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Intro/Question
I've been a long time lurker but this is my first post here.
I love animals and between my SO and I we have 3 cats and a dog. We're about to move into a new place and combine our herd of furbabies. All 3 cats get along, 2 are mine and have never left me, the third cat lived with me for several months before my SO took him in (I was told 3 cats makes me a cat lady and my apartment managers said to find another cat person to pawn him off on, my SO was happy to oblige).
The larger issue is the dog. She is a 2yo deaf pitbull who my SO rescued when she was 6 mo old. She is incredibly sweet and loves the cats. The problem is, the two older cats, my cats, do not love her back. She wants to lick them and snuggle up and they just hiss and swat at her. I'm not concerned that the dog will hurt the cats, I'm terrified my little cat demons are going to tear up the poor dog. I've been looking into how to avoid this and most advice I have gotten is for when the dog is aggressive towards the cats. Which doesn't really help.
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I'm at a total loss and during my many months of lurking, it seems like all of you ladies are super knowledgeable. Thank you for whatever help you can offer!
Photos of the furbabies (sorry for the huge-ness):
Top Left: Amsterdam (1)
Top Right: Gozer (4)
Bottom Left: Monster (2)
Bottom Right: Jane (2)
Re: Intro/Question
Sparrow- Thanks! I like to think they're a nice looking bunch but I just assume I'm biased. Our current plan is to put up baby gates while we are at work, giving the dog a separate space from the cats. Amsterdam (the youngest) is very friendly with Jane, and he will jump the gates but not cause any issues. We're hoping the other cats will stay in the designated areas and if not we will hopefully find some other solution.
On another not, I have heard they make sprays to help reduce stress for the cats, could that possibly help out with some of the dog-induced anxiety/fear/anger?
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Sparrow- Thanks again!
Marriedonmaui- Aw, thanks! They're all sweet individually but I think if I tired to get a photo of all the animals together it wouldn't be so cute.
Our situations are very similar. We recently added a pit-hound mix to our family, which had two cats. The cats have been mine since they were weeks old, and are very, VERY attached to us. (and us to them....crazy cat lady alert.). The dog is a sweetie and wants to love the cats, but they aren't ready for that yet.
We are crating the dog during the day, with a walker coming at lunch time. The cats have free run of the house during the day, though they just lay in bed the whole time anyway! Also, there is a bedroom with their litterbox that is a dog-free zone. We play in there and they know they can escape there when feeling overwhelmed. They are SLOWLY adjusting to having him around. The swats, hisses, and raised hackles are fewer and further between now than they were at first.
Be very patient. And keeping them separate for the first few weeks is a good idea.
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