How do I encourage a positive relationship between my older cat and my dogs?

Question

I have a six year old tabby cat, a dog nearing one year of age, and another dog nearing five years of age. My cat is okay with our older dog and can tolerate him, but he can't stand the puppy. The cat has a brother at the same age, but his brother is going through some health problems and is not expected to live a full life. That is the major reason I want to help my other cat to become friendlier with the other members of our household; his brother's death will be the end of the world for him. We already lost a cat this year, and I will feel terrible the day we lose another one and leave one all alone with those two dogs. I will also try making the other cat feel more comfortable around the dogs too.

Answer 1

The cat is fully adult and the dog is adolescent. That is the main issue in terms of why they don't get along -- the cat sees the pup as an absolute nuisance. Train the pup not to chase, or to try to "play," with the cat. This is the #1 thing you can do so that they first learn to tolerate, then possibly actually LIKE, one another.

You can't really teach the cat to *like* the dogs -- some do, some don't. My cat adores dogs as long as they're even tempered -- he hates pups and overly energetic dogs too.

Luckily, cats are pretty adaptable and independant. Because of this, your cat will adapt to the upcoming loss, when it happens. He'll probably be depressed for a few weeks or a month, just as we would be if we lost a family member. Give him loads of attention and affection during that time, and don't punish him if he makes a few potty mistakes -- cats will sometimes do this during times of high stress. The dogs will also feel the loss, but probably to a lesser degree.

Your cat will be OK given a little time to grieve and heal. Whether he becomes friends with the dogs or not is really up to them, not you, and is primarily a seperate issue -- in the same way that it would be for us if we were to lose a brother, it really wouldn't matter what other friends we might have, we'd still need time to grieve and adjust.

Good luck!