Help! New Chihuahua is afraid of my cats!

Hello all! We adopted a wonderful 2 year old male Chihuahua recently. We already have 3 cats. I was told the dog had been raised around cats and should be fine. And at first, he was.

When he first came into our home, my mellowest cat came to investigate. The dog wasn't phased at all by the cat, they sniffed and all was well.

My standofish male cat, however, was less happy to meet the dog. He took a swat at the dog and apparantly terrified him. Now, whenever one of the cats gets too close he barks, squeals, jumps and carries on like a ferocious little beast! This scares the cats half to death! I have to admit, it was humerous at first to see my 19 pound cat run in fear from a 4 pound Chihuahua!

The novelty quickly wore off however, and now--not so funny! Then, like an idiot, I made the situation a thousand times worse this morning. I thought mabye if they all shared a treat they could be friends. I put a piece of dog biscuit on the floor for two of the cats and the dog. Well the dog went to sniff the black cat's piece and black cat gave him a warning swat---you would've thought he stabbed him in the head by the reaction of my Chihuahua! OMG he squealed and carried on!

I don't want to alienate them from each other any more than I already have! How can I get them all to make nice? Honestly, the cats have been around other dogs and are completely fine. Only one of the 3 cats would even dare swipe at the dog. But now the little Chihuahua seems to be a bona fide cat hater!

Any advice is greatly appreciated! TIA!

Re: Help! New Chihuahua is afraid of my cats!

You really have to just give them time to investigate each other slowly. I wouldn't try feeding them at the same time or in the same place. Just let them cruise around one another until they all get used to it.
It can take a long time...it took my dog and cat months to get along.

Re: Help! New Chihuahua is afraid of my cats!

ITA. And cats are usually very pro-active in this way, from my experience. If they want to be friends, they will be friends...if not, then they will steer clear as long as the dog is not on "their turf."

Chihuahuas are defensive by nature because of their size. It took quite some time for my Chi to feel completely confident with my other fur-babies.

Re: Help! New Chihuahua is afraid of my cats!

Thanks for replying! Actually, I have great news, things have been going MUCH better since I posted. They just needed a little time. Everyone seems to be getting along great, I am SO happy!

Re: Help! New Chihuahua is afraid of my cats!

Tiny wants to see a pic of your new Chihuahua

Here is Tiny

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