# Kitten "bullying" the dog



## LisinWonderland (Jan 4, 2010)

I have a six month old tortoiseshell (this is important) kitten named Cocoa. She lives with me in my university town and with my housemates and is pretty much given the run of the house at 'home'. She is quite obviously 'Top Cat' even if there are no other cats in the house (and actually, she treats my housemate like he is another kitten; to be played with and aggressively - sidenote, I have tried fixing this but he doesn't mind and actively encourages it :roll: ) 

I brought her home to my parents' for Christmas. They have three labradors; Molly who is elderly and grumpy, Willow who is terrified of everything, and Fawn who wants to push everyone around. We allowed them to interact slowly, watching the dogs like a hawk and letting the kitten explore - she'd been here before, so this Christmas was more about her being in control. 

It's pretty funny watching a scrap of fur back three dogs into a corner, or stand on her hind legs and smack them across the nose with her paws if they dare sniff her (claws in; she's quite good about that) buuut... she has an irresistable attraction to Molly, the grumpy one. Molly is in a perma-cone because she has arthritis in her paws and licks them raw. The kitten ADORES the cone. She will not listen to any of Molly's warnings; growls, lip curls, a sharp bark - as she gets bolder and bolder and will not leave Molly alone. I'm getting worried for BOTH of them; poor Molly is being bugged by a kitten who gets inside her bloody cone and biffs her on the nose - and she's aware she's not allowed to eat her, however much she wants to, and the kitten who doesn't seem to be aware she is pushing it until Molly snaps. 

I don't know how to stop it. Molly's dog-warnings (which seemed the best way for kitty to learn) aren't having any effect - when Molly growls, the kitten backs off a little bit, totally unfazed, then sits herself back by Molly, a minute later and continues. It's not fair at ALL to Mol, who has done nothing wrong and who is being pushed to maximum. I'm not so worried about her - Molly is a trained gundog, and as such can sit in the middle of a rabbit pen with rabbits skittering all around her and not dare to go near them. She knows to behave. 

Any advice on getting my kitten to stop bullying my dog?! She won't listen to warnings, won't listen to her name - it's bad enough she can't resist wagging tails and pounces them but the other dogs aren't 'trapped' the same way Molly is by her cone. Help?


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

I feel your pain. I'm not sure what can be done to deter her. Have you tried distactions like dangling a toy in front of her and leading her away...then when she listens, giving her a treat?

What happens when she does get to Molly's cone? Perhaps she's just curious about it and if you let her look at it, sniff its she might lose interest after realizing it isn't very fun. My Miu seems to respond to overexposure to desensitize her to things. For example, instead of keeping the blinds draw up and out of her reach. We left them down and let her look/touch them. Then we would offer a 'more interesting' thing like a toy. She's realized that the blinds aren't as fun as the toys so now, she basically ignores them.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

People may not agree with me but now is the time to use a spray bottle on her. So when she goes into the mode of bully Molly she finds out its never is fun. 

Is Molly on Glucosamine Hydrochloride? I had a friend who had a lab, which did the same licking behavior. You felt so sorry for how uncomfortable they always were.


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## Paul36 (Nov 14, 2009)

I have a 5 months old kitten and a 3 months old puppy and the cat is bullying the dog all the time! But they're friends now and are just wrestling together. I fear my dogs eyes though but it's been going ok so far.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Personally, I would not be taking this risk. If these were your dogs then you could work on it. But they're not your dogs, and you won't be staying there. I would confine the kitty to my bedroom if I were you and avoid the issue entirely. The older dog has every right to be annoyed -- it's her house and kittens can be a PITA that not all dogs wish to deal with. If the dog decides to discipline the kitten as she might a puppy, the kitten may well not survive that. 

I have a kitten who plays w/ one of my dogs:

http://www.youtube.com/v/HaVKW_PJwDE

Of my 3 dogs, Rachel is the only one who plays this way w/ Jonah. She is extremely gentle, and clearly she's just as much into the game as Jonah is. This is certainly NOT the case with most dogs, and given the size difference, it is very important to know the dog in question and not take risks. Even though Rachel is EXTREMELY careful with Jonah, I monitor all interactions just in case. Even if I just to to the barn for 10 min, the dogs are either outside or in my bedroom. I'm a BIG believer in management and in avoiding unnecessary risks, so even though my dogs are STARS with the cats, it's always possible that a misunderstanding could occur, and given the size differential, that is a risk I am not willing to take. 

I discourage Jonah from playing with Sophie. Sophie is a gentle, sweet dog, but she's older and can be grumpy, and she's made it clear she does NOT want to be treated the way Jonah treats Rachel. She looks irritated, and that can mean that she might, if forced to put up with him, go further in order to make her point. Fortunately, Jonah finds her boring and he has Rachel and the cats, so it's not really an issue. But if I see Jonah stalking Sophie, I break that up. 

In your case, since this isn't your house or your dogs, I simply wouldn't allow it at all.


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