Tips for Cats Who Are Scared of Dogs

If the world we live in is perfect, all the kittens and puppies would have much playtime with each other where they would only have positive interactions. It would happen from a young age – several pet parents witness such a divine experience.

However, the truth is that not all pets get the opportunity to socialize with children from other animal species. Here we would deal with a scenario where a cat has never had a chance to get associated with a dog and is in a new home with a dog known to be friendly with them.

Usually, in these situations, the dogs either ignore the cat or are friendly and calm with them with an occasional sniff. They also leave them when asked to do so. However, the cat is scared of the dog.

They tend to hide and run away or get all puffed up and start hissing, cowering, or growling whenever the dog is close to them. In such cases, you can follow the tips that we have mentioned over here.

7 Tips for Cats Scared of Dogs

1. Training your dog to ignore the cat 

At times, when a dog sees a cat and likes them, they try to initiate an interaction with them.

They hold their heads high and wag their tails fast, paw, bow playfully, and bark. They may do so in a friendly way, but you must restrain them.

Use a leash, take them to another room, or create them. While separated, you have to train the dog to leave the cat.

Make sure they get the proper training to ignore the cat calmly. Some additional playtime and exercise would be helpful for the dog in this case.

2. Creating a safe zone for the cat 

Your cat needs to feel safe. You can employ a combination of baby gates, dog pens, and closed doors. The way you set up the safe zone for your cat would depend on your pets and your home.

If you have a small dog, baby gates would be the easiest way to go about it. If your dog is big and crate trained, you can put them in a pet crate. It would let both of them see each other.

3. Setting up escape routes 

Once again, this is essential to make your cat feel safe. You have to help make your cat feel safe by giving escape routes in the hallways and each room of your home. For example, if your dog is small, the escape route could be a chair close to a table.

If you have a big-sized dog, you can have a bookshelf. You can prop open a cabinet or closet door so the cat can pass through, not the dog. You can also place baby gates with cat openings at strategic doorways.

It helps restrain small dogs who do not jump.

4. Praising positive behavior 

If your cat comes out and exhibits behavior that shows a certain level of fearlessness, such as sitting somewhere where the dog can see them. You must praise verbally or give treats. Similarly, you can shower food treats or praises on your dog if they are calm and ignore the cat.

5. Letting your cat roam around the house at night 

Often, cats tend to be nocturnal. So, you can call your dog to your bedroom and sleep with them while you let your cat roam free at night. It would help reduce their overall stress levels.

6. Spending quality time with your cat 

You can do so by putting your dog to bed in their room or creating an hour before you hit the bed. Encourage your cat to come out and spend some quality time with you.

Do the pets like to play? In that case, you could play with them. Do they snuggle? Then do so with them. Perhaps they would be happy sitting calmly in the same room with you and without the dog.  

It is the time that they would like to spend with you and do whatever they want to do with you. You have to give the pets that time.

7. Giving them time to adjust 

Cats can take weeks and months to adjust to even the slightest changes. If it is their first time living with a dog, it is a significant change indeed.

Conclusion 

We are hopeful that the tips we have provided above will be helpful for all of you and that you will be able to see a happy and long life together!