Making friends with the cat.....

[lizzy.bu]

Is not really going the way I've anticipated so far.

It starts off playful but once that cat gets pissed Nucky turns into a jerk. He will not back down and I need him to realize the cat is not a toy and you are not dominate over the cat. Of course the only time Nucky acts somewhat nice Capone is a jerk immediately..

What do I do???? I don't want this to turn into something serious and I do not want to worry about the cat being eaten

 

[lizzy.bu]

Maybe I'm just paranoid. My friends had their two filas munch one of their cats so maybe that's what makes me anxious. Sometimes I feel like he is almost guarding me from the cat (unless it's outside then he's just being a sh*t lol) Nucky is super stubborn also (which has definitely shown more in the last week now that he is comfortable in his new home) so sometimes I think he wouldn't care it's just the fact that the cat makes a big deal about him getting in his space so Nuck just gets the you can't tell me attitude.

 

[Smokeycat]

I have found with Jiggers that I have to step in when he gets too pushy with the cats. I want him to know that the cats are mine and that I will only allow him to play with them if he is nice, ie. no pinning them and his mouth must stay closed. It is still a work in progress at times but there are also good moments. Both pictures show Monkey interacting with the dogs (the other 2 cats don't like the boys). The first was Jiggers with a 7 week old Monkey and the second is a recent pic of Kryten (~170 lbs) with her (~10 lbs). They were bathing each other.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Lots of supervision, and lots of correcting and re-directing. My Arty (not a mastiff) is highly prey driven, we got him at 7 weeks and he's now 1.5yrs and he's still not 100% trustworthy around the cat though he's WAY better than I'd hoped he'd be. Its a constant work in progress.

If the dog and the cat are in proximity then they need supervision. If nessecary leave a leash on him for an easy handle. If he plays with the cat in a way you don't like tell him No! then redirect him. If he won't redirect, and is to focused on the cat, consider a time-out in a puppy proofed bathroom. It just takes time.

 

[tojvan]

You have to intervene you cannot expect the puppy to stop on its own. Filas are supper stubborn even as pups and as he gets older he is going to get used to the cat pawing and instinctively know when to dodge which is going to make the cats life miserable. Now if your fila has a true fila temperament you don't have to worry about him eating the cat he won't, to a fila it's family is its life and that cat is part of its family more so for your pup since he's been with it since day 1. But you should still keep. Watchful eye as the dog is going to be much bigger and may accidentally hurt the cat without meaning to.
As the alpha you have to know when to stop it'll be hard since they are stubborn but you just have to be more stubborn then them, claim the cat.
The reason I got a fila was because I have an unaltered adult male shepherd and needed a dog like te fila who would love the shepherd as its own. They are both intact and they both live In the house together and they both are dog aggressive. How does this work because of filas unique temperament. The proverb faithful as a fila goes beyond just the human owner to every single member of the family. This kind of arrangement would be impossible with other dog breeds without any bloodshed. I'm sorry to say but your friends filas were not true filas it's the temperament that makes them a fila take it out and they are just another dog.

 

[lizzy.bu]

Okay. That's what I've been doing for the most part. I might adjust the boundaries on it a little more though in hopes of them getting used to each other.

Love the pictures they are adorable!

 

[lizzy.bu]

If nessecary leave a leash on him for an easy handle. If he plays with the cat in a way you don't like tell him No! then redirect him. If he won't redirect, and is to focused on the cat, consider a time-out in a puppy proofed bathroom. It just takes time.

Thanks Ruth. Just started using the leash for a couple of other things also I will definitely consider that. He isn't too bad with the leash either which is a bonus for training

 

[kbuchanan66]

Do you have a lot of high places for the cat to escape to? Just in case he has to run he can get somewhere the dog can't get him? This came in handy with myself. My cats are smart enough to run and jump up where Barron can't get them. For me the Leave it command came in handy as well I was sure to make Barron Laydown and watch me pet and cuddle the cats. This way he knows when the cats are getting attention he is to laydown. The only problem I usually have is Barron chasing the cats. He has never pinned them or mouthed them.

 

[lizzy.bu]

yes he has lots of high areas I like that I just need to get down better with him but we are almost there but even if I just make him sit until he learns how to lay down.

 

[DennasMom]

Our 16 yr old cat is not good with puppies... she does not like them. For the first 6 months she did not want to be in the same room with the puppy.
If puppy came in, she went out (sometimes growling and hissing on her way by the puppy).

We just made sure puppy did not follow - and that the cat had "safe room" to retreat to where she could be comfortable.

We use lots of baby gates around the house with cat doors cut into them.

The two co-habitate now, and the cat has decided she does NOT need to give up her napping spot on the dog's bed in my office... and she successfully has convinced Denna of the truth of that, too. Denna still tries to get her to play, but ends up leaving the room to nap on the bed, instead. The cat has swatted at Denna all along, but to my knowledge has never used her claws on her.

I'd just supervise play and time together and step in if things get over-excited or look like they're headed in the wrong direction. Make sure the puppy respects the kitty claws!

 

[Winterspring]

Taurus is the epitome of pitiful when it comes to the cats. He TOTALLY recognizes that the cats are the babies, and he must take care of them.

However, he so desperately wants to play with them that it's...well...kind of pathetic. I have three cats of varying ages. Kibitz is thirteen and a half, and is about 80 percent blind, and has no patience for him. She'll walk over him and as soon as she takes notice that she's walking on the dog, and he notices that she's walking on him, he gets this excited look on his widdle face as if to say, "She likes me!!! She likes me!" But then she hisses and swats him on the face as if to say, "Kid, I am too old for this crap." Bats, my ten-year-old tabby cat will have nothing to do with him. We have the sitting room blocked off, as it was one of his favorite pee spots when we first got him (my favorite room in the house...naturally). Bats stays IN THERE unless we are feeding them or she has a direct beeline under the bed. He tries to stuff his nose under her tail, and receives yet another swat on the nose and a hiss.

And then there's Mayhem. Poor Mayhem. Our two year old, fourteen pound, coal-black beauty. To Taurus, they probably look similar. He's probably never seen a cat before. Probably thinks they're really weird, pointy-eared puppies with severe speech impediments. He loves Hemi. LOVES him. He does the play-bow, makes that high-pitched whine-bark thing that makes my ears bleed, and Hemi staunchly refuses to come away from his hiding place. Then Taurus plops down dejectedly, huffs, and looks so damned pitiful. "Mooooom....the weird not-dog person won't play with me!"

I'm not worried about him hurting the cats. I'm a tad worried that one of them will rip his face open if I've gone too long without clipping their nails. I'll ask my vet about it tomorrow, and the trainer, and come back with any information that I happen to find out. I also dread the day that I find Taurus walking around the house with a resigned Mayhem dangling from Taurus's mouth like a puppy. Because then it's bath-time for kitty. It's bad enough that the cat drools, too....