Feline Fear of Other Species Except Humans

Introduction

Key Points

Uncontrolled exposure to fear-eliciting stimuli should be avoided, especially in the home. Restraint or coercion must not be used to force the cat to remain in the presence of an animal it fears. The cat should be provided with one or more safe and readily accessible places to escape to. These should contain food, water, resting places and latrines. The cat should be allowed to escape from any situation where a dog is present. If the fear is of a dog, then dogs must be properly controlled when in the presence of the fearful cat. Dogs must be properly trained and controlled so that the cat is not chased.

For general discussion on feline fear please see Feline Fear Overview. Apart from people, the species most commonly feared by cats is the domestic dog. Often cats have not been exposed to dogs during kittenhood, and therefore do not develop a tolerance of them. Since cats will generally show fearful avoidance of anything that they did not encounter and become habituated to during the sensitive period, many cats show fear of dogs. This is exacerbated by the fact that dogs are often inquisitive about cats, and will watch, approach, investigate or even chase them. Fear of dogs is therefore more complex to deal with than a fear of inanimate stimuli or people, because the fear eliciting stimulus is less controllable, and the dog is present in the household.

Prevention

Prevention of fear of other species (dogs):

• Cats that are expected to live alongside dogs should be well-socialised with them during kittenhood.
• Cats should be provided with a number of easily accessible escape routes: baby-gates, high perches etc. These enable to the cat to avoid contact with the dog.
• The cat should have at least one dedicated location where it can access food, water, a latrine, and resting sites away from contact with the dog.
• Introductions should be carefully managed.
• Dogs should not be introduced to cats unless they are trained to respond to a range of basic commands that enable them to be verbally controlled.
• During all initial encounters the dog should be restrained.

As with all fear and anxiety problems, the key aspect of prevention is experience during the sensitive period; kittens that have had positive experience with dogs are more likely to become adults that are able to cope with living with a dog.

However, most cases of fear of other species involve the introduction of a dog to a household with a cat, or vice versa. Prevention therefore involves the first encounters between cat and dog. When introducing cats to unfamiliar dogs, it is important to allow the cat an escape route which allows it to get away from the dog without triggering chase behaviour. Once dogs have learned how rewarding it is to chase a cat, it may be very difficult to get the animals to coexist.

Preparing the Environment

If the dog is introduced in the cat's home, then additional escape opportunities should be provided in advance of the first meeting (high shelves or a baby-gate are ideal). These should allow the cat to get away easily but still remain in sight of the dog. The cat should also be provided with a dedicated room to which it can freely go to rest, eat, drink, go to the toilet and avoid contact with the dog. Having a completely secure location of this kind enables the cat to feel safe exploring its environment. Baby gates should be installed to ensure that no unplanned encounters occur between cat and dog.

If the dog and cat are to be introduced in an environment that is unfamiliar to the cat, the cat should be introduced to the environment and allowed to fully settle in before the first introduction. For example, the cat should be initially confined to a room of its own, with food, water, latrine and resting sites. Once the cat is familiar with this room, it can be allowed access to more of the home, with barriers such as baby gates installed to prevent accidental encounters between dog and cat. The cat and dog should then be introduced in a room within the house where the cat is entirely comfortable and has already learned to use hiding and climbing places, and exits. A synthetic analogue of the F3 fraction of facial marking pheromones diffuser (Feliway), plugged-in the room the cat spends most of its time, may be used to reduce underlying anxiety and stress. The distance a cat must move in order to escape is important. If a cat has to run a long distance it may panic, especially if the floor is slippery. Escape opportunities must therefore be very easily accessible within a few paces.

Preparing the Dog

The dog should be trained to reliably respond to a range of basic commands, and in particular a "leave" command (the dog stops following or chasing a thrown ball, and returns to the owner on command). If the dog exhibits high levels of arousal or territorial behaviour when it encounters a cat in its garden or on the street, then this training is particularly important and can be tested in these other situations. If a dog cannot be controlled using verbal commands, then it is not ready to be introduced to the cat.

If the planned introduction of a particular dog is delayed by the need for it to be trained, it may be possible to use a stooge dog, that is known to be relaxed around cats, for initial introductions. This enables the cat to become used to introduction to a dog, which will help to increase the its confidence in preparation for the real introduction.

