Sos!!! Badly Injured Cat!!!!

[mazie]

You are right, he calls the shots.

 

[LizzyBees88]

He's moved around a bit, but is still using me as a pillow.

 

[LizzyBees88]

I'm starting to think he did belong to someone at one point in his life. Not only will he sleep on your lap, but he will also use the litter box.
We've also noticed that his stools are a little on the runny side. Now it could be because of a change in his diet (he's not getting his usual squirrel), or it could be from whatever they gave him when he was being patched up.

 

[maggiedemi]

That's the best photo of him yet, what a little sweetheart... What's his diet like?

 

[LizzyBees88]

We feed our cats dry food (I know it's not the best, but it's what we can afford at the moment). Allie Cat would hunt the squirrels in our neighborhood, but since he's been spending so much time in our house he hasn't been able to get any "fresh meat."

 

[LizzyBees88]

We've suddenly run into a bit of an issue. Our dog, who we've never really had any problems when it came to the cats unless there is food involved, not only charged and snarled at our cat Penny, but then went after Allie Cat who was laying next to me on the couch. No blood was drawn, just some lost fur, and the animals have since been separated.
This has never happened before.

 

[1 bruce 1]

We've suddenly run into a bit of an issue. Our dog, who we've never really had any problems when it came to the cats unless there is food involved, not only charged and snarled at our cat Penny, but then went after Allie Cat who was laying next to me on the couch. No blood was drawn, just some lost fur, and the animals have since been separated.
This has never happened before.

Hi Lizzy, I'm curious as to how old your dog is and what breed or mix (or guess?) he or she is?
Sorry you dealt with this, but we have before too.
As upsetting as it is, no blood drawn is a good thing but I agree--keep separated for now!

 

[LizzyBees88]

She's a 2 1/2 year old Lab-mix. We adopted her when she was 2 months and is normally very friendly with our cats (even grooming our kitten). She does sometimes growl if Misha (the kitten) gets too close to her when eating, but that's from his history of swiping her treats. This time here there was no food and it was random and so unlike her.

 

[1 bruce 1]

She's a 2 1/2 year old Lab-mix. We adopted her when she was 2 months and is normally very friendly with our cats (even grooming our kitten). She does sometimes growl if Misha (the kitten) gets too close to her when eating, but that's from his history of swiping her treats. This time here there was no food and it was random and so unlike her.

OK, lab mix. Do you have a picture of her?
We had a herding type dog that developed a dislike to our cats and separation was mandatory. I never feared for their lives but I did fear for their comfort and well being.
The dogs breeder told me that a 60+ pound dog and a 10 lb. cat that have had issues don't mix so the dog was kept separate from the cats when we were not here, and that trend has continued for everyone's safety and my peace of mind!

 

[orange&white]

Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that!

I had to train my Corgi to leave the feral cat I TNR'd alone. He's good with cats when he knows "they're family" or "they live here", but he also thinks it's his job to chase any "strangers" away. There are a lot of ferals in my neighborhood.

To train him to "Leave kitty alone. She lives here," I kept him on leash at all times when he would be around the feral kitty. He got a verbal correction and a quick tug on the leash if he tried to lunge at her. After about a week, he went on a very long leash. After about two weeks, he was completely avoiding eye contact with the new kitty and purposefully staying away from her. (He still chases the feral "strangers" away.)

Now the feral has been stalking, cornering and attacking my Corgi, which is an entirely different problem...and off topic for this discussion.

Anyway, I think you can probably successfully work with your dog to teach him to leave the "resident" kitties alone. I would keep them separated until you can work with him.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Also, JMO of course but if her behavior towards kitten continues, worsens, or you notice other things "off" about her, I'd take your pup to the vet for a good check up! Sometimes simple things (thyroid imbalances, etc.) can cause really crazy random aggressive-type episodes. One of our guys had a low thyroid and turned into a semi-unpredictable dog but after his thyroid was normalized, he was sweet as pie again.
Cats lean towards having hyper (too much) thyroidism; over active and causing them to lose weight, where as dogs sometimes develop hypo (low) thyroidism, and random and aggressive-type behavior "unlike them" isn't uncommon and can be easily remedied, so if you're concerned this might be a test your vet would like to perform!

 

[LizzyBees88]

This is Sophie. She's known Allie Cat since she was a puppy and the only outside cat she has ever gotten along with. My future MIL got Penny about a year ago as a 7 week old kitten. Sophie has known my little Misha since birth (momma cat's owners were living with us at the time when she had her second litter). She's pretty much been around cats all her life.
She has been suffering from a real nasty ear infection that we've been trying to treat, and that could have affected her mood.

