Aw, shoot. Max is the same way about dogs. I had one in the apartment once. Max didn't even SEE the dog, just heard him, and came down the hallway sideways, hissing and spitting. If Elmo had any time on the street like Max did, he has probably been given abundant good reason not to like dogs. There are lots of fight dogs who start their training on cats. Said fight dogs then wander around not on a leash. Some dog owners think it is fun to have their dog chase a cat.
Has Elmo met Lola? Maybe letting him meet a dog even smaller than he is might help.
lol - I'm afraid Elmo would EAT Lola. As a pre-dinner snack.
Elmo was about six years old when he was found on the street. He was still, ahem, intact. So, yeah, it's possible that he had bad experiences with dog.
Ah, intactness explains his lovely big head. Really. It's testosterone that makes male kitties get a big, jowely head. Max's was rather softball like until he had most of his canine teeth removed.
He looks like a sweet pup. With cats or dogs if they have had a negative experience with each other they can act aggressive. Train may help in that case. Most cats seem to like their personal space a bit more than dogs.
a couple of my cats were like that when we first brought barkley in, but they settled down after a month or two. Barkley quickly learned which cat to stay away from, and they just give each other space and they never have outright clashes anymore (just occasional warning growls from the cat when Barkley gets too close). Even the cat that was totally afraid of him for like 6 months now headbutts him and cuddles with him.
OTOH yesterday on our walk a stray cat totally attacked him out of nowhere! Wtf!
wow about the cat attacking Barkley on his walk. No fair!
Well, the foster ladies said that they were afraid that Elmo would terrorize the dog. The dog stood several feet away, and Elmo did not back down. Sigh.
They said that he has papers to show he is a pure bred. He was recently trimmed. When you look at him up close, he does have the cocker spaniel ears. And he has a classic cocker spaniel face, although it's hard to tell in this photo. The blue eyes are some kind of rare genetic thing. At least that's what I was told.
The weird thing was that the dog did not approach Elmo. We just stood with him next to the door. Elmo totally stalked and attacked the dog. It was scary - I have never seen anything like it. It reminded me that Elmo really does choose to live with me and be a nice, purry kitty. He could become all claws and teeth if he wanted to.
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Has Elmo met Lola? Maybe letting him meet a dog even smaller than he is might help.
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Elmo was about six years old when he was found on the street. He was still, ahem, intact.
So, yeah, it's possible that he had bad experiences with dog.
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Cats are territorial loners, kinda like the unabomber.
Dogs are social pack creatures who need approval, kinda like most actors.
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He looks like a sweet pup. With cats or dogs if they have had a negative experience with each other they can act aggressive. Train may help in that case.
Most cats seem to like their personal space a bit more than dogs.
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OTOH yesterday on our walk a stray cat totally attacked him out of nowhere! Wtf!
Reply
Well, the foster ladies said that they were afraid that Elmo would terrorize the dog.
The dog stood several feet away, and Elmo did not back down.
Sigh.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
They said that he has papers to show he is a pure bred. He was recently trimmed.
When you look at him up close, he does have the cocker spaniel ears.
And he has a classic cocker spaniel face, although it's hard to tell in this photo.
The blue eyes are some kind of rare genetic thing. At least that's what I was told.
The weird thing was that the dog did not approach Elmo. We just stood with him next to the door. Elmo totally stalked and attacked the dog. It was scary - I have never seen anything like it. It reminded me that Elmo really does choose to live with me and be a nice, purry kitty. He could become all claws and teeth if he wanted to.
Reply
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