Dog And Cat Issue

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Georgia'sMum

Forums Regular
We have three cats, two of whom are totally indoors and the third one goes in and out during the day but is always inside at night, as well as Georgia our 1yo sheltie girl.

The issue I have is with Georgia and the indoor/outdoor cat, Oscar. This cat is a total scardey cat and has never stood up for himself to the dog. Everytime Georgia sees Oscar she goes nuts barking at him, wants to chase him etc. I don't think Georgia actually wants to hurt him, I suspect she sees him as weak because he's always running away from her or acting scared in her prescence.

Georgia gets on fine with the other two cats. In fact they're good friends. We've caught the cat and dog sleeping together on ocassion. The other two will give her a smack if she's out of line in their mind, so she has respect for them.

If Georgia sees another cat on a walk, she will react the same way she does to Oscar, just goes nuts and wants to chase it. So how on earth can I get her to treat Oscar the same as the others, and give him the space he deserves. The only way I can see it happening, is if Oscar would stand up for himself, but he's 7yo and I doubt he'll ever change.
 
its interesting that Georgia gets alone with the indoor cats, but not with the indoor/outdoor cat.. I don't think there is much you can do, it does seem that Oscar needs to assert himself.
 
I doubt you can. My previous dog would ignore cats unless the humped up and hissed, those were fun to chase :rolleyes2:. The other cats were no fun thus ignored. A sheltie loves to chase and herd so Oscar is a party and she knows it, the others are OK but just not much fun.
 
We had a bit of problem here between Miko and the cat. Our cat is a 13yr old indoor/outdoor guy who has lived around dogs at various times of his life. Because he's used to dogs, he tried just ignoring Miko... little did he know that the stubborn little pup wasn't going to let up easily. Miko barked at him... did the play bow constantly... and sometimes chased him until Benny finally stood up for himself a few times and gave him a good swat. Now, when Miko gets too hyper/rough Benny just has to give him a little punch (claws in) on the nose and Miko walks away with his feelings hurt. (he wants the cat to play with him so badly!!)

Anyway... my advice to you is to stay out of it as much as possible and let them work it out. Hopefully the cat will stand up for himself sooner rather than later.

Good luck!!
 
I have the same situation...both mine are indoor outdoor kitties, one of the cats they dont bother with, he sleeps with them walks by them no one pays any attention what so ever...now my other cat, they see her and they go crazy trying to get to her...She does stand up for herself, hisses at them, has been known to make them yip as she grabs them with her claws. Doesnt matter...Ive come to the conclusion it must be a vibe she gives off...theres no other way to describe it...even my 7 year old niece is leery of her...Overall shes not a bad cat, but she is weary of people since she was a feral...
 
Lightplum said:
I have the same situation...both mine are indoor outdoor kitties, one of the cats they dont bother with, he sleeps with them walks by them no one pays any attention what so ever...now my other cat, they see her and they go crazy trying to get to her...She does stand up for herself, hisses at them, has been known to make them yip as she grabs them with her claws. Doesnt matter...Ive come to the conclusion it must be a vibe she gives off...theres no other way to describe it...even my 7 year old niece is leery of her...Overall shes not a bad cat, but she is weary of people since she was a feral...
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I firmly believe that A LOT has to do with the energy the cat is giving off. Some cats have a nervous (ie. alert) energy at all times and some are really mellow. I think the mellow ones fare a lot better with dogs.
 
ditto!
It has nothing to do with a cat being weak...
My schizo-kitteh gets chased by Scotty, the Poodle yet sleeps and hangs out with Toffee who never chases her. Meanwhile boss kitteh doesn't get chased by ANY dog, lol BUT he chases the other cat and they HATE each other a lot... they like Toffee better than one another!

Toffee always chases the neighbour cat who tries to bully my cats... and so the circle continues.

I think your outdoor cat is just used to RUNNING as a defense, because this works a LOT better for cats outside. It is much safer than making a stand, which is what indoor cats have to use in cramped quarters.
This running sets off our Shelties herding drive...
 
Mikos_Mom said:
I firmly believe that A LOT has to do with the energy the cat is giving off. Some cats have a nervous (ie. alert) energy at all times and some are really mellow. I think the mellow ones fare a lot better with dogs.
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I think this is true of Oscar too. At times he can be cool, calm and collected and Georgia ignores him then. I suspect its the working dog in her. Mind you Oscar was just having a snack out the front where Georgia could see him and she was going mad, barking at him, like he's some sort of strange cat. All very weird, and probably not something I have much control over.

I wish I could make him stand up for himself, then it would be over in an instant.

We've had role reversal here though, my strictly indoor birman will chase Georgia, and give her a smack if she does something she doesn't agree with. She's the smallest critter here, yet the bossiest by far... :lol:
 
Tully will bark at and chase any cat she sees on our walks, even though she has her own kitty.

I dont quite agree with leaving it to them to work out. Georgia is young so still needs lessons on appropriate behaviour. And as an adolescent they are not very good at working out boundries and space and need someone to point that out. By leaving it to Oscar to work out you are kind of expecting him to change his personality rather than Georgia. Perhaps as an outside cat he has learnt not to take on anything bigger than him as a matter of survival.

So as the leader in your household if you see Georgia annoying Oscar do step in and tell her no. It may even be worthwhile to stop her before she goes after Oscar if he is showing 'anger' signals, that way she learns them as well. When you arent around just make sure Oscar has always got an excape route.
 
I guess we are the minority here.I have never had an issue of any of the dogs barking,chasing or showing signs they don't like Bumper.

They coexist well,and are often found together playing.Even more so if Bumper initiates the play. Trapp & Bumper are bed buddies on our bed every night.

Not really sure why only one of the cats of your reacts this way,maybe its alpha over the other two. Can't really answer that one..
 
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