# Cat stressed about new dog, avoiding litter box



## Ddraig (Sep 22, 2009)

My wife and I have two, 5-year-old maine **** cats (had them since kittens). Over the last five years I've lived in two different apartments and two different houses, and they've had six different human roommates, two other cats, and two other dogs. Despite all the changes in their lives, they've always been great cats, never showing any emotional distress.

Starting about five months ago they started living in a big house with just my wife and me, no roommates, no other pets. A month ago we tried introducing a new puppy, a 9-month-old border collie. The dog isn't great around them, she chases and tries very hard to play with the cats. We can hold her with sit commands but the cats always get nervous and eventually run.

The cats have a safe room that only they can get to. It holds a big tree, many toys, and their litter box. One of the two has started pooping on the floor directly in front of the box rather than go in. She still pees inside, but always poos right in front. It's a covered box, we've made no changes in litter, we've cleaned the box, we scoop daily. We tried a larger covered box but she's still going outside, poo only. The vet checked her and isn't concerned about anything, but also didn't run extensive tests.

The only thing I can think of is stress from the new dog, there have been no other changes and she's never had this problem before. Is there any way I can help her through the stress of this and/or encourage box use? This pup is really sweet, but she's super-hyper and riding on the edge of our patience day-to-day. If the cat can't adapt to the situation that might be our sign that this won't work, but I really don't want to bring the poor dog back. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.


----------



## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

First thing I would say is figure out what you want. Are you going to keep the dog and cats for sure? If so, start the puppy on obedience classes ASAP. With multiple pets, it's definitely a good idea for discipline and manners to help you keep sane. I have 1 dog and 2 cats so I'm in the same boat. Rocky the dog had classes as well. If he tries to chase the cats, I can issue commands to deal with it. If worse comes to worse, I leash him to me for a while to calm him.

For your cat, I suggest trying confinement for the one who's having poop probs. Although they have their own cat room, sometimes it's too big to help them calm down and be grounded. The cat I tried it on, still had poop outside the box probs when confined to the cat room whereas, she was 'cured' when I kenneled her.

I confine her in the biggest dog kennel available (48" length) with a box and bed every night. In the morning, I find a nice pile in the box and she gets to come out for the day. I also feed all her meals in the kennel. It helps her develop a sense of security and comfort with the kennel. (The other cat and dog won't be able to get at her food and she can eat in peace.) When she's done, she goes to relax in the bed while she waits for me to come back and open the door. Cats love routine, as long as they know what to expect, they feel comfortable and calm.

When I feed her bedtime snack, she willingly goes inside and after the meal, she'll settle down for bed herself. Even if I open the door afterwards, she won't burst out. If she does feel rebellious, a simple 'No' and she goes back to bed.

Some people think it's cruel to confine, however, I beg to differ. Cats feel safe in small spaces, hence the reason why they like to climb into boxes they can barely fit in sometimes.

Here's a pic of Miu in her kennel:










Miu used to be stressed over Rocky chasing her. She would turn and hiss at him or physically fight. However, after she was kenneled on a regular basis, she started to be more calm and was able to think more clearly about things. She decided it wasn't worth the effort to fight. She was calmed enough to observe the most likely times Rocky would chase her ie: before meals. During those times, she avoids him and goes the long way to the kennel instead of passing by him. Other times when he chases her, she just chooses to ignore him or run off like it's a game (not in fright).


----------



## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

Firstly, congratulations on adopting a Border Collie. They are the most wonderful, intelligent dogs. However, they are also keen cat chasers! My parents have a Border Collie, Jive, and a cat, Tammy. Jive has always been obsessed with Tammy, in much the same way as your dog is. He stares at her (constantly, she can be fast asleep and he'll just watch... for hours), attempts to chase her, sniffs her bottom... We had a lot of problems when we adopted him, as he was a rescue dog. He had aggression problems, but never towards Tammy.

I can recommend wholeheartedly the book 'The Dog Whisperer'. We started by taking Jive to dog training sessions, but he got worse... until he was expelled! Mum was at her wits end, we didn't know what to do. Then she read online about this book. Having ordered it, read it and started to put the advice into practice- there was an almost immediate change in Jive. He became much calmer and more settled.

As for calming your kitty, I'd recommend a Feliway plug in. Otherwise, she may just need time. I know Tammy certainly took some getting used to when Jive came home.


----------



## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Oops...here's the pic again


----------



## sherryv02 (May 12, 2011)

Mary_NH said:


> i would also suggest using an uncovered litterbox...although you know the cat are the only ones getting into their safe room they might not realize the pup can't get in there. Perhaps being in a litterbox that is covered is scary with th epup in the house


that is a GREAT point!


----------



## Ddraig (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies so far. I did some research on the feliway and I've got a wall plug-in feliway shipping to me now. It sounds like some people have great success with it.

I'm also looking at uncovered boxes. I might try putting one out to see if it encourages use. The problem is that they are both professional litter tossers so I need to make sure it has high HIGH sides.

The pup has been through a set of 6 obedience classes with another set coming up soon. She's incredibly smart, and while she's paying attention it's possible to get her to do all manner of things. The problem I find with the clicker training and reward based training is that she has no deterrent for NOT doing something. The standard approach is a verbal cue like "Ah!" or "Oh!" and then ignoring the dog for a time. The loss of human interaction is supposed to be the punishment, but this dog couldn't case less. While we snub her she engages in 'bad' behavior that can't be ignored (try to chew furniture, jump on counter for food, chase cats, etc).


----------



## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Border Collies are high energy dogs that are born to chase (and round up the sheep, or _cats!_), as I'm sure you're experiencing. _Alpaca_ has given you some good suggestions about retraining to the litter box. I've always used dog crates with good success, and cats regard the crate as their safe place. Feed all their meals and treats in it and they will consider it as their special place. 

I suggest until your dog is older and obedience trained, that you umbilical-cord him to your waist while in the house, so he isn't able to chase the cats. This will give the cats more confidence. I've heard it said often, "a tired dog, is a good dog". It's hard to tire a BC, but a minimum of 2 hrs. or more/day of hard running is a start. So put on your running shoes and start jogging, or train the dog to run on a treadmill, or find a place where it can safely run free. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.


----------



## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I agree with Catlover. You've chosen a VERY high energy breed. This kind of dog needs a job. Obedience class is great but it won't burn up the energy that a BC has. I would suggest herding classes if you can find them in your area. If not there is flyball, agility, relays or stuff like that. 

Umbilical cord is also a great idea. A young dog (especially something with the intelligence and energy of a BC) needs to be constantly monitored until it's matured. Walking away when the dog has done something bad is good when that something is nipping or jumping up BUT you can't ignore it when it's climbing on counters or chasing things it shouldn't. It needs to be diverted. You're going to have to watch the dog like a hawk and when you see it start to eye up the cats divert it with a toy or something else to do. 

Once a puppy is already being bad it's too late. You need to be on the ball to catch her BEFORE she does the behavior like chasing cats, counter surfing or chewing furniture. You need to be one step ahead of her and with a BC..... good luck.


----------

