My 2 cats attacked my new Puppy?

Question

I have 2 Siamese cats who are both 5 years old, 1 is very friendly and socialised, the other, not so (she is quite timid). We bought home a new Bullmastiff pup last week (14 weeks old). All seemed to be getting on ok, the timid one stayed out of the way. Today, for no reason, the friendy kitty jumped onto the pups neck and started clawing him, he yelped and the timid one went crazy, she was riding his back and clawing and screaming the poor pup was so scared that he messed himself. I finally got a cushion and beat the cat around the head and she retreated. The poor pup ran to his cage, i crawled in with him, shut the door and stroked and reassured him. The cats were bleeding from their paws where they had ripped their claws out and my little pup was bleeding a little from his face. I can't stop crying and feel very guilty about the pup as i couldnt stop the cats and now im not sure what to do. How can i try and get them together again, i don't want a repeat performance.

Answer 1

At 14 weeks, a bull mastiff is beginning to show that he'll be a large breed dog. But he's still really a puppy with all puppy attributes and attitudes.

You don't say if you did anything to introduce the cats to the pup. I've never had my cats attack one of the dogs, but they were all young when introduced to the dogs. You said one cat was socialized, but that just tells me socialized to humans, not to the pup. To introduce animals, it's best to present the new animal to the older, established animals, rear end first so the older animals can sniff and hopefully decide this "intruder" is not a threat.

I don't believe that there was "no reason". Often times animals have a reason that we humans failed to notice, but a timid cat doesn't ever attack for "no reason". It just doesn't happen. You just didn't notice whatever it was.

You need to have two or three family members work together. One person needs to hold and calm each cat and one needs to hold and calm the dog. This way you can easily prevent any bad events from occurring. Talk gently to each of them as they meet and sniff each other. If any one moves to attack, pull that one back, or, as another responder suggested, you can try spraying with the water spray bottle.

You will need to repeat this introduction multiple times.

You will need to make sure the dog and cats do NOT have free access to each other till you can trust them all.

It's good your pup went to his CRATE. That's his safety zone. Hopefully the cats cannot get in there with him.

You may need to take the cats to the vet and have their nails trimmed. I don't believe in declawing cats as they need to be able to defend themselves. When your bull mastiff grows up, he can also be their protector.

SOMETHING either irritated or frightened the one cat and the other cat chose to come protect her cat partner.

You're young, I suspect, and this was traumatic for you.
Bottom line:
- cats and dogs get along fine... IF you introduce them and give them time to learn that they are not at risk from each other.
- you CANNOT leave new cats and dogs just be together and assume they'll all get along... it takes time and work, and may take a couple of weeks.

It might be a territorial thing. I'm not sure about that but it is a possibility.

I don't think your one-time scared reaction will make the dog act frightened, but your best response is to always respond calmly. YOU are supposed to be Pack Leader, and if you don't know how to prove this to all the animals, you need to learn FAST with such a big dog in the house. You have a Pack. You MUST be the leader. Failure is NOT an option. You are leader to the cats AND the dog as well.

Feeling guilty is a waste. It's ok to make mistakes. Just don't repeat this one. Do NOT allow the dog and cats free access to each other unless you are in total control of their actions. When you introduce them, you'll still feel scared because of the strength of the fear you experienced with this event. You have to put up with that and work through it.

I never tried Comfort Zone, but it's worth a try.

You may only get a truce at first, where the cats hiss at the dog, but don't attack it. Cats are really slow to accept when they get it into their heads to hate a newcomer... be it cat OR dog.

Remember to control a cat or dog fight withOUT getting in the middle. If you get in the middle, the animals with bite or scratch you in their attempt to bite or scratch the other animal. Grab an animal from outside the fight and pull it up and away from the battle. I have two male dogs we sometimes have to do this with, and the larger is a pyr (similar to mastiff) and the other is an Aussie half the pyr's size. He hangs onto the pyr's neck and we need to pull him off the pyr's neck at the same time as the pyr is pulled up and out from the fight.

OK... now close the crate for a bit, go have some warm tea and relax and unwind. Then go find the cats and let them know you love them. Then go let the dog know you love him. And don't let them be together without close supervision till the relationships are good and reliable to say all is safe.

