My dog attacked my cat...now she won't eat :(

[fuzzykitten99]

For my mother's day present, Tim let me 'adopt' Buster, my mom's Siberian Husky. Tim doesn't like most dogs, but really likes Buster, and it helps my mom because she is moving and can't take Buster with her.

So, we have had Buster full time now for about 2 weeks, but we also have 2 cats. Buster has never been around cats, though my cats have been around dogs a good portion of their lives. So far though, the cats have been avoiding him, staying downstairs or outside. So there really hasn't been a lot of exposure to each other because we have been trying to get Buster adjusted to living with us.

On monday, Tim opened the sliding door to go out onto the porch for something. Buster doesn't usually even take notice, but he saw my older cat on the porch and bolted. He chased her into the bushes, and Tim went after him, because he hasn't been trained yet to stay in the yard. Buster comes out with my cat by the belly, in his mouth. I see this, start screaming, and chasing Buster to get him to release her. He finally does drop her, and I grab her, and run inside. I brought her to the ER Vets and they said she seems to just be bruised and more or less traumatized. They put her on O2 and an IV drip to give her some fluids and morphine, and kept her overnight. She has been home 3 days, and hasn't touched her food, even though it is her favorite soft food. I want to call the vet but I also want to wait it out to see if she eventually does eat. But she can't go too long or she'll starve.

Any tips on getting her to eat or drink?

BTW-I'm not mad at Buster in the least. He did what his instincts told him to-though it cost us nearly $400 in vet fees...

 

[Hobbit]

I'd talk to the vet, but if there's nothing physically wrong with her, it may be that she's afraid the dog's going to get her while she's distracted, or something like that. What you need to do is assert yourself. You're the boss. Let them know it. Make sure the dog spends time around the cats, but any time he even gets a funny look on his face, touch him in some way (preferably on the neck) and make a sound. Make it the same sound every time (to see this in action, watch "The Dog Whisperer"). The dog will understand that you're in charge and that you say that cat is off limits. Seeing you keep the dog in check will make the cat feel safer.

P.S. Since the dog behaved violently, you may want to call in a pro to help you or else you may risk getting bitten.

 

[Joz]

Don't wait any longer, Call the vet.

 

[Abbey Normal]

Poor baby!

 

[Mr. P]

Damn cat needs to be faster.:tng:

 

[fuzzykitten99]

P.S. Since the dog behaved violently, you may want to call in a pro to help you or else you may risk getting bitten.

Buster is extremely well trained, except the being around cats thing. He has been around kids and babies since he was born, and Nathan literally wrestles with him, and he hasn't intentionally hurn him yet, or even shown any aggression at all.
The vet said that this is the nature of a Husky, and he's surprised Baby (my cat's name) didn't get a broken neck because a Husky will usually shake their 'prey' to snap their neck or back. Buster actually seemed to think it was like one of his toys he has.

The vet did advise us to being Baby to the U of MN to do an ultrasound for any internal bleeding or injuries not showing on an xray. Problem is, they cost big $$$...which is what we don't have right now because we are pouring everything we have into the house to get it up to code for the daycare.

edited to add: she is currently in our den, with the door closed, so the dog can't bother her, nor can Nathan. So I don't think woule be because she's afraid the dog will get her.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Damn cat needs to be faster.:tng:

she's 13 yrs old...not exactly a spring kitten.

 

[Hobbit]

The vet said that this is the nature of a Husky, and he's surprised Baby (my cat's name) didn't get a broken neck because a Husky will usually shake their 'prey' to snap their neck or back. Buster actually seemed to think it was like one of his toys he has.

Then it should be no huge task to make sure Buster knows that Baby is your toy, after Baby's healed up a bit, though.

 

[no1tovote4]

I would give Buster a nice dog treat and a "good boy!"...

J/k... I'm constantly yelling at my Whippet for torturing our cat. Too bad the vet bill was so high...

 

[007]

If a dog attacked my cat like that, I'd shoot it.

Get rid of the dog. The cats were there first. It's their home. I'd venture to say there will be no way to keep this from happening again in the future, only next time the dog may kill the cat. Cats are very stable creatures. They need to know that where they're at is "THEIR" turf. The cat won't eat as long as the dog is there. It has interupted it's life, in a very violent and deadly way. The cat won't ever be the same again unless you get RID of the dog. I'll stake my word on that. My cat is 15, and if I brought in some strange dog, into HIS world, HIS domain, and he nearly got KILLED by that dog, that trauma alone may scar him psychologically forever. I'd feel HORRIBLE if I ever did that to him. Sorry I sound so harsh, but this is urgent, I know cats, and you just can't do that to them.

