My Cat Hates My Dogs, Can I Socialize Him?

[random gemini]

Just a quick backstory.  Back in February, my daughter adopted Porter.  Porter is a 10 year old gray tabby who got the bad end of a cat fight before the shelter picked him up. She was told by the shelter staff that he was socialized with dogs. Apparently, he is only socialized with small dogs and the shelter staff assumed that Porter would equate a pomeranian with a Labrador, which has turned out not to be true. If Porter sees either of my two Labradors, he hisses and spits and makes this horrible howling sound. 

Porter is getting plenty of socialization and play time with the people, but we have to keep him separated from the dogs and my husband would like to be able to have them just sit in the same room without Porter freaking out.

My daughter is considering getting her own place and taking Porter with her. 

I'd like for Porter to be able to come hang out with us in the evenings to watch TV. 

I don't believe that you can't teach an old cat new tricks, but I'm concerned that Porter may actually be afraid of my dogs and I'm not sure how to tell if he's just fearful because he's not familiar with big dogs like mine, or if he's actually had a bad experience in the past. 

I have tried feeding them through a closed door. Porter is fine with smelling them, but the minute he sees a dog, he reacts badly. My dogs handle this by ignoring him while I scoop up the cat and carry him back to his safe place, which I guess is something. 

I'm really tempted to see if there's a cat behaviorist in the area, just so I can learn more about cats and their body language. I can tell you right now, that my dogs are totally unconcerned with the fact that there's a cat in the house and they both wonder what his problem is. LOL! With Porter, I just don't know. I'm not as familiar with cats. 

Any help you can offer would be useful! 

Thanks so much!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i can understand how it's hard to know why porter is uncomfortable around your labs. without knowing his history, his past experiences, i think it's going to be kind of a guessing game to figure out what might work.

do you have any place up high for porter to go in the areas of your home where your labs usually are? something like a tall cat tree might help, though it's hard to know for sure if this would help porter feel more comfortable. or maybe some cat shelves?

was porter started out in a "safe room" when he first came to your home? it can be quite overwhelming and stressful for cats/kittens to get used to their new homes, so it's suggested to start them out in a smaller area (like a bedroom, etc -- with food/water, toys, and litter box) and let them get used to that area and his new family first. then when kitty is more comfortable in that one area and seems interested in doing a little exploring of more of the home, give him the opportunity to explore a bit -- making sure he has a way to get back to the area he feels most comfortable in at that time.

i've never integrated cats with dogs, but i'm sure others will be along who do have experience with this. i do think it will require a proper and careful integration between porter and your labs.

i think it would be important to porter to always have a "safe" area he can easily get to, one where the labs don't go to. it might help porter once he knows he'll always have this "safe" area, should be become uncomfortable near the labs. i'm using the word safe, but i'm meaning more like a dog free area -- not that your labs aren't safe for porter to be around. it's sometimes difficult to interpret what someone is meaning when reading replies on the internet as opposed to talking to someone.

my two cats had never met a dog before, but when they saw their first dog (a small dog) they hissed and growled immediately. the little dog did nothing, just was being held in his person's arms and did not bark. this made me wonder if that kind of reaction is instinctual for cats or if some cats just aren't comfortable around dogs, or maybe a combination of both. i think it depends on the cat, if s/he is comfortable around dogs or not.

 

[random gemini]

Yes, Porter has a safe room and he spent time there while we got him well from that wound he received prior to us adopting him.

The dogs have not been allowed in there, except when we tried feeding Porter in his crate and feeding Lexi (our dog that we know for sure is cat socialized) where they could see each other. Porter did eventually eat next to her, but if he sees her outside of this arrangement, he hisses at her. After a few weeks of doing this, I decided it wasn't having the desired effect because Porter would still hiss when he saw her outside of this situation, so I ended the practice and tried letting them greet through the gate with the dogs on lead and Porter fully able to retreat to his room. He saw them, hissed and hid under the couch in his room. We have tried this for a couple of weeks and I've seen no progress on Porter's reaction at all. He still retreats immediately.