Answer 2

Your cats are attacking the dog because its in their territory.
When you bring a new pet home you should gradually introduce the pets.
Leave the dog in his crate and let the cats into the room with him, he cant get hurt if he is locked into his crate.
If the cats still try to attack the dog while he is in his crate, use a spray bottle or water pistol and spray the cats when they do it, they will soon learn that they are doing the wrong thing.
When they are around the dog and they don't try attacking him, reward them with a treat and pat them, show them affection, they will learn that the puppy is a good thing.

When a puppy cries like that the worst thing you can do is make a fuss like you did. Sounds mean but by doing that you will turn the dog into a sook.
He will become scared easily and when he does get scared he will cry and seek attention all the time.
Obviously make sure he wasn't hurt, that's o.k, but don't fuss too much. The more you get upset the more the pup will get upset. He will eventually learn to deal with it his own way.
Just don't rush the cats to live with the dog. He has just come into the cat's house, they are letting the dog know this.

Answer 3

The only way cats will ever accept the puppy is after they beat it up. However, what you describe was a more serious attack. They may never accept it, and even worse, he may get even as he grows older. Is there any chance that you can give the puppy back or find another home for it? It is not always easy to introduce cats and dogs. For the time being, let the cats see him, smell his blankets etc., and better yet if they are fed together. But you must give them time before they can be together in the same room alone.

Answer 4

Cats are incredibly territorial. They probably see the puppy as a threat. Had they ever been around another dog before? If not, then it just may take some time. I would consider getting Comfort Zone with Feliway for your cats. It helps with anxiety and helps calm them down. My vet recommended it to me when I got a second cat. It is worth trying to see if it works. You can get it at most pet stores or at 1800petmeds.com. I would also ask your vet if there is something else you could possibly try. You could keep the animals separated for a couple of weeks, slowly introducing them. That also helps. I know you feel bad about the puppy being attacked. These are just some helpful hints you could try. I hope that this helps.

Answer 5

My cat used to hate the dog, but now they've gotten used to her. My one cat is the boss of the house, and the dog has learnt this and doesnt try to chase her anymore. The other cat has learnt to walk instead of run away from her, because when he runs she chases.

We recently had two new kittens and they adore the puppy, although the one moreso than the other.
The one thinks the puppy is her mother, the other just goes up every now and again for a wash.

They'll get used to each other with time, if the cats attack do something to get them away. Don't touch them though, if you do they'll scratch the hell outta you too. Alarm them, spray them with water or make a loud noise, tell them they're doig wrong.

Don't mkae a big fuss of it after, otherwise your dog is going to end up acting so pathetic around the cats it'll look stupid. Just clean the wounds and let the puppy rest.

Lock the cats out for a while as punishment.

Answer 6

your cat's see the pup as the intruder to the house . You could have the cat's declawed and that would be end of story to the clawing with the pup . But since they need to live together they will go at each other until an order on who is the boss in the house is established . Get a sparybottle filled with water to go at the cat's not a pillow ! You could do a lot of hard to the cat that way.
I hope you took cre of you r bleeding cat's paws ! That could get infected if you do not take care of it .

Good luck

Answer 7

The cats are very protective with each other so the cat went to let the puppy that she is the boss and to listen. If you don;t want to get the cats declawed then get a water spray bottle and next time the cats go after the puppy then spray the cats with the water. I have a cat that does that to dogs so I had her declawed so she would not hurt my roommates dog because my cat would slap the dog across the face and make the dog chase her. Take it slow and reintroduce the cats to the puppy very slow and not at once. I hope this will help. Good luck.

Answer 8

I'd be crying too - what a terrible story. I wish I could provide an answer for you. In my experience, Siamese are just plain mean. meowing cats (I would never own one). I'm pretty sure you're going to have to decide whether or not you're a cat owner or a dog owner (I'm never sure why people think they can put the two together unless it's started at a very, very young age).

Answer 9

Keep them in separate rooms unless you are able to closely supervise them. Poor pup! My cats did that to a stray that we took in, and she lived on the roof for two years before they finally let her come down. Now that my older cat died, the second cat tolerates the newer one, though she was the one who was really aggressive in the first place, and the oldest one was more accepting of the new one. (tolerant, not friendly)

Answer 10

well your two cats feel threaten by the puppy so they are defending there territory because i had a older dog and two new cats they did the same thing

u will just have to keep a eye on the puppy so he does not get hurt to bad and since the puppy cant defend its self you will have to do it (with a spray bottle full of water) hopefully after a while with the spray bottle thing they will get the idea its wrong

but they will always try to attack the puppy they may get used to him being there but ya know