I feel sorry for the cat. The dog no doubt believes he needs to kill it to claim his new domain, and that's what will happen... to BOTH the cats.

Get rid of the dog, fast, or be ready to bury both your cats.

Taking in that dog was a bad idea. He's ultimately your MOTHER'S responsibility, not your's. She should have never taken him on as a pet if she knew that somewhere down the road she was going to have to pawn him off on someone else. The best possible years of ever owning a pet are the ones when they get older. The connection between you and them is deep and priceless. They "trust" you, and that trust should never be broken or betrayed.

 

[Said1]

Poor Kitty.

My beagle is pretty good at dodging the cat's claws, although sometimes she connects with his face.



After a year, she still hates him, scratches him whenever she can and he still doesn't get that she doesn't want his nose up her arse. They remind me of the cat and dog from the Looney Tune cartoons.

She totally dominated our other dog, who was twice this butthead's size. When she hissed, he ran.

 

[Joz]

.....I feel sorry for the cat. The dog no doubt believes he needs to kill it to claim his new domain, and that's what will happen... to BOTH the cats.....

I hate when I have to agree with you.
I know a woman who was bitten from the lack of showing dominance to her dog. The surgeon did a marvelous job reattaching the flesh but she is still scarred.
The dog was not being mean, it just didn't know any better. Pets are a wonderful part of a family. But they are still PETS, not children; and need to be trained & treated as such.

I turned on Oprah one day while I was eating breakfast. She had a guest on her show that is The Dog Whisperer? His name is Cesar Millan. What a smart man when it comes to canine behavior. He has a book called Cesar's Way. I advise any potential dog owner to read it.

 

[Abbey Normal]

If a dog attacked my cat like that, I'd shoot it.

Get rid of the dog. The cats were there first. It's their home. I'd venture to say there will be no way to keep this from happening again in the future, only next time the dog may kill the cat. Cats are very stable creatures. They need to know that where they're at is "THEIR" turf. The cat won't eat as long as the dog is there. It has interupted it's life, in a very violent and deadly way. The cat won't ever be the same again unless you get RID of the dog. I'll stake my word on that. My cat is 15, and if I brought in some strange dog, into HIS world, HIS domain, and he nearly got KILLED by that dog, that trauma alone may scar him psychologically forever. I'd feel HORRIBLE if I ever did that to him. Sorry I sound so harsh, but this is urgent, I know cats, and you just can't do that to them.

I feel sorry for the cat. The dog no doubt believes he needs to kill it to claim his new domain, and that's what will happen... to BOTH the cats.

Get rid of the dog, fast, or be ready to bury both your cats.

Taking in that dog was a bad idea. He's ultimately your MOTHER'S responsibility, not your's. She should have never taken him on as a pet if she knew that somewhere down the road she was going to have to pawn him off on someone else. The best possible years of ever owning a pet are the ones when they get older. The connection between you and them is deep and priceless. They "trust" you, and that trust should never be broken or betrayed.

Pale, I agree with you. And I would add that I hope the dog doesn't decide that the kids are fair game, too. There are countless stories of a family pet who was "always around kids", biting a kid. My daughter was bitten when she was around 2 by my sister-in-law's dog. He bit so deeply into her neck near her ear, that the doctor said she was a hair's breadth away from losing her hearing in that ear. That dog literally grew up from puppy-hood around kids, and as far as we knew to that point, was ok.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Update on Baby...I got her to eat a little today, and she's moving around the den, but mostly sleeps under the desk. The fact that I got her to eat at all is a good sign.

I took Buster to his annual physical, etc. Baby goes in next Tues to be checked over. She has already lost weight, but as she gains her appetite back, she'll put on more weight and the vet asked about her, and gave me some special high-calorie and fat soft food for her while I was there today. This was Buster's first visit with my pets' vet. He spent some time with Buster out in their little courtyard they have for physical therapy, and said that Buster's age (3yrs) and his lack of exposure to cats, contributed to the attack, as well as his instincts. He said with time and gradual exposure, Buster should have no problem around both cats. Really, buster's still got a puppy mentality, and it didn't help that my mom had given him stuffed animals, (one is white-same color as my cat) Buster may have thought he was playing, not realizing he was causing injury, which would explain Baby's lack of any real bite marks, just bruising.

