How To Stop Dog Aggression Towards Cats in 8 Steps

• Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.

It might be cliché, but there’s truth in it: a lot of dogs like to chase cats. If your dog goes wild for neighborhood kitties or likes to hare after your friendly house cat, you’re familiar with the signs: a sudden focused look, followed by a burst of speed and a wild chase.

Some dogs and cats engage in harmless play battles, while other fights are serious and important to avoid. When interest crosses over into aggression with biting, snarling, or lunging, it’s time to call in the professionals.

Experts like Nicole Vento, CCPDT-KA, of Calm Canine Academy recommend reaching out to a certified trainer for a compassionate and ethical approach to stopping dog aggression toward cats. With expert help, we break down what to look for and what you can do to stop a chase in its tracks.

Why Do Dogs Chase Cats?

Dogs chase cats for a lot of reasons, but most of them boil down to instinct. A dog’s prey drive is often triggered by movement, and cats are experts at darting suddenly from place to place. Territoriality can also be a factor, especially if a neighborhood cat is encroaching on your dog’s turf.

Just because a dog chases a cat doesn’t mean they want to eat them. Some dogs will chase for fun; even with no catch at the end, sprinting after a speeding animal is rewarding to their prey drive. Other dogs, however, are wired differently. Their prey drive may demand more aggressive behavior and a more complete progression through the stalk-chase-attack sequence.

“Dog aggressiveness nearly always has a reason,” says Dr. Alex Schechter, DVM, of Burrwood Veterinary Hospital. “A lot of people think that it’s natural for dogs to want to chase something that moves, but it all depends on how they’re raised.”

A dog who hunted to survive, for example, might be harder to stop than a dog who’s grown up around cats since puppyhood.

While knowing your dog’s background is ideal, it’s often possible to train a dog to stop chasing or acting aggressively toward cats. Here’s what you can do.

How To Stop Dog Aggression Towards Cats

A combination of management and training strategies are the key to helping your dog get along with cats, according to the certified, fear- or force-free trainers we spoke to. Often, stopping dog aggression toward cats involves removing the dog from the room, comforting your cat, and redirecting your dog’s behavior to a healthier outlet.

As you begin socializing your dog to be less aggressive, remember to never leave them unsupervised, especially if there are signs of fear, reactivity, or predatory behavior. For example, you might choose not to board your dog in a home where a cat resides unless you are certain your dog fares well with feline friends.

These strategies are also helpful if you have a new dog or puppy in the house and want to prevent cat aggression early on. “If you encourage your dog to be friendly toward other animals from an early age, then you’ll have no problem at all!” adds Dr. Schechter.

1. Invest in a certified trainer who specializes in force-free, positive-reinforcement

Positive reinforcement and force-free qualifications can help ensure that your dog is not re-traumatized during training. “Any method that involves punishment can make things worse,” says Rachel Forday, VSA-CDT, trainer at Dog at Heart.

She also recommends finding a dog trainer who can read cat and dog body language. “Understanding the emotional experience of both animals is so helpful in making these situations better.”

2. Have confinement options for your cat and dog

“This might be a baby gate or pen in between rooms, a crate or just a separate room that is safe for either animal to be closed into,” says Vento. The goal is to prevent negative interactions between your dog and cat.

“Other management strategies can include providing the cat with cat trees and raised platforms so that they can move around without being within reach of the dog,” adds Forday.

Photo by GlobalP/iStock

Worried about your cat or dog’s freedom while you work on training? Schedule times for when each pet can roam freely without concern. For example, let your cat out at night while your dog is in your bedroom, sleeping in their crate.

3. Find out why your dog is aggressive towards cats

A certified trainer can help identify the function behind your dog’s behavior, and which cues and management technique work for your situation.

For example, if your dog is chasing out of a desire to play, you may be able to redirect the dog with toys. But if your dog is acting aggressively out of fear, you may need to proof multiple obedience behaviors first.

These are common reasons for cat aggression in dogs:

• Frustration from wanting to play
• Resource guarding
• Herding instincts
• Fear
• High prey drive

4. Before training, address your dog’s daily needs and stress levels

“Providing therapeutic enrichment helps your dogs both meet their mental and physical breed-specific needs,” says Vento. For example, exercise your dog and provide play time with toys that meet their herding or prey-drive needs.

Look out for any additional reactive behaviors, such as barking at indoor noises, that are adding to your dog’s stress. You may need to address those behaviors first so your dog is calm enough to learn to respond to cues around a cat.

5. Strengthen these training cues

“Start in an environment that is quiet and relaxing for the dog, before introducing the cat,” says Forday. After your dog is reliably responding to you, up the distractions with other toys, people, or foods. From there you can slowly introduce the cat into the room.

Meda settling under the chair. Photo by Christal Yuen

Training indoors without distractions is especially helpful for bringing those skills outdoors. If your dog likes to chase cats on walks or inside the house, your foundational training may include:

• Recall (with distractions): “[Pet parents who] proof their dog’s recall to a number of different human, food, and toy distractions have the best chance of being able to use the recall to call the dog away from the cat,” says Vento.
• Settle: Settle tells the dog where to go and, if reinforced well, can help a dog stay relaxed around a cat. A combination of strong recall and highly-trained settle is especially helpful with preventing your dog interact with your cat.
• “Look At That”: This game from Leslie McDevitt’s Control Unleashed helps a dog build positive feelings towards a cat. “L-A-T gives the dog a way to just calmly tell us that the cat is there and engage with us instead. It is important, again, to do this carefully, starting with something that is neutral to the dog and working at a comfortable distance for the dog where they are not already reacting,” says Forday.

