dogs and cats behaviour at feeding time

[michael2]

To anyone who has dogs and cats , when they eat assuming its at the same time, do the dogs tend to become more aggressive toward the cats? I ask this because a friend told me yesterday that their cat was killed by their dog, and they previously had got on very well. This was apparantly over a piece of chicken pulled out of a bin.

I know this is pretty unusual, and i know various households where big dogs and cats get on fine, in some cases the cats end up bossing the dogs around. i also know some nonhuman animals can completely turn, and all of their tameness (im thinking specifically of lions and big cats here) can go out the window when its feeding time.

anyway this is bugging me abit

[Mrrple]

Aggression towards other animals, humans included, can occur with many different animals at feeding time. Animals naturally feel competition when faced with a feeding situation, but proper training and socialization can break that natural habit of competitiveness. With wild animals that are NOT domestic, it's a whole different story. Handlers must be very cautious at feeding times because wild animals have all of their instincts still firmly programmed into them. Competitiveness included!!

I've never heard of a dog killing a cat over a food argument. Not two that previously were friends anyway... How terrible.

[Beachbnny]

Wow that's awful! I feel terrible for your friend. That's so sad.

I have a loving little pit bull and a fat sweet tabby cat. We feed them both at the same time but my dog has to "mind her manners" and sit at the door to the kitchen while we prepare her food and the cat's. She sits until she's given her break command which is "ok". The cat is not so well behaved and often noses around the dog's food while I'm getting things ready. It never bothers the dog. Even when I'm not watching and I tell the dog "ok" to go get her food and the cat's kinda munchin on some of it. The cat just moves and hops up to her food.

There's a lot of excitement at dinner time but there's never been any problems. Which is part of why I did food type training with the dog. I used to make her eat dinner while my hand was in her bowl. It got messy but she's not growled, bitten, or shown any aggression toward anyone- human or animal.

[chryssiie718]

We have Shady, the pittbull, and 5 cats, 3 of whom grew up with the dog so they think he's just a big cat. :D They are fed in separate areas of the house though sometimes they sample each others food. Shady does show some aggression/possessiveness of his food. He will chase the cats away from his bowl, sometimes snapping at them for just walking by. This only happens if he is particularly fond of that brand of food. If it is food he really doesn't have a liking for, he could care less if the cats are eating it. He has never tried to really hurt any of the cats; the cats are often the instigators of any playful aggression and they do chase each other around sometimes. Can get pretty crazy!

[rabid_child]

I don't have a dog, but we have 2 cats, and often times if it's food time (7 am 7 pm 10 pm) and we aren't feeding them they'll start wrestling with each other or attacking each other. I think it's largely to get attention in their case... cause it's just one of a series of irritating behaviors.

It sounds like in your friends case the dog was food aggressive and probably would have bitten anything that tried to get the piece of food away. It can be equally dangerous for people, especially small children. Speaking with a dog trainer is probably in order.

[Lynnbug]

I cant feed my cat and dog at the same time. My dog gets very aggressive when it is time to eat. I think mostly because she was a stray and starving when I got her. I also cannot feed her with other dogs. I feed other dogs in the neighborhood that are strays. I have to feed them in separate areas outside and sometimes acutally sit and monitor them. They get really mad at each other. I try to teach Lucky to mind herself when she is eating and another animal approaches. But she is very protective of her food and sometimes will even over eat if other dogs are around and I put food out for her. I feed her twice a day and she eats plenty of food but this is just the way she is. I think it depends a lot on training and breeding of the animal.

[Wolfie]

To anyone who has dogs and cats , when they eat assuming its at the same time, do the dogs tend to become more aggressive toward the cats? I ask this because a friend told me yesterday that their cat was killed by their dog, and they previously had got on very well. This was apparantly over a piece of chicken pulled out of a bin.

I know this is pretty unusual, and i know various households where big dogs and cats get on fine, in some cases the cats end up bossing the dogs around. i also know some nonhuman animals can completely turn, and all of their tameness (im thinking specifically of lions and big cats here) can go out the window when its feeding time.

anyway this is bugging me abit

Sorry to hear about your friend's cat. :( The dog isn't evil and it didn't plan to kill the cat, it just reacted on instinct.

