Cat aggression toward dogs

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pippinandtoothless
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Cat aggression toward dogs

Post by pippinandtoothless »

My male cat is approx 2 years old and has lived with us since he was a kitten our female cat is the same age and has been with us about a year. We have two dogs a female golden retriever and a male 85lb pit bull mix. He is a teddy bear of a dog and is actually afraid of the cats. Suddenly our male cat has started attacking our Pit bull. He is currently hiding under a blanket... I don't know what to do. I am stumped by this behavior. These animals have lived peacefully together for 2 years and suddenly this behavior started. I have never seen any signs of aggression towards the cats from the dogs as I said the pit bull is scared of the cat. Please help!
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Lilith
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Re: Cat aggression toward dogs

Post by Lilith »

Hi and welcome and sorry to hear of your problem.

The first thing that comes to mind is, is your male cat neutered? (Sorry to ask if he is already 'done'.)

It's just that entire cats can be bossy; I had the same problem with a Siamese breeding queen and an Alsatian bitch who, like your pit bull, was a total sweetie; the smallest kitten could snuggle up to her; she'd been brought up with cats. But, like all dogs, she'd try it on with me, and if I had to tell her off, my Siamese would fly at her and reduce her to a quivering jelly.

Alternatively, could it be that your cat's having trouble with a bullying cat in the neighbourhood and is coming home and taking out his frustrations on the dog? Has anything changed for him, that might make him feel he has to dominate the dog? Also, has the dog been to the vet for any length of time, or kennels, or even been washed in a shampoo that might make him smell different? So that the cat might not accept him at the moment as a member of the household?

Hopefully more people will have more advice, but hope this helps for now; good luck and please let us know how you get on - all the best :)
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lilynmitz
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Re: Cat aggression toward dogs

Post by lilynmitz »

I agree, it could be re-directed aggression. It's possible something else has upset your cat and in his head he's blaming the dog. "Aggression" in cats is usually a fear response or self-defence, so try not to treat the cat as if he's doing something wrong, that will just add to his stress. Reassure your puss as much as you can, keep him apart from the dog as best you can for a while, and hopefully he'll calm down again. Try using a feliway diffuser for a while - some people find them helpful in de-stressing cats.
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