[Hambonez]

I don't know what to do about this. I feel like really, I need to train my cat. Atticus was sitting on the couch with me, and then Hamilton jumped up on the couch to chew on his cup (he loves plastic cups - he is closely monitored when he's doing this) and was completely not bothering Atticus, and Atticus got all mad at him. I had the camera next to me so I recorded it in hopes I could get some suggestions. Hamilton tries to get his cup, which rolled towards Atticus, and Atticus starts hitting him (note: while Atticus has claws, he's just hitting. He hasn't ever clawed Hamilton, or the other cats, or us - he just swats. He hasn't ever hurt anyone). In the end, Hamilton just gets the heck off the couch, which was the best answer - but is there anything else I could be doing here? I don't want to kick the dog off the couch when he isn't doing anything wrong. I don't want to kick the cat off the couch and make him feel like the dog takes priority. Should I just continue letting them work it out?

 

[Bordermom]

LOL too cute!

Atticus is giving him plenty of warning, to be fair, but Hamilton just ignores him. Love the 'what is wrong with you cat?' look.

I would guess that down the road Hamilton might choose a better spot to chew on the cup if the cat is on the couch first. The only thing you could do differently is pick up the cat and move him to a 'dog free' spot, like a scratching post, so he is out of the way.

Ticket herds the cats here non-stop, and I don't get in the way as long as he's not being a total pest (he's happy to stare) and isn't running after them.

 

[Hambonez]

He does warn him -- but he basically "warns" the dog for existing all the time. Hamilton is being VERY polite, imo. I guess I don't want to punish the dog for behaving appropriately around the cat.

 

[bgmacaw]

What I've done is getting having the dog around associated with treats. It lets me teach the dog manners (stay and leave it) while making having the dog nearby a positive for the cats. With our 4 cats and one chi it's worked good. They all get along pretty good now although 2 cats, the ones with no outdoor experiences, deal with the dog better.

 

[Hambonez]

What I've done is getting having the dog around associated with treats. It lets me teach the dog manners (stay and leave it) while making having the dog nearby a positive for the cats. With our 4 cats and one chi it's worked good. They all get along pretty good now although 2 cats, the ones with no outdoor experiences, deal with the dog better.

I've kind of tried that but that particular cat is VERY food aggressive for a cat. He will do ANYTHING for food (you'd think I was starving him, seriously), and when the treats come out, he gets even more pissed off at the dog because the dog is taking food that he could also be eating.