How to stop a cat from attacking after bringing home a puppy
Cats may hiss, run away, or suddenly bite and scratch out of fear or annoyance toward a new dog, while the dog's barking and whining only escalates the tension. Relying on physical barriers like leashes and gates keeps them separated, but leaves owners stuck without knowing how to train the pets to get along safely.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1giving her some time alone
- 2keeping the puppy on a leash
- 3using a baby gate to separate the dog and cats
- 4distracting the puppy with toys or balls
- 5rewarding the puppy with treats for calm behavior
- 6leaving the cat alone to live its life as a solo pet
- 7getting a third cat
- 8putting a screen between them for scent acclimation and supervised visits
- 9quarantining the new cat in a separate room, getting a vet check and microchip scan, and doing a slow introduction
- 10having consistent food available and not needing to fight for it
- 11they both have a bowl outside when its food time
- 12I have the cats eating on counters in my utility room
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“She’ll scratch me or bite me for no reason, even before the dog came.”source ↗
“On day three, while I was cutting her nails and doing regular brushing, she suddenly bit me and scratched me.”source ↗
“My question is, is she scared of the dog? Or is she annoyed by his existence?”source ↗
“Honey Badger got their name because they are very food aggressive and protective of Lego.”source ↗
“However I have noticed they always put themselves between Lego cat and anyone/thing that tried to approach.”source ↗
“My sister got another cat to keep her adult cat Stella company and it ended up becoming friends with her dog Millie instead.”source ↗
“The other cat is sulking in the bedroom.”source ↗
“The problem is that I have two cats already, and one of my cats is fine with the strays that come around, but the other is *very* aggressive toward them.”source ↗
“Even when they’re outside and she’s inside, she’ll try to fight them through the window and gets pretty worked up when she sees them.”source ↗
“What I’m asking for is training advice, I don’t know how to train him to get along with the cat.”source ↗