I don't have a cat tree for the family area, but I do have a shorter one in my husband's office that Porter doesn't use. He also will not climb up to the window sill to sit and watch outside. I can put him up there and he will stay put and sun himself for a few minutes, then he will meow to be put back in the floor. He won't jump on the desk or the chair, just the futon, which is not even a foot off of the floor. I suspect he may have some arthritis. Can you give cats glucosamine and chondroitin or MSM? And if it is arthritis pain, could that be making him feel insecure enough that he's not comfortable meeting my dogs? 

The dogs are not allowed in my husband's office, which my husband is okay with. It's just that Porter seems bored and wants to explore more and I'm willing to let him do that and have been allowing that with the dogs crated, but even in their crates, when he sees the dogs, he retreats to his room. If we can just get to a place where I can have the dogs loose, and Porter can walk past them, I think we can live with everyone in peace. I hope I'm not asking for a lot here. My dogs mind me well so I believe that *they* are capable of doing this. 

I appreciate any help I can get. I'm new to cat behavior. I had one cat before Porter and after he died, I decided not to get another cat. Porter wasn't part of the plan, but now that he's here, I want to do everything I can to make him comfortable and happy. If he were happy living in my hubby's office, I would let it go at that, but he's not, so I've got to try to figure this thing out. 

 

[shadowsrescue]

If you can't get a cat tree for the living area consider putting shelves up so he can get up and away from the dog.  If you check out Jackson Galaxy's site, he has lots of ideas on catifying your house.  Your cat needs to feel safe and also know he has an escape route.  Having vertical space will greatly help.

Here is an article on introducing dogs and cats http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

When I introduced my dog to the cats, I always had her on a leash.  I carried treats in my pocket to reward her for good behavior.  The cats had to learn that they could trust me to keep them safe.  It was a gradual process.  A well trained dog shouldn't be a problem in training to get used to a cat.  The key is to make sure the cat feels safe at all times and has plenty of exits.

 

[catpack]

To answer your question, yes, you can give glucosamine to cats. There are several cat specific treats, etc that you can get from your vet for this.

I use an injection called Adequan for my eldest's arthritis and it has done wonders for him! (He is 16.)

Also, it is certainly possible that Porter has had a bad encounter with a dog (or coyote...depending on where you live.)

Does anyone know for sure that his wound is from a fight with another cat?

 

[momto3cats]

He might have arthritis, which can be treated, or he might still have some pain from his injuries, depending on what/where/how bad they were. If he was badly hurt, it can take a long time to completely recover from things like that. It might be worthwhile to talk with your vet about whether he seems to have any pain issues. IMO if he feels he can't jump or run fast, that could very well make him less confident around dogs.

 

[random gemini]

We adopted Porter in February. His wound has been healed for a few months, but he still won't jump up on things over about a foot off of the ground. I don't think the old wound is relevant anymore. The area is not sensitive. His hips are though.

Yes, his wound was from a fight with another cat according to my vet. It took forever to heal because it was a deep tissue puncture.

Yeah, there are coyotes in my area, I didn't even think about that possibility. I have to supervise my dogs outside because of the coyotes.

 

[maniacmaddy]

My cat Missy is not crazy about our two dogs. They're Australian Cattle Dogs so they're medium sized - definitely not Pomeranians! I felt the same way as you,  I just wanted everyone to coexist, and for Missy to feel comfortable enough to wander around the house even with the dogs. I got Missy from a shelter a few years ago as a 7+ year old with an unknown history. What I think has helped her comfort level is to have a good amount of "dog-free" time on the main floor of our house. We have a decent sized basement area that our dogs frequently hang out in already, so sometimes we keep them both down there and allow the cats to roam the living/kitchen/bedroom area without the fear of dogs. I think she's in our main living area often enough that she claims some sort of ownership over it, so when she sees the dogs, she hisses but usually scurries past them to wherever she wants to go. You say Porter is still apprehensive even when the dogs are crated. Maybe dedicated playtime in the main area while the dogs are crated could help? Jumping around with a da bird toy and treats could give Porter some positive associations with the area.

If your daughter does end up taking Porter to her new apartment, I wouldn't even bother with bringing him over for visits. I think cats get more attached to their environments to anything else so I avoid transporting and stressing mine out unless its for a vet visit or a longer trip.