Dog eating cat's food and stressing the cat

Dana2007 · Jan 8, 2008, 11:30 AM

I have a dog that seems to like to be the only child. She doesn't like other animals and eats their food possibly in displeasure

This is causing the kitten that is now about a year old to not want to eat out of any of the bowls that the dog takes outside or to the garage to steal the food out of.

I have to feed the kitten by hand. Otherwise, he only eats while we are asleep.

This kitten moved in by himself when he was very small. This problem has presented itself since last week. I'm thinking the dog doesn't like the cat now that he is older. I just found 3 bowls in the garage that the dog has taken.

The kitten moved in about a year ago.

Anyone have any suggestions or experiences to share on how to deal with this problem that is traumatizing the kitten?

N0help4u · Jan 9, 2008, 06:01 AM

Yeah your kitty must be too traumatized or something.
I figured since you had a talk with the dog it might work with the cat too.

froggy7 · Jan 9, 2008, 07:47 PM

Dana, animals have their own personalities. You have a cat, who's natural inclination is to stay away from large predators who could quite easily kill it. And you have a dog who is more than willing to eat the cat's food, because it has a much higher fat content than dog food does. It's like putting a salad and a hamburger in front of a kid and telling him he has to eat the salad.

So, you need to give the cat a space where he feels safe. I'd recommend closing off one room with a baby gate, and putting the cat's food, water, and litter box in there. That will give the cat a space where he can go to get away from the dog. The next thing you need to do is work on the dog. The dog must be taught to respect the cat, or at least to ignore it. If you can get the dog under control, the cat will become more confident about coming out, since it won't be afraid that it's going to be attacked at any moment.

However, and this is a big thing to think about, your dog is 11 years old. That's pretty old, and the dog may be set in its ways at this point. Having another creature around, messing with the household routine, and forcing it to share your attention, may be a too much to ask of it. Also, if you are allowing your cat outside access, it is possible that the cat will decide that there is too much stress at your house, and simply not come home some time. So, if you are really wanting to do the best thing for both animals, you might consider finding the cat a new home. Only you can determine whether the stress level in your house is too high for either animal to be comfortable.

And, just fyi, cats don't respond to commands very well. Picking up a cat and holding it in front of a dog that it is trying to avoid is just going to scare it, and most likely you will wind up with scratches from it trying to get away.

Dana2007 · Jan 9, 2008, 08:14 PM

Hello froggy

I really like the idea of putting a baby gate in one of the rooms to keep the dog out. I will certainly do that ASAP. I hope the dog doesn't jump the fence. LOL

I agree with you about everything else. The dog doesn't like her life being shared with another creature. Never has. I let this kitten stay because I had heard that dogs are accepting of creatures if they are babies to begin with.

My vet told me that finding a cat a good home is difficult. So for now the cat will have to stay here. Fortunately he has one place to call his own and that is my computer chair.

For now, I found a place up very high for the cat's food.

BTW, there is no excuse for my dog to go after the cat's food because she gets human chicken and fish with her kibble and sometimes she gets cat food too. I think it is more of a dominance and territorial thing.

I really don't know how to train my dog to respect the cat's food or the cat.

Any other suggestions on how to train my dog are very welcomed. Thank you

froggy7 · Jan 10, 2008, 07:04 AM

Dana, I am going to say this as gently as I can. You have spoiled your dog, especially if you have been with her for the last 11 years. It sounds like you haven't worked on basic obedience with her. At her age, this might be difficult, since she has years to get used to getting away with things. However, a basic obedience class might be helpful. That would let you teach the dog to sit, down, and stay when near the cat and the cat's food. When the cat sees that the dog will stop and do what you say when you tell it to sit, then the cat will feel less threatened around the dog, since the human is in control of the situation.

Dana2007 · Jan 10, 2008, 09:06 AM

Wow!! You are right. That is what the problem is.

I have never had to enforce any rules when it was just the two of us. She always listened when I talk to her, but when there is another animal around she doesn't. If I tell her move, she moves but lately she has refused . Since last week, she has been stealing food like she never has before and won't move when I tell her. These are new behaviours from her. I hadn't thought about changes in her behaviour to this extent until I read your reply.

I alsi wibder if my feeding the cat by hand isn't also contributing to the problem. It might be a vicious circle.

She seems to be more determined to be the only child. I have to become more determined to retrain her in the very basics.

THANKS FOR BRINGING THIS TO MY ATTENTION.

This is the best piece of advice I have gotten and learned to help me with my dog.

Thank you.



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