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Old March 1st, 2021, 01:46 PM
aubreyme aubreyme is offline
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How to stop cat stalking dog

I currently have a 1-year-old female cat. A couple weeks ago I moved into my boyfriend's house and brought my cat with me. He has a 1-year-old Golden Retriever, she is very energetic and friendly. As you can probably guess, they haven't been getting along thus far.
The problem began yesterday. I'm currently working from home and as such I've had a lot of time to work on getting them acclimated with each other. I let the cat free roam the downstairs and keep the dog with me in the room while I work. The only time they see each other is when I/my bf is present and we do not allow the dog to initiate contact. The cat usually maintains her distance or hides when the dog is out but lately she has started to openly stalk her in a very serious way. We have never allowed it to escalate past this but I'm worried it could turn into something more serious if I don't take preventative measures.
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Old March 1st, 2021, 06:10 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Welcome to the board, aubreyme!

How does the golden retriever react to the cat? Is this the first time she has been around cats?
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Old March 2nd, 2021, 04:19 PM
aubreyme aubreyme is offline
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Thank you! It's the golden's first time being around a cat, but she doesn't mind her at all. Most of the time the dog ignores the cat completely. Sometimes she will become fixated on the cat and lunge toward her to initiate play but I always stop and correct her when this happens. The stalking happens when the dog is ignoring the cat.
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Old March 3rd, 2021, 08:43 AM
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When they're allowed to interact, does the dog want to sniff? chase? lie down and ignore the cat? Does the cat bristle? attack? rub or lick the dog? Does the cat stalk with tail twitching angrily or playfully?

It's so hard to tell what's going on without seeing it. The cat might just be initiating play.

We took in a stray and he (JD) and the dog (Grace) tried so hard to play. She'd play bow and feint to the side and JD would look at her like she was nuts. He'd run up next to her and try to wrestle or nibble at her elbows, and Grace would back away like he was possessed of some demon! So many signals, so little communicatin! But they were both just trying to initiate play.

So, if you can determine if the cat is bored and wants to play, or whether she's decided the dog is a danger, that would go a far way toward figuring out what steps you need to take to keep everyone safe.
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Old March 4th, 2021, 11:19 AM
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marko marko is offline
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Now granted I'm not seeing this...but the cat stalking the dog, that's kind of how cats play with each other sometimes.
Like HRP said, it might just be an attempt at play.

(Serious cat aggression signs usually include a siren noise, hackles on the back fur standing way up...and the cat not backing down)

Given the size difference, I'm not sure the potential for something terrible is huge. It's kind of like if the dog was stalking a horse...

Seems to me that you are keeping a keen eye, and I recommend that you CONTINUE because you are not sure yet.

I might try to do a test and see what happens when you are ready....
It's possible the cat will try to pounce on the dog (though it's super rare in my experience) - but this might end in play versus disaster. USUALLY the disaster (if it were to happen) would go the other way, where a large dog could harm the cat. Again that does not at all sound like what's happening here.

That said -be ready with your LOUD voice to yell at them - A pair of winter gloves as an extra precaution in case you need to separate them (and prevent bites) might make you more at ease...

But If i were in your situation...I would not blindly discourage them from building a relationship...they could end up being buddies.
LOTS of cats and dogs are buddies. Many cats will avoid dogs if they fear the dog...that's not the case here.
Seems unlikely to me that the cat's goal is to harm the dog. Goldens are gentle in general. If it got out of hand I think the dog would put the cat in its place.

Love to hear an update - hope that may help
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