We have been slowly increasing Buster's time around our other cat, Milo, and they seem to be getting used to each other, though if Buster gets too nosy, Milo will give him a slap, and Buster backs off. Milo is declawed, but the slap itself is enough to discourage any more nosy-ness. Part of the problem is we hadn't let Buster really come in supervised contact with the cats since we took him, just because we have been more concerned with him getting used to this being his new home.

My mother did not intend to give Buster up because she had no idea she would be laid off her job, and unable to get a job making at least close to the same as what she was making. They decided to downsize and move to a townhome, but the place they really liked and was in their price-range, didn't allow pets, and they want to stay in this area because my sister Hailey, is going to high school this fall.

Baby has been around dogs all her life, and can usually hold her own. Mostly, she ignores them. When I had to move in with my dad when I was 15 (10 years ago), he had just gotten 2 dogs, a German Shepherd/Chow mix and a pure German Shepherd. They had never seen a cat before either. They eventually got used to her and my dad's cats, who were even older than my brothers. It just took time.

It was Tim's idea to take Buster, because he is already housebroken, has known Nathan since birth, and is a very well behaved dog. We wanted to take Buster, my mom didn't even ask us.

 

[jimnyc]

Update on Baby...I got her to eat a little today, and she's moving around the den, but mostly sleeps under the desk. The fact that I got her to eat at all is a good sign.

Eating ANYTHING is a very good sign. She'll likely be fine, as I'll bet she mainly got the bejeezus scared out of her. I had a similar incident when Jerome was a pup but it was my mean black cat that attacked him! Off to the vet we went as I really thought he lost one of his bug eyes.

Not as if I need to tell you but cats are finicky little buggers but resilient in the long run. Give her time to hide and slowly come back out again. My cat was like that for 2 days before AND after moving, and nobody bit her!

Keep us updated. I hope she fully recovers so she can exact a little revenge.

 

[Gunny]

Update on Baby...I got her to eat a little today, and she's moving around the den, but mostly sleeps under the desk. The fact that I got her to eat at all is a good sign.

I took Buster to his annual physical, etc. Baby goes in next Tues to be checked over. She has already lost weight, but as she gains her appetite back, she'll put on more weight and the vet asked about her, and gave me some special high-calorie and fat soft food for her while I was there today. This was Buster's first visit with my pets' vet. He spent some time with Buster out in their little courtyard they have for physical therapy, and said that Buster's age (3yrs) and his lack of exposure to cats, contributed to the attack, as well as his instincts. He said with time and gradual exposure, Buster should have no problem around both cats. Really, buster's still got a puppy mentality, and it didn't help that my mom had given him stuffed animals, (one is white-same color as my cat) Buster may have thought he was playing, not realizing he was causing injury, which would explain Baby's lack of any real bite marks, just bruising.

We have been slowly increasing Buster's time around our other cat, Milo, and they seem to be getting used to each other, though if Buster gets too nosy, Milo will give him a slap, and Buster backs off. Milo is declawed, but the slap itself is enough to discourage any more nosy-ness. Part of the problem is we hadn't let Buster really come in supervised contact with the cats since we took him, just because we have been more concerned with him getting used to this being his new home.

My mother did not intend to give Buster up because she had no idea she would be laid off her job, and unable to get a job making at least close to the same as what she was making. They decided to downsize and move to a townhome, but the place they really liked and was in their price-range, didn't allow pets, and they want to stay in this area because my sister Hailey, is going to high school this fall.

Baby has been around dogs all her life, and can usually hold her own. Mostly, she ignores them. When I had to move in with my dad when I was 15 (10 years ago), he had just gotten 2 dogs, a German Shepherd/Chow mix and a pure German Shepherd. They had never seen a cat before either. They eventually got used to her and my dad's cats, who were even older than my brothers. It just took time.

It was Tim's idea to take Buster, because he is already housebroken, has known Nathan since birth, and is a very well behaved dog. We wanted to take Buster, my mom didn't even ask us.

Rule #1: when an animal gets hungry enough it will eat.

Keep the animals separated until they get used to one another.

 

[Said1]

Rule #1: when an animal gets hungry enough it will eat.

Keep the animals separated until they get used to one another.

That's the same rule for fussy eaters, unable to prepare food for themselves.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Eating ANYTHING is a very good sign. She'll likely be fine, as I'll bet she mainly got the bejeezus scared out of her. ...

Most likely. Buster didn't do more than really bruise her. Dr. Silverman shaved her belly and tender areas to check for puncture wounds. She didn't have any--no cuts or anything like that. Dr. said that if Buster really was acting violently and wanted to kill her, he would have, and it would have been quick. He had her in his mouth a good 30 seconds before he dropped her while trying to run from us.