Controlled Exposure

Cats are not only alarmed by the sight of dogs, but also by their smell and the sounds they make. It is possible to habituate the cat to recordings of the noises that dogs make and their body odour. Placing pieces of the dog's bedding into the safe room occupied by the cat, enables it to explore, investigate and habituate to the smell. Sound desensitisation may be important in cases where the dog to be introduced is noisy and vocal.

First Introduction

It can be very difficult to overcome memories of a first encounter between cat and dog that results in intimidation or chasing. From the dog's perspective, this first encounter can be exhilarating and frustrating; the dog becomes highly excited to see the cat and frustrated that it cannot approach or chase it. From the cat's perspective, there may have been feelings of intense fear or panic due to being barked at or pawed. The first encounter must therefore be highly controlled, in order to avoid barking, chasing or other behaviours that indicate excitement for the dog and may be frightening for the cat.

The dog should be distracted and controlled; leashed, and positively reinforced for staying sitting down or on a bed under close supervision. The cat should be allowed to enter the room and approach to a position from which it is able to watch the dog. With repeated experience, the cat should grow in confidence entering the room. The dog must receive repeated reinforcement for not reacting to the cat, as it moves around the floor, climbs, jumps and plays. Once it is clear that the dog is well controlled, then the same exercises can be carried out with the dog on an extendable leash, and ultimately off leash. Baby gates should remain until it is clear that no problem is developing.

There is some evidence that a synthetic form of the F4 fraction of the feline facial marking pheromone (Felifriend) can facilitate interactions between cats and novel social stimuli. When applied to the shoulder and neck area of dogs, it may reduce avoidant behaviour by cats. However, this is only safe when the dog has no history of harming or attempting to harm cats. Cats that have already had experience of being chased or injured by dogs may be confused by the dissonance between the visual recognition of threat combined with an odour cue that implies safe familiarity. This can induce panic.

Investigation

Diagnosis is based on observation of the behaviour of the cat: its facial expressions, postures and initial attempts at avoidance when in the presence of the fear-eliciting stimulus. However, given that the emphasis should be on prevention it should be assumed that a cat that has not been reared or previously socialised with a particular species is likely to experience fear when meeting members of that species. For example, cats with outdoor access will already have a substantial number of aversive experiences resulting from interactions with dogs. It is important to remember that experienced cats, or cats that feel cornered, may immediately resort to offensive aggression.

Where the fear is of dogs, the reaction of the dog to be introduced also forms part of the assessment of the problem. Dogs that are known to be hostile toward cats, or routinely chase wildlife and cats will need considerable training to bring their behaviour under command control before it is safe to introduce them to a cat.

Treatment

Treatment involves three main elements:

• Improving the environment.
• Assessing and training of the dog.
• Controlled exposure of the cat (primarily desensitisation).

The cat’s confidence in its environment must be enhanced, especially if the animal it is fearful of is sharing the same dwelling. The cat should be given a dedicated room that contains all the resources it needs, and which has a baby gate that provides a barrier to the dog, but allows the cat to have free access. The cat should also be encouraged to explore, face/flank mark and utilise resources in the area that it will share with the cohabiting dog whilst that animal is not present. This also allows a gradual desensitisation to the odours of the dog. Introduction should not begin until the cat shows complete confidence in its environment; if the cat is anxious, inhibited or shows a fear potentiated startle response then introduction should be delayed.

Good indicators that the cat is relaxed and confident in the environment include:

• Restoration of normal levels of facial and flank marking of objects.
• Resumption of normal affiliative and play behaviour.
• Relaxed resting posture (front feet folded under the body whilst lying down).
• Confident movement around the environment without hesitation.
• Low tendency to startle at sudden noises or movements.

The primary means of controlled exposure used in these cases is desensitisation, because cats will rarely have the confidence to play or eat food when faced with a dog that they are afraid of. The composite stimulus of the sight, sound and smell of a dog may be more than the cat can cope with, so it is often helpful to break down this composite of stimuli and treat each component individually. Although this may appear to make treatment more laborious, it will actually be quicker and produce a better final outcome.

The cat can be desensitised to the odour of the dog by presenting items of used dog bedding to the cat in its safe room. After this initial desensitisation, a dog’s odour can also be presented in a counterconditioning procedure; a new tea towel or a pair of cotton gloves is used to collect body scent from the dog by stroking it all over. This item is then presented to the cat for the cat to sniff. Initially the cat may back away or even hiss, but after a number of presentations the cat should allow itself to be stroked with the cloth, and should then begin to rub itself against the cloth.

