Hi, I am new to this forum. I have a "kitten" (Buffy) that is 1 year old. I got her when she was about 4-5 weeks old from a shelter. She needed to be bottle fed. My 2 dogs, a Beagle (Clover) and a 4 1/2 pound Chihuahua (Sprite) are older then her. They are now between 4 and 5 years. They are gentle and good with all animals. So My Cat has grown up with them around. I have a Big Bedroom that has a divider door to keep the cat and dogs seperate when I am not home to watch them. My Cat was fine with the Chihuahua when she (the cat) was little. But now she has grown and is becoming more rough with the Chihuahua. She appears to go after him like prey (though she is strickly an indoor cat) She stalks him and pounces on him and tries (& has) to bite him on the back of the neck or the tail. He does not see this as play.. he is scared. I try to discourge her from doing so.. I chase her away and I have used a water gun on her when she does this. AND recently my Chihuahua has had some health problems.. which may be due to stress (the cat attacking him?) and I don't know what to do. My Dogs get along fine with other cats. My Chihuahua is not afraid of all cats.. just the ones that try and BITE him. I can't have my Chihuahua living in fear and being attacked and getting seriously ill due to stress.. He has allready been hospitalized twice and bills costings up to $800. I am going to ask the Vet for advice as well.. BUT wanted to come to a message board to seek advice from loving pet owners.. also if anyone else has had similar problems.
Will the "kitten" grow out this behavior?
Thank You for taking the time to read this. Jennifer
And I welcome anyone to come to my pets website and you can see my dogs and my cat. Cloverleaf Corner
PS.. I also posted this message in the cat forum. I need help and want all perspectives from dog and cat owners.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. You are in kind of a bind the way I see it. It is normal for your cat at his age to be playing roughly, with who he sees as his 'litter mates'. Maybe you might get a good reply from someone, but unfortunately I think you might be stuck. If I were in your situation I would just keep them separated when you are not around. How are they when you are in the room? I bet the cat is still acting this way, but how is the dog? If your dog is living in fear all the time, and cant relax, I think you might have to find a home for one of them. I dont say that lightly either as I believe my pets are my children. They only other way is to basically 'wait out' the teenage years of the cats life. I also have 2 cats and a chihuahua, and my young cat who is also a year old does the same thing, although my chi thinks he's a great dane. I wish you luck, and hopefully you will get some good suggestions here.
Jennifer