*Please note that I am neither a cat trainer nor a dog trainer, though I am working on a part of that. 

I recently volunteered my services to one of our Fosters who, though doesn’t have a dog of their own, have some terrorizing cats.  Not sure just how much of a bully these cats were, I figured that although I’m certainly no Jackson Galaxy, I have a Peaceabull Assembly of cats and dogs and could maybe offer some advice.

The Fosters suggested it would be helpful if I brought along a dog who could maybe push a cat’s buttons but stay fairly respectful so I of course brought the Juli-bean.

  
The situation was that there are three cats, two of whom we barely saw as they skedaddled out of sight and heard only as one issued a throaty growl when Julius wandered near her special hiding place.  The third stood her ground, in that she was huddled near the sofa.  As Juli approached she hissed and swatted her warning and then not even crack Beggin’ Strips could lure him back.

It turns out that one of the more unsociable cats has jumped on a foster dog’s back and bit her neck.  Both survived.  I came armed with a pheromone collar and some tips on personal space, retreat space and a bit of positive clicker training.  A former foster didn’t respect the baby gate but it seems as though it was installed after his arrival.  I suggested trying to train the next one to stay away from the gate by clicking whenever a dog turned from the gate and to make a larger buffer.  They seemed excited to try and of course wanted to keep Julius.

  
I must say, my bean bean isn’t perfect by any means, but that night? Yeah, he pretty much was and I was certainly bursting with pride and overflowing with love.

Do you have a bully cat?  How do you deal with it?