Cat attacking dog in response to unrelated noise

[jaqi]

Anyone have an idea on how to teach a cat not to beat up on the dog? My cat has decided that a certain loud noise that occurs once in a while is made by the dog (it isn't) and takes it out on him--he has our 75 pound german shepherd mix thoroughly cowed. Short of preventing the noise (so far unsuccessful) how do you teach a cat that the dog is not responsible for the noise and shouldn't be harrased?!! The dog, while terrified of the cat when the noise happens, doesn't fight back, so I'm not worried about the cat getting hurt; but I am worried that the dog will because the cat tries to attack his face.

[tvt]

First of all, what is the noise that sets the cat off so badly?
A spray bottle for undesireable behavior usually works. Lots of reassurance needs to be given to the dog.
One must always remember: dogs drool and cats rule.

[kittycats_delight]

sounds like you have quite a character there in kitty. My RB Mytsi used to do the same thing to our 140lb Akita. The dog would always look at her like she was crazy. But he loved her to death. Mytsi was his cat and that was it so she could do pretty well what she wanted except touch his food. Question though...does kitty use her claws when she attacks the dog? Mytsi never used claws. The spray bottle does work for some cats not all. Maybe you can try a time out with kitty. When she does this thing snatch her up look her in the face and tell her a firm NO and then put her into a room by herself to cool off for a little while. Time outs are pretty effective too. And always remember the saying. LOL

Dogs think they are human...Cats think they are god.

[Jennsen]

Hi Jaqi,

I'm sorry, I dont have any advice for you, but I wanted to let you know your not alone with this problem! I just posted the same problem myself yesterday...my Oliver also has my 120lb Lab cornered all the time. As with your dog, mine would never hurt Oliver either, he just looks away while Oliver is batting him in the face. I just feel so sorry for my poor dog! Bless his heart!

Good Luck!

Jenn

[RedHedd]

Originally posted by tvt
First of all, what is the noise that sets the cat off so badly?
... One must always remember: dogs drool and cats rule.

I'm curious too - what is it?

[DrNiblik]

It must be going around. I live in an apartment complex and my next door neighbor has a little pug dog that never bothers anyone. That doesn't stop my "little angel" MaghoÃ_ from picking a fight with him everytime they both happen to be outside. I agree with what one of the other posts said. I have taken to shooting MaghoÃ_ with a small water pistol when she goes to pick a fight with the dog. That seems to help.

[jaqi]

it's a toilet valve that sounds like a foghorn. We've tried to fix it and nothing short of replacing the whole unit seems to work...

[tvt]

Does the cat let you hold her that you could show her the source of the noise? Maybe she would eventually get used to it. Spraying with water is the only way I have found to discipline a cat, although it's not working with my Mystery. She's just bull-headed, so nothing will work with her.

[jaqi]

I have taken him into the bathroom when the noise was going several times. I guess he's not very smart because he didn't take the hint...

[wolflady]

This sounds like redirected aggression to me. Redirected aggression is a form of aggression in cats that happens when a cat is aroused by a certain stimulus, but is unable to direct their aggression on that stimulus.
The stimulus in this case is the sound of the toilet valve, that leads to a heightened level of anxiety in your cat.

Do you happen to know when the valve makes the noise each time? If there is a way to separate the dog and cat when the noise is happening (or stopping the noise entirely), that would be best.
Also, to calm your cat, put him in a dark and quiet room for him to calm down in or try to avoid him (and/or keep the dog away from him) while he's aroused by the stimulus. This might be hard if it happens at random times.

**hugs**