If the dog is noisy or vocal, it may be appropriate to desensitise the cat to dog vocalisations using recorded sounds. Sound volume is increased over a number of sessions until the cat is tolerant of playback levels that are close to real levels. Some dogs will bark at a cat in order to intimidate it into running. A cat that has been thoroughly habituated to canine vocalisation is less likely to be startled, so that the dog’s behaviour does not gain the reinforcement of a chase. Desensitisation is likely to be slower if the cat has already learned that dog barking precedes a chase or attack.

It is very important that the cat does not encounter the dog during the desensitisation of sound and scent as this may cause aversive associations that delay success of behavioural therapy.

Eventually, the dog will need to be introduced as a visual signal. The first visual encounter is very important, as cats will become highly avoidant if the dog barks at, or tries to chase, them. The dog must be relaxed, quiet and well trained. It must not lunge or bark at the cat. If the dog is likely to be disruptive, then the introduction should be delayed. In order to avoid wasting time, a relaxed stooge dog could be substituted in the process, so that the cat builds up some experience of seeing dogs before encountering the one it is expected to live with.

Visual introduction follows a desensitisation process, with the dog being introduced initially at a distance that elicits minimal fear in the cat. In a domestic environment this may be difficult, which is why the cat must first feel completely secure in the introduction environment. An alternative to keeping the dog at a distance is to provide a partial visual barrier such as a screen. For example, a child gate or glass door may be adapted to provide a partial visual barrier by applying strips of cloth or paper. Glass etch spray or film (which is usually used on bathroom windows) can be applied to a glass door to produce the same effect. This enables gradual exposure to the dog as a visual stimulus. To be desensitised, the cat must have some level of exposure to the dog, so although cats should generally be allowed to come and go from the room at will, in some cases the cat may need to be confined in the room to prevent it from escaping every time. In these cases the cat must have adequate hiding opportunities and places to climb up high. Desensitisation appears to progress more effectively if the cat has a high vantage point to observe the dog, rather than hiding under or behind objects. This may be because a high position offers the cat a complete view of what is happening and allows the cat to move around, groom and relax.

Initially these introductory sessions should be brief, not longer than 10 minutes, to avoid undue stress to the cat. This also avoids the dog becoming overexcited or frustrated and disruptive during training. Sessions should end with the cat being more relaxed than at the beginning of the session, and stopped if the cat shows signs of increasing arousal or fear. If the cat shows signs of increasing stress during every session, behavioural therapy is likely to lead to a worsening emotional response, rather than an improvement.

Sessions should progress to include the dog moving around and playing. This should take the form of controlled activities, such as obedience training, and then short bouts of calm play with the dog. The aim is to make these activities controlled and repeatable so that the cat’s response can be monitored and the range of activities expanded without triggering fear. A synthetic analogue of the F4 fraction of feline facial marking pheromone (Felifriend) may be applied to the shoulder and neck area of a dog so that the cat is more likely to accept it as familiar and non-threatening. However, this is less likely to be effective if the cat has already had negative experiences with dogs (especially if there have been negative experiences with the dog to be introduced).

Psychoactive medication may be used to reduce fear and anxiety. Selegiline is licensed for the treatment of behavioural problems with an underlying emotional cause in dogs, and may be the first choice drug in cats with a fear of dogs (following CASCADE). However, in cats that show panic or generalised anxiety, a serotonergic drug may be more appropriate. These drugs take a minimum of 4-6 weeks to reach efficacy.

Prognosis

The outcome depends not only on the cat’s response, but also on the behaviour of the animal that is being introduced (often a dog).

Indicators of a poor prognosis:

• A cat that has had no positive encounters with dogs during development.
• A dog that has a history of hostility or territoriality toward cats, or of chasing and hunting wildlife in general.
• An environment that does not enable a controlled introduction with cat and dog being separated.
• A previous mishandled introduction process, or history of conflict between dog and cat (the dog has already chased or attacked the cat).

To be successful, the dog must be responsive to training and show no innate or historical tendency to chase or attack cats, and the cat must have a bold temperament. Part of the judgement when investigating a case has to be whether the client’s demands can realistically be met whilst preserving the animal’s quality of life.

References

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