New kitten
We currently have a 2 year old corgi that is not aggressive at all and very loving and we are bringing a 4 month old kitten into our home. I'm looking for some suggestions on how to make this work. I do realize things will be crazy at first but I'm really hoping they like each other. The kitten is a Scottish Fold and from what I'm told (I've never owned a cat before) they are very social and take to new situations easily. The kitten has been raised with dogs. Foxy has seen a cat before and was just curious but I realize having one in our home is different.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Beth on
-
I had good luck introducing a kitten using the "safe room" idea that is recommended for cats. Basically you set the cat up in a closed room where the kitten will live 24/7 for the first week or so (litter box should be well away from food and water of course). The kitten will get used to the sounds and smells of the house without feeling threatened.
The next step is to crate the dog while you let the kitten explore the larger house, or maybe just one room depending on how adventurous the kitten seems.
Then you can introduce them to each other by gating the dog in one room while the cat is in another. The cat should have the ability to leave the area and bolt to her safe room if she feels scared. The dog and cat should be able to see each other but not reach each other. It can help to feed them on opposite sides of their gates. The dog should be allowed to be curious, but distract the dog if the dog starts barking or growling or lunging.
Then, if all is going well, you can leash the dog and let them loose. Give the dog lots of treats for basically ignoring the cat. Let the cat leave if she wants to.
Every step should be finished off with the kitten returning to the safe room; you don't want to keep moving through the steps all in one day even if things are going well. What you are trying to avoid is the situation where the cat gets scared and runs and the dog is in hot pursuit, because the kitten will be tiny and can set off the prey drive even in well-socialized dogs.
It is my personal experience that cats are not used to dogs so much as used to THEIR dog; our cat was raised with dogs but when my brother brought his peaceful ancient Jack Russell in the house.
If you go very slowly (way slower than you would introducing two friendly dogs), they will probably be friends or at least tolerate each other. :-)
The other tips I have is not too leave them loose together unattended until the kitten puts on some size, even if they are getting along great. And to always have a safe space for the cat to retreat to, where the dog can't reach, in case a game of tag gets out of hand.
-
Permalink Reply by Becky Focht on
-
Beth thank you so much. This is very helpful. We did intend to keep the kitten in our spare bedroom for a few days before making any introductions but I like your steps, they are even more gradual. I definitely don't intend to leave them alone together from quite some time. I would just hate to come home and find either one of them had gotten hurt.
-
Permalink Reply by Linda on
-
I agree with what Beth said. We have had 2 dogs and 3 cats for probably 20 years. With the difference in ages of all the critters we have ones that sadly leave us and then there is a new one to be introduced to the pack. None of the cats have been small kittens tho so my introduction time is a bit shorter. I do allow the dog to sniff under the door of the room the new cat is in...that way they can both get use to each other's scent. Also putting something that the dog slept on in the room with the cat helps the cat to get use to the scent.
-
-
Thanks Linda, I like the idea of giving each of them something with the others scent.
-
-
Linda, those are good tips!
When we brought home Boo, she was a very adventurous kitten so we could perhaps have shortened the time. However, she had a cone on her head after licking open her spay stitches (rescue spays early--- she was only 3 or 4 months old). I didn't want first intros to be with a conehead! :-)
-
Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
-
Oh what fun! I would suggest possibly that when you bring the kitten in you let the dog smell a blanket with the scent on and then slowly introduce the 2 depending on how your dog reacts. When not there I would keep the 2 separated until the kitten gets a bit older and you know you can trust them together. My dogs do fine with cats but when they are babes something could happen by accident...they will be the best of buddies in a short bit:)
-
Permalink Reply by Denis J. on
-
From having a kitten raised around pups that would make quite a difference. Good luck with the transition and can't wait to see picture of them both together.
-
Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
-
I've found that it's easier to bring a kitten into a dog-owned household than a cat. Kittens rarely realize they're supposed to be afraid of dogs. And dogs (at least some of them) seem to realize kittens are infants. However, a friend did have her cockapoo kill one of a litter of kittens, even though she thought the dog had been acclimatized to them fine.
So I'd say never leave them alone without separating them. Not until the cat is big enough to leap up, flat-footed, from the floor onto a counter or refrigerator that's too high for the dog to follow.
Dogs can become very protective of their own cat, even though they'll take out after a strange cat.
-
-
I just wanted to thank everyone for all the helpful advice and say the addition of Holly (our kitten) has been smoother than I could have hoped for. We have had her just over 2 weeks and her and Foxy are doing great. Foxy has already learned not to chase her (for the most part) and just really wants to be near her and play. Holly has a safe room with a baby gate that Foxy can't get into so when Holly is feeling fearful she just goes back in her room but we are finding her coming out more and more to be with us. It's so cute Foxy has even started taking her toys and dropping them over the baby gate as if to say "here Holly play with me". I even caught Holly sitting in Foxy's food bowl and drinking her water and Foxy just looked at her like she was crazy. I was very nervous but I think we made the right decision adding her our family.
-
-
I'm glad that things have gone so well! We have had dogs and cats together for 35 years and have never really had any problems. Some cats preferred not having anything to do with the dogs and right now I have a cat for prefers the dogs to the other cats, a cat who thinks she is a corgi and one who is totally insane cat but loves the dogs. My dogs will herd the cats but 95% of the time the cats start it.
May you have a long and loving friendship between Foxy and Holly.
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
