When Cats Attack

[Riley]

My mom and I have a SERIOUS cat-on-dog violence problem. As I speak, I'm armed with a water bottle and waiting for fur to fly. This morning, my brother's cat (Fursquatch) went berserk on our pugs and pom-pug hybrids for no good reason; Just joined in on their usual play-fighting and took it too far. This isn't the first time she's been violent. At one point, she was so mean to our older cat, who had to move into my Dad's bedroom.

 

[Mia]

It might be a good idea, to have your brother's cat seen by a Vet. When these sorts of things happen it's either a behavioral or a medical issue. You should attempt to discover what the problem is.

 

[Riley]

I have one of Squatch's victims on my lap right now. His name is Nelson.

 

[Nerdpride20950]

I agree with Mia that it would be good to see a vet. I put off seeing a vet about my cat's attack issues and it turned out to be something I could have fixed if I had caught it earlier. As it was, it was too late and we had to have my sweet kitty put down for a nerve problem that would have been fixed if we had just taken him to a vet early on!

 

[Gary DuBois]

I have one of Squatch's victims on my lap right now. His name is Nelson.

give Nelson the best care you can and as far as your brothers cat goes its simply to end the violence either get a cat trainer in to mellow out the cat or try as hard as you can to keep the cat seperated from the dogs

 

[Riley]

One obstacle in your suggestions:

My Mom. She doesn't trust anything people on the internet say. Nor does she buy expensive things. Is there any verification to your claim?

And when I brought up that Squatch should see a vet, she said that she hoped the cat would 'get over it.'

 

[Sylar]

Was the cat aggressive from the get-go, or was it playing and took it too far? If you're not already aware of it, I'd look up the different types of cat body language and behaviour. This will help you spot when the cat might be ready to attack or act out again in the future and then you can prevent it.

If it was playing and then went off on one, it's possible the cat has a small cut or sore spot that was hurt while playing and reacted to defend herself.

 

[Myrtonos]

It is said that cats and dogs don't go well together.

 

[Sylar]

It is said that cats and dogs don't go well together.

They're all individuals. I have 2 cats who will play with the dogs and share a bed with them if they find the space. One of them has a stronger bond with the dogs than he does with the other cat.

 

[Myrtonos]

Nevertheless, dogs and cats are often said to be enemies of each other. That your two cats might play and share a bed with dogs does not change the popular belief.

 

[Mia]

And when I brought up that Squatch should see a vet, she said that she hoped the cat would 'get over it.'

Many times, animals pick up on 'changes' or behavior in their territory. Which includes you, your family, and the other animals there. If there is fighting or arguments or anything else going on with people or changes in their environment, they will react and attempt to 'fix' it in their own way.

Their way of 'fixing' it, might be to attack others in times of stress and uncertainty. This does happen in households with people and several animals. People bring together a bunch of disparate animals, and expect them to get along. Cats for example are singular animals, they come together for protection when having kittens, finding food, or protecting their territory. Many cats and some dogs have never lost these survivalist skills, it's not been bred out in some. So they still to a certain extent react to change or stress in that manner. It might be a good idea to re-access in a day or two, when things have quieted down.

 

[Sylar]

Nevertheless, dogs and cats are often said to be enemies of each other. That your two cats might play and share a bed with dogs does not change the popular belief.

Not to derail the thread or start an argument, but it being popular belief doesn't make it true. Wildly false wives tales and misconceptions are told every day even when they've long been disproven.

There is no biological reason for cats and dogs to be "enemies" so it must be an environmental reason. Either a behavioural issue with the animal(s) or a problem with the owner is to blame. A dog being aggressive to a cat or vice versa is no different than it being aggressive to a member of its own species. Like I said, I don't want to start an argument, but different breeds of dogs and cats already have different temperaments on top of the individuals own personality, saying cats and dogs don't get along comes across as a blanket statement that isn't particularly helpful to the topic.

In Riley's case, the cat has already acted violently towards her other cat and unless all scenarios have been playing too rough and escalated when the other party tried to stop it, this could have been the cat playing too rough or the dogs. I have pugs myself so I know that when they get playful personal space goes out of the window. It's possible that the cat was playing and then wanted to stop but they wouldn't let her, or it's possible that one of the dogs happened to get her in the wrong place and hurt her.

If that isn't the case and the cat is being aggressive and violent then the options are: 1)the cat has behavioural problems and needs to be trained either by Riley and her family reading up on cat behaviour and working to stop it or by hiring a cat trainer to help, or 2)this is a case of Riley and her family doing something wrong, even if unintentionally. It may be that the cat doesn't have enough room or a place it can be on its own or different reasons. Cats and dogs are domesticated animals and both have the intelligence of a 2-3 year old human, Riley has made some edgey posts on this forum and brought up family issues. It's possible the cat has picked up some of that and gets itself worked up and acts out.

Any more information about the cat would be helpful in determining the problem and finding a solution.

 

[Aspie_rin]

There are traits in cats and dogs that can make it harder for them to get along. Cats like to have personal space and dogs like to invade personal space. Dogs show friendliness by being energetic while cats do so by being quiet (cats interpret energetic behavior as aggressive). Cats tend to run away from those they don't know while dogs love chasing. However in most cases cats and dogs can be friends and learn how to interact with each other, if not just learn to tolerate each others.

Your cats might also have physical illnesses wich can affect her behavior. Was she like that before? Is there anything else that is weird about her, for example is she pressing her head against a wall, constantly drinking water, pacing?

 

[Alaska]

It is said that cats and dogs don't go well together.

One of my cats prefers dogs to most cats. I have had cats and dogs in the past that loved each other. Having cats and dogs getting along depends a lot on the owners.

This gets more complicated with different owners. A trainer might be required.

 

[When In Rome]

I've had a cat attack me. But they're not all vicious. That would be like saying all Scottish people are tight with money.