Petfinder.com forums :: View topic - help! new kitten is bullying my 75 pound dog! [ ]

I know I haven't posted here in a long time. My dog Abby & I had a 16 year old cat who died last Aug. That cat owned Abby. But Abby fell in love with my neighbor's cat-so I thought Abby would like a cat of her own.

Well- the kitten is being kitten-running, swooshing & pawing and clawing.
But Abby gets up and leaves. The kitten has been here 2 weeks. This morning Abby was eating and the kitty attacked her. Abby ran away. I ended up feeding her in my room.

I was very careful b4 I got Willow-to make sure kitty had escape routes, safe places, etc. Didn't know I'd need them for my Abby. Any suggestions??

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:35 pm Post subject:

It would probably be better to lock up the kitten when the dog is eating. You can lock her up in a bathroom for a short while. You could try squirting the kitten with water when she hisses or attacks the dog, but I'm not sure that will help, might just reinforce her perception of dog as enemy. Or you could scruff her when she attacks or hisses at the dog, just gently pull up the skin at the back of her neck for 20-30 seconds and then remove kitten from the area.

Some cats never grow used to dogs. I have one who still hisses at the dogs three years after she met them. Others get used to dogs and feel safe and may even cuddle with dogs eventually.

One idea if you can handle another cat in your home is to add an older, very calm, dog-friendly cat to your home. The kitten can learn from the older cat and the dog can make friends with the dog-friendly cat.

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:11 pm Post subject:

the kitty is "play attacking" I don't know if she likes the dog or not. It's like she thinks Abby is a movable piece of furniture. she also tries to jump off or land on her.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:45 am Post subject:

Sounds like it's just a high energy kitten. You either need to get another cat to help her wear off her energy or you need to play with her to wear her out. You can use kitty wands, various cat toys for her to bat around and pounce on, cat structures. It's like bringing in a puppy with an older dog. Puppies have a lot of energy. You might get ideas from that show, My Cat from --heck--.

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