Marian

Teddy picks on my cat Mickey relentlessly, and the cat has shown a lot more restraint than I would have if I were in his place.



Well, this morning, I think he finally had enough and he went after Teddy, tail bristled and back arched. He swatted at him and must have made contact (although I didn't hear Teddy's usual yelping when that happens). I think the sight of Mickey in full combat mode was enough to frighten him.

So ever since, he's been very clingy, wanting me to hold him and avoiding Mickey as much as possible. He only looks at Mickey with his head turned to the side. I recognize this behavior as both submissive and calming, and I am trying to resist the urge to coddle him because I don't want to reward clingy behavior. At the same time, I don't want to be cold about it.

I've always believed that my pets should work out their relationships on their own, with intervention from me only if it's getting out of hand, or if I see blood. To date, I've never seen blood, or any injury, for that matter, resulting from a squabble between any two of my animals. I seem to be the only one around here who ever bleeds from their bites and scratches (LOL).

I tried to get Teddy to eat his breakfast a little while ago, but he didn't want to leave my side. He was standing in the kitchen and Mickey walked up to him and tried to give him a head-butt. I don't think Teddy understands what that means, but it made me go "awww".

Teddy is now sleeping on the sofa, as close to where I am as he can get. I do want him to respect the cat and not play so roughly with him. I just hope he soon gets over his apparent hurt feelings and not be afraid of Mickey.

This is the way I like to see them:



I feel truly blessed to have such sweet creatures in my life, even when they act like brats.

Olie

I agree with you. Live and Learn....I bet by the afternoon he will back to Teddy the terror of the cat lol!! But I am sure it wont take as much for Teddy to back down next time lol Good catch on the pic too!

thestars

You are right to let them work it out. Teddy has to learn cat talk and Mickey has to learn dog speak. They'll begin to understand one another. Stanley Coren has some great books that I suggest folks to read and they are; How Dogs Think and How to Speak Dog. They are funny and informative.

Marian

Olie: Thanks!

thestars: Those books sound interesting, but I'm not sure I could get Mickey to read them.

I'll look for them though. I just recently bought 'Canine Body Language' by Brenda Aloff. It's interesting, but it's a lot to look at.

spoospirit

Sounds like Teddy got himself a good put down! I wouldn't coddle him either. As the stars said; they need to speak each others language. He was reprimanded by the cat for being too rough and he will have to work through it. I think you are doing the right thing. I wouldn't be surprised either it they get back to playing eventually.

partial2poodles

Poodles are so smart, aren't they? AND they know how to wrap US around their little tails. He give you that sad-eyed look..."Look mum, look at that mean old cat. I hate that cat. I wish it were just me and you, no cats in the house. That's why I won't even LOOK at that cat cause I'm pretending he doesn't live here anymore!" But on the other paw, poodles LOVE cats because they are so entertaining. Not a day can go by without the cat giving the poodles a good laugh!

KPoos

I say good for the cat for finally sticking up for himself. It's not easy being put down from your usual place and I think you are right not to even pay attention to that behavior. What I'd do is the same thing I'd do for a child in that situation and that is use distraction to let them work out the emotions. He's looking to you to put him back up higher in the rank so I'd just leave it be and play fetch or do some training or something like that. He has to respect the cat's space and cats are the types of animals that get to the point where they no longer will accept bad behavior, they aren't pack animals. He'll get over it soon enough.

Marian

That's exactly what we did this afternoon - some training.

He's already started nipping at the cat's hind leg, but now it only takes a stern look from the cat to make him stop. LOL - I'm finding all this highly amusing.

KPoos

Well, see what happened was he was in a position of power over the cat and now he's not. The cat has disciplined him and pushed him back off his little throne a bit and now he has more respect for him. Yeah cat I say!

Marian

Oh yeah, totally YAY CAT!

I just hope it lasts. It's nice having some peace and quiet for a change.