A dog and cat can get along just fine, or multiple dogs can get along just fine, and then snap when food is involved, especially a high-value item like chicken.

I feed my cat separately from the dogs and if I stand near her, the dogs leave her alone, but I'd never put cat + food + dogs together and walk away. Also only 2 of my dogs eat in the same room, otherwise everyone is separated. That gets kind of interesting in my small house when my dog-nephews are here and I'm feeding 6 dogs.

Rabid Child is correct--be careful with this dog around food if small children are around, and a trainer is a good idea. Just don't let the trainer tell you that because the dog killed the poor kitty that he will turn on humans next. A lot of trainers think that way, and sadly a lot of dogs are put down because of it.

[Kiz]

Not quite on topic but if I feed my cats in the right order all is ok, but if I place the food down in the wrong order they hit each other. Top cat gets fed first, 2nd cat second, bottom of the rung third. If I put the "lower cats" food down first the higher ranked cat will discipline them for it, even if it's me putting the food down! (By first, second, third I mean they all get fed at the same time - it's just who gets served first.) "Two" and "three" aren't that fussy, but "top cat" won't let either of the other two start to eat until she is served.

[Shantih]

My uncles cat would not only bully their cocker spaniel, but also frighten him away at mealtimes and eat his food :lol: He wound up having to feed the cat outside and barracade the cat flap so the poor dog could get some food and a bit of peace.

[isowish]

I only have cats, but they fight if they're hungry.

[Scorpius]

My roommate's dog is "food aggressive"...we used to lock her in the bathroom away from the 3 cats when they were all being fed. She's better now, but not allowed in the kitchen.

The cats fight all the time whether they're hungry or not. Come to think of it, they're proboably hungry all the time so that's why they fight!

ETA:: My roommate was aslo fostering a baby kitten, and we believe the dog killed it over food. They were left alone for literally 3 seconds and...yeah...it was sad.. :(

[Mrrple]

Chloe and Buttons both feel that they are top cats. This is partly because Chloe is a little bitch around the others and none of the other pets actually like her. They usually eat out of one food bowl and take their turns according to the hierarchy.

The dog however we have to be careful about. She is fed in a separate room so she can't get aggressive towards the others.

[x__Jasper]

My cats are soft. They tolerate each other when they feed, and don't mind being stroked whilst they're eating too.

But they do go and beat up next-door-but-one's little dog. It derserves it though, he barks all the time! ;)

[lefty2026]

My ferrets sometimes steal some of my dog's food. He sometimes tries to push them away with his nose, but there are two of them and they keep coming back. If he gets really frustrated he'll just look up at us all helpless, and cry a little.... yeah my 70+ lb baby boy is pathetic :). So I'm pretty sure he wouldn't hurt them on purpose, I get more nervous about them playing together, he gets a little excited and I don't want him to step on the little guys. (the ferrets really ask for it sometimes too, they gang up on him and nip his heals and steal his toys and hide them, poor puppy) So anyway, I can't imagine him ever turning on them, but it is amazing what hunger does to animals (and people!)

[barefootchick]

My parents have a mixed-breed medium-sized dog. They also used to have a cat and this cat and the dog got along really well. The dog liked to push the cat around gently with her nose and wrestle with him.

A momma cat came out of the woods and up and left her kitten at the house. Everything was going well until the dog and the cats got into a scuffle over the food bowl. The dog likes to eat cat food sometimes. I didn't see it happen, but it turns out that the dog accidentally stepped on the kitten's neck, broke it, and killed it. It was awful.

On the other hand, my parents' old dog was a gentle black lab and he got along famously with a few other cats. He and one other cat (a female) even slept together on the couch. It was so cute.

I guess the point is that animals still have their instincts whether they're domesticated or not and you have to watch the smaller animals around the bigger animals. Then again, even if someone had been watching the kitten and the dog, the accident might have still happened.

[Mrrple]

Yeah kittens especially need supervision almost 24/7 around larger animals. Lots of accidents can happen, even if the animals get along very well.

Our larger dog mouths the smallest cat playfully. They love to play but occasionally I have to separate them because the dog forgets to watch her feet and will step on Carmen's paws or tail. She's very small for a cat, only weighs 6 pounds and is almost all fuzzy light fur. She's not skinny, just small, so we have to watch out for her sometimes.