MF-boy
Savannah Child
Hi, I am new to the forum, found it desperately searching for solutions
This is a similar question to another thread about a Savannah being territorial with a puppy boxer, and I read that one throughout. The difference -- our cat, a 9-month old F4 male, is already a dog-cat,he is VERY bonded with our 8-y.o. Giant Schnauzer (from the first day we had him at home at 11 weeks of age) does not accept a new puppy (12 weeks old boy). He has been VERY sweet and gentle, with his people and do, visitors, vet's office staff, another dog-visitor... At first, things looked, actually, better: a little of hissing, a lot of interest -- tapping on his head, sniffing, inviting to play. Several times they played chasing each other, but then we saw that the cat is setting the puppy up: once he gets close, whether while playing or just walking by, he hisses, growls, taps with his paw -- first, softly, then the nails come out... sometimes it looks like he is curious and meaning well, but then without any actions from the puppy, he almost attacks -- hisses into his face, shows claws, growls and makes sounds we never heard. Some of the sounds, actually, are the same as when he hunts flies and watches birds -- I wonder if he is about to hunt the dog, lol!
And another serious issue -- the cat seems very unhappy. I spent the first night in a different room with the puppy, and he did not come -- so, he missed his morning ritual or purring, rubbing cheeks, licking... The second night, I put the puppy into the crate (although we never crated our dogs, he seems to be crate-trained and likes it there) in the bedroom -- and the cat never showed up in the morning, but immediately after the puppy was behind the bars, he came close, hissed, put his paw through the gate... third night the puppy was in a different bedroom (luckily he sleeps tight for 8 straight hours and does not mind being there) with my husband, and the cat did come in the morning with our morning ritual and looked happier.
Several times he would not let the puppy enter the house or room, stops him and hisses/growls, although today he seems a little more receptive but still hissing/showing claws when the puppy gets too close. The only truce time is at feeding, as everyone is hand-fed (we feed raw, and the cat always wanted to eat like a real dog --he thinks he is a dog, BTW), so they site peacefully next to each other.
We are watching them all the time, not leaving unsupervised, and when the cat does his territorial things, we tell him "NO!" (he knows what it means), carry him away -- give him a lot of petting, hugging, kissing, as with the puppy's arrival, he immediately became more willing to be touched. Feeding the cat form the same bowl as the puppy, giving the puppy the lowest rank as far the order of getting food, rotate the animals, so only two can be inside or outside together,
He did not mark anything, I am using Feliway spray in every room, maybe should put some on the puppy or on his collar? Was neutered just a week before the puppy's arrival.
Any advice, please -- how to help him to accept the puppy and not feel threatened or get stressed. thanks!
This is a similar question to another thread about a Savannah being territorial with a puppy boxer, and I read that one throughout. The difference -- our cat, a 9-month old F4 male, is already a dog-cat,he is VERY bonded with our 8-y.o. Giant Schnauzer (from the first day we had him at home at 11 weeks of age) does not accept a new puppy (12 weeks old boy). He has been VERY sweet and gentle, with his people and do, visitors, vet's office staff, another dog-visitor... At first, things looked, actually, better: a little of hissing, a lot of interest -- tapping on his head, sniffing, inviting to play. Several times they played chasing each other, but then we saw that the cat is setting the puppy up: once he gets close, whether while playing or just walking by, he hisses, growls, taps with his paw -- first, softly, then the nails come out... sometimes it looks like he is curious and meaning well, but then without any actions from the puppy, he almost attacks -- hisses into his face, shows claws, growls and makes sounds we never heard. Some of the sounds, actually, are the same as when he hunts flies and watches birds -- I wonder if he is about to hunt the dog, lol!
And another serious issue -- the cat seems very unhappy. I spent the first night in a different room with the puppy, and he did not come -- so, he missed his morning ritual or purring, rubbing cheeks, licking... The second night, I put the puppy into the crate (although we never crated our dogs, he seems to be crate-trained and likes it there) in the bedroom -- and the cat never showed up in the morning, but immediately after the puppy was behind the bars, he came close, hissed, put his paw through the gate... third night the puppy was in a different bedroom (luckily he sleeps tight for 8 straight hours and does not mind being there) with my husband, and the cat did come in the morning with our morning ritual and looked happier.
Several times he would not let the puppy enter the house or room, stops him and hisses/growls, although today he seems a little more receptive but still hissing/showing claws when the puppy gets too close. The only truce time is at feeding, as everyone is hand-fed (we feed raw, and the cat always wanted to eat like a real dog --he thinks he is a dog, BTW), so they site peacefully next to each other.
We are watching them all the time, not leaving unsupervised, and when the cat does his territorial things, we tell him "NO!" (he knows what it means), carry him away -- give him a lot of petting, hugging, kissing, as with the puppy's arrival, he immediately became more willing to be touched. Feeding the cat form the same bowl as the puppy, giving the puppy the lowest rank as far the order of getting food, rotate the animals, so only two can be inside or outside together,
He did not mark anything, I am using Feliway spray in every room, maybe should put some on the puppy or on his collar? Was neutered just a week before the puppy's arrival.
Any advice, please -- how to help him to accept the puppy and not feel threatened or get stressed. thanks!