The right tools, such as a leash or a baby gate, will help your dog stay focused during training. If you are worried about biting, consider muzzle training. Please work with a trainer if biting is a concern.

6. Avoid “punishment-based” approaches

Vento cautions against punishment during training sessions, especially when the cat is around. Forday echoes this, saying, “[Dogs] can also be reacting to defend themselves because they have had a scary experience in the past, like being attacked by a cat or experiencing pain or punishment every time a cat is present.”

Punishments add confusion to your training sessions and there is a risk of increasing your dog’s aggression towards cats—or having it redirected towards you. “If you’re working with a highly social or easily-aroused dog, punishment may just add more fuel to the fire,” warns Vento.

7. Be proactive, not retroactive or reactive

One of the biggest mistakes pet parents can make is introducing your pets too early, or rushing the process. “Allowing pets to be completely free and loose around each other often ends in at least one creature having one or more bad experiences from the beginning of the relationship,” says Vento.

Another mistake is waiting to see what your dog or cat might do rather than stepping in to prevent any interaction at all. If you suspect your dog will chase your cat, it’s best to redirect your dog before they notice them.

8. Do not force your dog to train

You may feel rushed to get your dog and cat to cohabitate harmoniously, but some days your pets may not feel like training—and that’s OK.

“Your dog should not be forced to lie there,” Forday says. Forcing your dog to lie around their fear trigger can cause distrust in your relationship. Instead, find out what distance the cat should be from your dog and use confinement tools to keep that distance.

Let’s acknowledge that this situation can also be stressful for you as well. Taking a break (with management in place) can help you reset for a better training session the next day.

What to Do If Your Dog Attacks Your Cat

Preventing fights is the best way to keep pets safe, says Dr. Allison Faust, VMD and medical director at Veterinary Emergency Group Pittsburgh. But if your dog attacks your cat, you’ll need to act fast to protect both animals and stop further harm. Here’s what to do:

• Safely separate the animals right away: Dr. Faust says to quickly separate your dog and cat to prevent more injuries. Use barriers like doors or baby gates to guide them into separate spaces. Avoid using your hands to break them up, as you could get hurt.
• Check for your cat for life-threatening injuries: Scan your cat for signs of serious injury, such as bleeding or open wounds, trouble breathing (open-mouth breathing or no chest movement), pale or blue gums, disorientation, seizures, or uneven pupils. She says these symptoms could mean life-threatening injuries.
• Seek veterinary care for minor or major injuries: If you notice any of these signs—or even if the injuries seem minor—Dr. Faust suggests you secure your cat in a carrier and take them to the vet right away. She says small puncture wounds can hide serious internal damage. At a minimum, your cat will likely need pain medication and antibiotics.

Signs of Cat Aggression and Reactivity in Dogs

Based on our research, dog aggression towards cats is often a result of high predatory drive (e.g., intent to chase or grab) and/or fear. “If your dog displays aggressive behavior, then it’s time to make an appointment with a professional who can help manage the situation so that no one gets hurt,” says Dr. Schechter.

Below are other behaviors and when they may be reactive or aggressive, depending on the context. Note that your dog may have different responses and need the help of a trainer.

“If your dog suddenly exhibits violent behavior, take him to the doctor to rule out any medical issues,” advises Dr. Schechter. Pain and fear of inflicted pain are common reasons for dogs to react abruptly. Your dog may need medication for the pain—or stress levels.

Some dogs may be so hyper aroused around a cat that obedience training is impossible. Medication, like trazodone, can help your dog’s serotonin balance, so that they’re calm enough to practice the behaviors you want.

How Long Until You Can Trust Your Dog and Cat Together?

There is no guaranteed timeline for getting your dog and cat to peacefully and calmly be in the same room together. Stopping dog aggression towards cats, indoors or outdoors, requires on-going training and management. For some dogs, it may take up to six weeks, while for others, months.

You’ll also need to keep in mind how long your dog has been practicing reactive or aggressive behaviors before you started training. The longer your dog has been aggressive towards cats, the longer you’ll need to train.

Four months of working on settle and desensitization allow for Meda and Hazel to coexist. Photo by Christal Yuen

Instead of looking for a timeline, Vento recommends observing your cat and dog’s behavior. “[They should] be consistently in the green (see zones on the canine ladder of aggression) for a number of months before considering leaving them unsupervised.” Otherwise, you run the risk of having an adverse reaction and re-training from the beginning.

Don’t Forget To “Train” Your Cat Too

After long hours of watching your dog receive treats, your cat may get jealous. Reward your cat with treats for looking at your dog so that the positive feelings between the dog and the cat start to become mutual. The goal is to reward and encourage slow blinks from your cat (a sign of happiness!) and gentle eye contact from your dog.

As a pet parent with two dogs and a cat, I spent many hours sitting down on the floor, doling out treats for my cat, puppy, and senior dog. While my puppy is not ready to be left alone (period), my senior dog and cat respect each other’s boundaries and sleep peacefully in the same room.

Further Reading

• Our Readers’ All-Time Top 10 Training Treats
• Aggressive, Stable, Confident: How to Test Your Dog’s Temperament
• How To Introduce a Cat to a Dog Household: A Step-by-Step Guide