How to Build a Scaredy Cat's Confidence

What do you do when your puppy just wants to play and your cats are so terrified that they hightail it under the bed? It only takes a few unwanted games of chase to instill enough fear to make keeping your pets in the same space difficult - as Teri found out with Moose, Pumpkin, and Tofu.

With the household divided because of Moose’s separation anxiety and the cat’s fear, being able to spend quality time with everyone seems impossible.

In this Dog and Cat Chat, Naomi guides Teri through ways to build the cats’ confidence and ability to move around the space so they can start combining their household again.

To listen to the episode, press play below.

Key Moments

[00:23] Introducing Pumpkin and Tofu the frightened cats, Moose the puppy with severe separation anxiety

[02:41] Examining current management strategies and talking about some new options

[06:49] Moose’s current on-leash interactions with the cats in their upstairs space

[08:05] Ways to build the cats’ confidence upstairs when Moose is around

[15:21] Planning interactions and creating a sense of safety for the cats

[18:10] Summarizing the action plan

Updates from Teri

✅ What worked:

• setting up high spaces for the cats - they were starting to come downstairs more often

• gating Moose in the living room while tethered in the evenings - relaxation was happening (and the cats did come down for a wander)!

🛑 What started happening:

• From Teri: “Moose would become really aroused in quite specific situations and would go wildly over threshold and would start biting (very different from his puppy mouthing). It got worse and more frequent and it started to frighten me because I just couldn't control it there was nothing we could do to calm him down. It only happened when I was on my own (without [my husband]) funnily enough and only ever when he was on the lead, but not every time.”

→ Ultimately, Teri and her husband decided that their home wasn’t the right one for Moose and were able to re-home him through the rescue and… “he’s living with another dog and is as happy as can be!!” 😁

❗️ Important variables contributing to the rehoming decision:

• the quality of life for the cats and humans was greatly diminished

• Teri was not feeling safe in her home

• Moose was highly stressed - redirecting frustration onto his most trusted human

• the cats demonstrated that they were able to interact appropriately with another dog:

  • “Interestingly, we brought my mothers dog into the house a few weeks back and she’s a bit reactive too so kept her on the lead. [The] cats went straight up to her, touched noses, one sat next to her the other went and sat in her bed. Both accepted pets and treats right next to each other - showed us it definitely wasn't the cats scared of dogs, Moose was just a particularly tough one to integrate!!”

Ultimately, Teri says that “your techniques absolutely made our time with him more enjoyable and kept everyone safe and I’m content that we did the best we could.” I very much agree, Teri! I’m so happy that you were able to make the best decision for the cats, humans, and for Moose. ❤️

If you want to join me on the podcast for a Dog and Cat Chat, head on over to praiseworthypets.com/chat to book in a session!