cat aggression

Question
I have recently adopted 6 year old siblings, Lucy & Linus. Both are sweet as can be. Yet, on 2 occasions, Lucy has attacked visiting dogs by leaping onto their backs. Dogs did not enter Lucy's space. She came looking for them. We are hoping to adopt a dog in the future and would like to know if this is a reasonable plan now. What  can we do short term re visiting dogs and long term re adding our own dog ? Thanks.

Answer
Karen,

Wow, this can be a difficult situation.  As to what can you do about visiting dogs, I would contain her, so she cannot attack. You will probably never convince her to get along with any older dogs.

Most cats will tolerate the young of other species, so you may be able to adopt a puppy.  I would contain the puppy to one room, if at all possible, so she can get used to its presence and scent.

After about a week, you can try and se what happens.  As long as she does not draw blood, and the puppy learns not to go up to her uninvited, things may turn out to be OK.

When we brought our dog into the house, the established cats were none to pleased and did attack. Cats born in our house grew up loving her, so you just do not know how it will go.

Best regards... Norm.