 

[Norachan]

Oh, she looks like a sweetie!

I guess a painful infection could have put her in a bad mood. I don't know much about dogs, but it stands to reason that she'd be feeling a bit grumpy if that were the case.

Do you have cat trees or cat shelving at home? Giving the cats there own bit of territory that's out of the dogs reach will make everyone feel more comfortable.

 

[1 bruce 1]

View attachment 222085
This is Sophie. She's known Allie Cat since she was a puppy and the only outside cat she has ever gotten along with. My future MIL got Penny about a year ago as a 7 week old kitten. Sophie has known my little Misha since birth (momma cat's owners were living with us at the time when she had her second litter). She's pretty much been around cats all her life.
She has been suffering from a real nasty ear infection that we've been trying to treat, and that could have affected her mood.

Bingo!
Ear infections are uncomfortable and sometimes painful, and while a sore ear doesn't = annoyance towards a resident cat, ear infections can be painful and pain can mean a short temper towards those we love.
Some people (and pets) want attention and comfort when they're under the weather, and some (like me) want to be left alone. I hope her infection clears fast. If the ear infection is creating enough annoyance or discomfort, this could very well be part of the problem. Until then, I'd do exactly as you're doing and keep everyone separate until things can be resolved, and if you've any suspicion that things aren't as they should be, simple separation when you're not around shouldn't hopefully be a problem.
She looks hound-y with that Lab mix gene. She's a very cute pup! =)

 

[LizzyBees88]

We haven't been able to afford a decent cat tree (things always come up when we get the money), and since we rent we can't go drilling holes for shelves. We do have a book case and a spot above the kitchen cabinets that the cats have used when they want to be up high.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Oh, she looks like a sweetie!

I guess a painful infection could have put her in a bad mood. I don't know much about dogs, but it stands to reason that she'd be feeling a bit grumpy if that were the case.

Do you have cat trees or cat shelving at home? Giving the cats there own bit of territory that's out of the dogs reach will make everyone feel more comfortable.

Great idea on the shelving!!!!

I've had ear infections and they range from annoying to painful, and when I'm in pain I want to be left alone and any attempt at "comfort" isn't well received. I'm shamed to say so, but I've had respiratory problems and stomach problems and flu's and colds and the like in my life, and all I want is left alone. Some individuals (not dependent on species) want the opposite and crave attention and comfort. It just depends.
Dogs, cats, people, horses, goats, chickens...it doesn't matter...when they're in pain or experiencing something like pain all the way down to mild discomfort don't sleep well and don't rest well. When I don't sleep or rest well I get grouchy. I imagine this is true for most species.
One of our top agility dogs developed a mildly annoying bug last year. During that time, this dog didn't appear to sleep well and the dog became shorter tempered with his dog/cat friends, so he stopped training and we kept him home until the bug resolved, and it did. Once it did, his mannerisms returned.

 

[1 bruce 1]

We haven't been able to afford a decent cat tree (things always come up when we get the money), and since we rent we can't go drilling holes for shelves. We do have a book case and a spot above the kitchen cabinets that the cats have used when they want to be up high.

Our cats love our cabinets. It's like a weird kitty-club house that has an invisible "NO DOGS ALLOWED" sign hanging on them =D
If you rent, I agree--drilling holes for shelves wouldn't be a nice thing to do. The landlord might allow it if you ask and use a stud finder to avoid drilling 101 holes until the shelf holds!
If not, separation via doors and such is probably a fine bet if it works.
I wouldn't trust baby gates FWIW, as they are easily jumped over/knocked over by a dog and aren't as sturdy as a solid door.
If you're worried, I would err on the side of caution and separate with solid doors =)

 

[LizzyBees88]

The only baby gates we have installed in the house are in the basement and they're there to keep my son out of certain rooms. Both of my children have autism and my son who is 5 seems to be going through the terrible two's phase.

 

[LizzyBees88]

I've also seen on this site someone mentioning a program called Alley Cat Advocates and it made me remember the collar from when we first me Allie Cat. The name tag actually had the name Alley Cat!! One of our neighbors had mentioned them a few years back, and said they did TNR, but the phone number on the tag never worked.

 

[LizzyBees88]

Update on the dog situation:
I have come to discover that Sophie will hide peices of food around the house and will get defensive if one of the cats gets to close to her stash.