dogs as I know a lot about these animals.

Anyway I have been taking it real slow with Benito and Mercedes. I reassure both pets that there is no pressure for them to accept eachother for now and I take the time to spend quality time with both pets so neither will feel lonely or lack of attention from me. So far it seems to be getting better. Last night I had Benito in bed with me and Mercedes and he approached her slowly with no threat behavior. I kept my hands on him to make sure he would not attack the dog and reassured him that she would not hurt him. Both pets smelled eachother and acted okay. With no hissing or smacking Benito then went back to laying down by me and Mercedes felt a little bit more safe with him by me.

A few more approaches from Benito to Mercedes were calm and good. I hope at this point it continues to improve between them. Julianna and Mercedes seem to be friends and their interactions are always positive. The other day Julianna invited Mercedes for play and I have to say it was real cute to watch. I still am very observant with interactions with all the animals and I think I will always be this way. Of course when I am not home I cannot watch but my birds are in very large cages and can "go to the top" and my dog is kenneled.

Of course I expect to take a few steps back for every step forward but so far I think it is going well. Now to convince Lupe that Benito is not on the warpath with Mercedes is harder. (she is quite attached to the dog and comes accross to me that Benito is not behaving well)

Rebecca