Please Help !!!! - Page 2

It will only take one "rough" session of play with this dog and the cat is dead.  This dog needs to learn to learn to leave the cat alone and avoiding the cat is the safest thing the dog should learn.  There are some dogs that will just kill a cat if given the chance, it is not playing for them and never will be.  

I say give the thirteen year old cat a safe environment to live out it's senior years. Find the dog another place to live. Your cat has probably been terrorized by this recalcitrant young dog, who sounds like she needs a job. You gave the dog a chance, but not all dogs are compatible with cats. Even a young puppy can be a challenge for an old cat. I feel for you in your predicament.

I don't know if there is anything in my experience of this area that will be helpful, but on the chance that something might be useful - and anyway to show a glimmer of hope generally on this topic - here's what i once did: Had to bring a 3 1/2 yr old bitch to live with a 13 yr old cat. Bitch was not particularly cat-friendly or experienced. Her mother & grandmother were cat chasers.The cat had never lived with a dog before, but was a strong character and had been known to 'face down' dogs outside my flat.  I got a big crate and put the GSD straight in it, so cat was free to walk around and pass her but she could not get at him.  Things that others have said about give the cat lots of high-level bolt holes, work the dog while its out on walks etc to wear it out, concentrate on teaching a solid Leave, all apply, as do first meetings on lead, never leave them together unsupervised.  Within two weeks she had given up trying to get at or chase the cat; within a month they were absolutely civil to each other under all circumstances.  They never became best friends as in curling up to sleep beside each other, but they were always fine in every other way. He died at 17, she clearly missed him. She lived to 14 but I never had the opportunity to get another cat so don't know how that would have gone.  One thing I did which may not go down too well with the "never say No" brigade - the cat was always 2nd in my household, the dog definitely 3rd. Cat always ate after me but before her;  could sit on the furniture, which she was never allowed to do; generally held up to be superior to the dog. I feel this approach helped greatly.
 

Be patient and continue teaching your dog to leave the cat alone.  Don't leave them alone together.  We have 3 gsds and 2 cats that get along great, but years ago had a siberian husky that could not be trained to leave cats alone (she killed stray cats and one of our cats).  We had to give her away to a home without cats.

A lot depends on the dog. I had a female that helped me raise a litter of kittens. I currently have a male that tried to kill my cat the first time they met. Eventually, they became best friends, and he very clearly missed the cat when it was run over by a car.

However, if your dog has really high prey drive, it may not work out. I have several friends who have to always keep the cats separate, and one friend who thought things were working out, until the cat had to spend a few days at the vet's. When it came home, it smelled strange, and was no longer accepted by the pack. They tore it to pieces while the owner was at work.