How to stop a puppy from chasing the cat
Puppies often treat resident cats as high-value moving toys because the cats run away instead of setting firm boundaries. This persistent chasing happens because high-energy puppies lack an 'off button' and cannot self-settle, turning every interaction into a stressful confrontation that prevents the pets from ever learning to coexist calmly.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 21.9× more often in r/puppy101 than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Keeping the puppy on a leash or tethered during interactionsDid this help you?
- 2Trying to tire the puppy out beforehandDid this help you?
- 3Teaching a place or bed command so the puppy learns to ignore the catDid this help you?
- 4Rewarding the puppy the split second he looks at the cat and then looks awayDid this help you?
- 5Keeping the puppy on an indoor leash to manage movement and redirect attentionDid this help you?
- 6Distracting the puppy with treats or toys before she lunges at the catsDid this help you?
- 7Allowing the cats to set their own boundaries by hissing and slapping the puppyDid this help you?
- 8setting up a cat tower so the kitten can get away from the puppyDid this help you?
- 9allowing them to meet only in short periodsDid this help you?
- 10stepping between them and giving a loud, deep verbal correctionDid this help you?
- 11providing elevated places and escape routes for the catDid this help you?
- 12screaming NO really loudly at the puppyDid this help you?
- 13scruffing the puppy when it becomes physical and ignores cat cuesDid this help you?
- 14Feeding and playing with the kitten before bedDid this help you?
- 15Ignoring the kitten or moving her away and putting a hand out to block herDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Any good tips for introducing an overexcited puppy with new kitten?”source ↗
“I also have an 11 month old Dalmatian poodle mix who has met her in short periods but is super excited and doesn’t know what personal space is”source ↗
“is there anything I can do to help calm my dog and keep her from doing too much with such a small cat?”source ↗
“She’s very sweet, did only the first pee outside of the pads and the rest on the pads, has learned to sit and starts to learn how to focus. But she is still a puppy and hasn’t yet learned how to stay alone calmly but more importantly, how to stop chasing the cats and barking at them.”source ↗
“Our pup LOVES to chase our cat any time he sees him, and it seems in a playful way, our cat won't swat at him, sometimes he'll hit but only once or twice and then he'll just run away.”source ↗
“I don't know how to get our pup to stop chasing and have calm interactions. We try to tire him out beforehand but he doesn't have an off button.”source ↗
“Could anyone with experience please help me out? I want them to get along!”source ↗
“I’ve tried doing this but the house is small and the leash gets stuck everywhere so I stopped but sometimes I do feel the need to have it to stop her quickly”source ↗
“I would love for them to get along as soon as possible so I would like to make this as stress free as possible and avoid those confrontations. When I sense that she’s about to go to them I try to distract her immediately”source ↗
“Yeah… I’m gonna need to buy a cord or something so it doesn’t get as stuck as the leash I have”source ↗
“10-week-old puppy is starting to bark at house cat. How did you teach yours to peacefully coexist?”source ↗
“Charlie is VERY interested in her. He’ll watch her and sometimes lie down while looking at her. He hasn’t lunged at her or tried to attack her, but he’s a curious 10-week-old puppy and over the last day or so he’s started barking at her.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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