New cat in house......dog is not happy

[Noel]

We have had Slobbermouth for 11 years, female, best dog ever......

Stray cat was hanging around house for a month or so. DW fed and coaxed cat indoors. Vet says this is a 2 y/o spayed F. Cat will never go out again, says DW.

Dog will not growl or bite cat, just wants to be left alone and avoids cat at all times. Cat loves S.mouth. Dog not happy. Guess it will be a couple of months before dog accepts cat.

We are giving dog extra smoochies, treats and such. Any other things we can do....other than calling in a dog psychic or psychologist ?

[Pawz4me]

Yay! Thanks for the update. It's always nice to hear how things turn out. Especially when it's pretty good. 😉

[Noel]

Update.....just as all predicted, SMouth and cat are OK. SMouth avoids Kyra but does not pester her. Kyra rubs up against her and SMouth flinches and pretends nothing is going on.

All is well and thanks for your comments.

[xteacher]

Patience is the key. 11 years is a long time to be top dog/animal in the house before having to share attention. Something that's worked for me is to make sure that you always acknowledge and give attention to your dog first when coming home, coming into a room, getting up in the morning and greeting the animals, when feeding, etc., to let him know that he's still, and always will be, first. When I feed my dogs, I feed them in the order that they came into the pack. They do keep track, believe me!

The advice given by others to offer a treat to the dog before giving the cat an attention (after you've first given him attention, of course), is good too, IMO.

[Tlauden]

We had the same issue, eventually all the animals learn to live with each other. OCCASIONALLY our cat will want to love up on the dogs. Not very often though.

[Happytraveler]

Some dogs are never happy. We have our son's dog over once a week so she can get away from the two Bengal cats that dominate the house, LOL

[Code2High]

Give the extras when cat is present. Kitty=party.

[DiskDoctr]

"dog psychic" .... I hereby foretale SM will either accept the new feline addition or not. Please send me $25 for my insight, along with your credit card number.... :R LOL!

For adding a new cat you can douse both in perfume to make them same scent during acclimation. Don't know if it works inter species, though?

[Klueck]

Good job rescuing the poor kitty. Slobbermouth will get over it and they'll be good buds.


We had a slobbermouth too....but we named him Blue. Slobbermouth was more appropriate though.

[CA_POPPY]

Noel, in the circumstances you describe, you've got the best possible outcome. Your wife is my hero, too! Bless her for rescuing that kitty. Did the vet check for a microchip? Dog and cat may not end up best buddies but more like tolerant siblings of different ages and interests. When Slobbermouth sees that there is enough food and affection for both of them, she'll be fine. Congrats on the new "kid."

[doxiemom11]

My daughter has 2 cats and a lab that have lived together for 5 years. They don't go after each other, but still avoid being in the same areas at the same time.

[Kennedy64]

Poor dog, my Rust said to send apologizes to Slobbermouth (love the name). He went thru the same thing. we found a stray under nourished kitten in the garage. The kids begged to let her in, against the better judgment of me and the dog, the kids won....it took along time before I could trust the dog not to eat her (we briefly named him ALF). Rust now tolerates Stella, he will still bark and chase her to show dominance but I do catch them snuggling together on beds and couches, although Rust still has that 'I hate you and want to eat you' look in his eyes.

[romore]

The dog has been the alpha in the house for a long time and is not about to share territory with another animal, especially a cat. She needs time to get used to the situation, she will likely learn to tolerate the intruder but don't expect them to become bosom buddies.Patience is the key here.
DW adopted second dog who is a sweet heart but a complete wuss. The cat torments her unmercifully, the other dog pretty much ignores her occasionally gets cranky and this after two years. Worse than dealing with kids.