Why is my dog obsessed with my cat?

If your dog is obsessed with your cat, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of reasons why your dog might be obsessed with your cat and how you can get it to leave your cat alone.

So, why is my dog obsesed with my cat? Possible reasons why your dog is obsessed with your cat are that it has a strong prey drive, it is jealous, it is being dominating or that it is just playing.

There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to figure out why it might be the case. Once you have a good idea of why it is obsessed with your cat it will become much easier to get it to stop.

Why your dog is obsessed with your cat

Each of the different reasons that your dog is obsessed with your cat will likely come with some clues.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why it might be happening and what would make them more likely.

Your dog has a strong prey drive

The reason that your dog is obsessed with your cat could be that it has a strong prey drive. This would be more likely if it is a breed that is known for having a strong prey drive such as a Husky or a German Shepherd.

In this case, it would help to keep your dog separated from your cat whenever possible as well as to train it to leave your cat alone using the tips below.

Your dog is jealous

The reason that it is obsessed with your cat could be that it is jealous of it. This would be more likely if it tends to become more obsessed with your cat when you give it attention or if it gets anxious when you are giving it attention.

To correct this it would help to give your dog attention in the form of exercise, play and training. It would also help to train it to leave your cat alone using the tips mentioned below.

Your dog is being dominating

It could be the case that it is obsessed with your cat because it is being dominating. This would be more likely if it seems to do it more when in certain situations such as if your cat sits higher than it.

If it is dominating then it might also be showing other signs of it by doing things such as trying to position itself higher than you and being unresponsive to your command.

In this case, it would be important to give it lots of training to get it to be responsive to your command and to see you as the leader. If it is also aggressive then it would be advised to get the help of a professional dog trainer or behaviorist.

Your dog is just playing

It could be the case that it is just trying to play when it is interacting with your cat. However, it is unlikely that your cat will feel the same way and it could still harm the cat so it would be important to train it to leave it alone and to separate them still.

Related: Why does my dog sit on my chest?

Things to consider

Below, I will mention some particularly helpful things to consider when trying to figure out why your dog is obsessed with your cat. Once you have a better idea of the cause it will be easier to take the appropriate action.

When your dog became obsessed with your cat

It would help to consider the timing of when it started being obsessed with your cat.

If it became obsessed with your cat suddenly it would make it more likely to be due to things such as it being jealous.

Whereas, if it has always done it then it would make it more likely to be due to having a strong prey drive or being overly dominating.

Related: why does my dog cower?

The times that your dog is obsessed with your cat

It would also help to consider the timing of when it becomes obsessed with your cat.

It is not uncommon for dogs to become more protective when they are eating. If it does tend to be more aggressive towards your cat when it is eating then it would help to keep them separated when they are eating.

The age of your dog

If your dog is still a puppy then it would make it more likely that it has not learned to leave your cat alone yet. If it is a puppy then it will be very helpful to take the time now to train it to behave the way that you want it to so that it is well behaved as an adult.

If your dog is older then it would be more likely to be due to a combination of having a strong prey drive, jealousy and being dominant.

How to stop your dog from being obsessed with your cat

There are a number of things that you can do about your dog being obsessed with your cat. The best option for your dog will largely depend on the cause of it doing it.

Below, I will mention a number of things that you can do about it.

Separate them

The first thing that you can do about it is to keep them separated whenever possible. By doing so you will be able to reduce how much your dog will be able to interact with your cat and reduce the likelihood of it harming it. This would be especially important when feeding them.

Train Your dog to be nice to the cat

The next thing that you can do is to train your dog to get along with your cat. If your dog is still a puppy it would be very important that you take the time to do this now. It’s also important that you train it regularly and that you continue to do so over a long time period. Otherwise, your dog might fall back into bad habits.

To train your dog to get along with your cat you’ll do it in three stages. First, you’ll train it to stay, then to stay when there are distractions then to stay when the cat is around.

I have written about how to train your dog to stay and how to do it when being distracted in the past here.

After you have taught it to stay when being distracted it will be time to slowly introduce the cat.

You’ll do this by telling your dog to stay and then start by just putting the cat in the same room but at a distance.

Then after your dog maintains its attention on you you’ll reward it for doing so. You’ll repeat this process where you get your dog to stay with the cat in the same room until you’re able to get it to keep its attention on you easily.

Once it’s good at doing that you’ll continue to tell it to stay but you’ll reduce the amount of distance between your dog and your cat until you’re able to get your dog to keep its focus on you even when the cat is nearby.

Watch the video below to see how it is done.

Feed them separately

As mentioned above, it is not uncommon for dogs to become very protective when they are eating. As a result, it would be best to feed your dog and your cat separately.

Train Your dog consistently

It is unlikely that you will be able to get dramatic changes with just one training session. However, if you continue to train your dog over the course of days and weeks, you will be able to get much better results.