- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
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Hi all!
I'm having some issues with my cat being uppity with my recently adopted beagle. I introduced the new family member back in mid-February and have since witnessed a lot of unsettling behavior in the cat. A quick snippet about the new dog: She's a 6yr old female beagle, extremely overweight and lazy, mellow, and easy going. As far as my lifestyle and living arrangements go, she's perfect. Doesn't bark, doesn't get overly hyped up, and avoids the cat. The cat: about 6 years old, very timid and shy, healthy, and rescued out of a backyard a few years back. He was considered too feral to be taken in by rescue organizations, but was attached to me so I took him in. He's very well behaved when it's just me around. However, around strangers he turns into demonic spawn.
I took their introductions slow, gating the beagle in a separate room and gave them about two months to become accustomed to each others smells. It was a very slow introduction and the cat started showing signs of "Well, I'll tolerate you" somewhere around the 2 month mark, so I now allow the dog to free roam when I'm home (although she mostly just sleeps on her bed next to the couch or shadows me). I noticed that at some point the cat urinated on my couch, but only once. I could smell it, but not find the evidence otherwise. I cleaned the entire couch and the smell disappeared. The cat was tolerating the dog in the apartment for the last month, but has recently started approaching her wild-eyed and nervous looking, then hissing and swiping for seemingly no reason. The beagle has learned to avoid him out of fear, and never seeks him out or retaliates. Just tucks her tail under and scurries away if he swats or hisses at her. At first, he only did this if she got too close, knowingly or not. Now, he approaches and has at it. I'm not sure what to think of this.
About the living space: The cat has a "dog-free" zone where he's got 2 window perches and lots of high spaces to escape to. I feed him on a writing desk overlooking the back yard and also have a 5ft tall cat tree where he can reach a ledge that goes almost to the ceiling, complete with a cat house at the top. I use curtains to divide this space from the rest of the apartment, when needed. If he starts hissing and swiping out of nowhere, I stop what I'm doing and redirect him to his cat zone. Sometimes, he'll even hiss at me when I do this. As soon as we're in that area though, he calms down and starts begging me for attention with the sweetest little meows and head butts. It's like a complete 180 in personality. If I go to leave the space he's right on me like a shadow and back to looking nervous and irritable (tail swishing, ears sideways, eyes uneasy).
The only connection between the hissing/swiping episodes I can find is that I'm always nearby. Most recently, she was chewing on a rawhide next to me and he stalked up, started hissing, and took a swing. Twenty minutes later he did it again while I was cleaning her paws post-potty break. I'm wondering if this is the cats cry for attention, if he's jealous/territorial, or reacting to something negative he hears (or sees) and associating it with the dog. I know it can take a long time for a cat to learn to tolerate a new family member, but I'm curious to find out if anyone has had similar behaviors or knows how to help the situation.
Also, to add in, I do try to spend time with both of them each day. However, a lot of maintenance is required for the beagle at the moment. She's morbidly obese and unable to clean most of her back half - so I have to do it for her. Along with her paws to help with severe allergies. Perhaps I'm not spending enough time with Rufio, the cat?
I'm having some issues with my cat being uppity with my recently adopted beagle. I introduced the new family member back in mid-February and have since witnessed a lot of unsettling behavior in the cat. A quick snippet about the new dog: She's a 6yr old female beagle, extremely overweight and lazy, mellow, and easy going. As far as my lifestyle and living arrangements go, she's perfect. Doesn't bark, doesn't get overly hyped up, and avoids the cat. The cat: about 6 years old, very timid and shy, healthy, and rescued out of a backyard a few years back. He was considered too feral to be taken in by rescue organizations, but was attached to me so I took him in. He's very well behaved when it's just me around. However, around strangers he turns into demonic spawn.
I took their introductions slow, gating the beagle in a separate room and gave them about two months to become accustomed to each others smells. It was a very slow introduction and the cat started showing signs of "Well, I'll tolerate you" somewhere around the 2 month mark, so I now allow the dog to free roam when I'm home (although she mostly just sleeps on her bed next to the couch or shadows me). I noticed that at some point the cat urinated on my couch, but only once. I could smell it, but not find the evidence otherwise. I cleaned the entire couch and the smell disappeared. The cat was tolerating the dog in the apartment for the last month, but has recently started approaching her wild-eyed and nervous looking, then hissing and swiping for seemingly no reason. The beagle has learned to avoid him out of fear, and never seeks him out or retaliates. Just tucks her tail under and scurries away if he swats or hisses at her. At first, he only did this if she got too close, knowingly or not. Now, he approaches and has at it. I'm not sure what to think of this.
About the living space: The cat has a "dog-free" zone where he's got 2 window perches and lots of high spaces to escape to. I feed him on a writing desk overlooking the back yard and also have a 5ft tall cat tree where he can reach a ledge that goes almost to the ceiling, complete with a cat house at the top. I use curtains to divide this space from the rest of the apartment, when needed. If he starts hissing and swiping out of nowhere, I stop what I'm doing and redirect him to his cat zone. Sometimes, he'll even hiss at me when I do this. As soon as we're in that area though, he calms down and starts begging me for attention with the sweetest little meows and head butts. It's like a complete 180 in personality. If I go to leave the space he's right on me like a shadow and back to looking nervous and irritable (tail swishing, ears sideways, eyes uneasy).
The only connection between the hissing/swiping episodes I can find is that I'm always nearby. Most recently, she was chewing on a rawhide next to me and he stalked up, started hissing, and took a swing. Twenty minutes later he did it again while I was cleaning her paws post-potty break. I'm wondering if this is the cats cry for attention, if he's jealous/territorial, or reacting to something negative he hears (or sees) and associating it with the dog. I know it can take a long time for a cat to learn to tolerate a new family member, but I'm curious to find out if anyone has had similar behaviors or knows how to help the situation.
Also, to add in, I do try to spend time with both of them each day. However, a lot of maintenance is required for the beagle at the moment. She's morbidly obese and unable to clean most of her back half - so I have to do it for her. Along with her paws to help with severe allergies. Perhaps I'm not spending enough time with Rufio, the cat?