Introducing kitty
Now, the problem comes with introducing the little one to the rest of the family (well, with the exception of the old girl chihuahua, who sniffed the kitty once, shrugged, and walked away). It's the big girls that we're having trouble with. Kendra and Ecco have realized that there is a kitty in the bathroom, and they are VERY excited. They have only ever seen cats at the vet before. Our old vet had a couple of cats that freely roamed the office all the time. Every time Kendra (English Mastiff - 1 1/2 years) sees As Yet Unnamed Kitty, she barks and wags her tail happily. Unfortunately, the kitty is terrified of this behavior and runs into her crate to hide. Kendra also barks at the bathroom door whenever she hears the kitty, or paws at the door. She woke us up at 3 this morning barking at the door and we had to bring her to the bedroom and close her in. (We have not had to limit her behavior at night since she was 6 months.) Ecco the Sheepie wiggles her bum and whines when she sees the kitty, but is not as obsessed as Kendra is. I am not really worried about either dog intentionally hurting the kitty. They are both very well socialized and friendly. I am more worried about them hurting her accidentally with their over-enthusiastic ways. She is, after all, only 7 weeks old and about the size of one of their paws. I was hoping some of you more experienced kitty and puppy parents would have some helpful suggestions for introducing the wee one to the big girls. Thanks! ...And because I know you're going to ask....  |
|
|
| How sweet she is. Sorry, I have no suggestions as have never had kittens and dogs together but I'm sure plenty of others on here have a lot of experience. |
| Very cute! We added Zoey, then a few years later we added Talley and Harper (sisters, my daughter has Harper). They were all rescues. We did the limited space for two weeks. This gave them time to acclimate to their safe room and us. We then gave them time to explore the house while the dogs were locked up. It's important for them to learn where the high areas are and how to get there. The next step was to let roam half of the house, with a baby gate between them and the dogs. The dogs loved to sit b the gate and watch the cats. The cats were terrified at first, then began approaching the gate to see the dogs. Zoey scratched Ben's nose, he yelped and the 3 big dogs became terrified of the cats. It only took 24 hours for the cats to start jumping over the gate to join the dogs. We left the gate in place, but raised it up enough for the cats to scoot under quickly. I didn't relax until the day I called dogs to go to their room and Zoey was the first one through the door. There is a pass-through into the kitchen, so we re-arranged the room so the cats could easily reach it to escape. The dogs and cats aren't best friends, but I have seen Riley give Zoey a lick when she is upset with my son's dog. They mix and mingle in the same room without paying attention to each other. No chasing, no hissing. The cats are training Banker to leave them alone - a three month old Golden who is learning the routine. |
Very cute kitty!!  The baby gate is a must, especially with such a little kitty. I also have a tall cat pole that my cat can run up to escape Tiggy's overly friendly attentions. It depends on the cat and the dog as to how well they will get on. My dalmo is less silly about cats so this is him and Rowdy, my siamese.  Tiggy is still obsessed with Rowdy she LOVES to chase him. Just now Rowdy is sitting on the carpet 2 feet from Tiggy, who is just keeping half an eye on him but if he gets up and moves then Tiggy will chase him. It's kind of a love/hate relationship.   But Rowdy does s--t stir up Tiggy. He sneaks around the furniture and then does a run past to entice Tiggy to chase him in the hopes that I'll reprimand Tiggy. He either runs up his cat pole or jumps the baby gate so she can't catch up to him and lick him.When Rowdy was younger and less wily. Tiggy would often catch him. It was funny to see a siamese cat emerge from between two fluffy sheepie front legs looking really grumpy and with a hair style all spiked with sheepie spit. I wouldn't leave Rowdy and Tiggy in a room together where Rowdy can't escape Tiggy's attentions though, she's too enthusiastic and rough. I would let the puppers and the kitty get to know each other through the baby gate till kitty is much bigger or you can be sure your dogs are going to be gentle. |
| How adorable!!! She looks like such a ham. Sorry no advice on the kitty/dog situation. We are not a kitty family. (fiancé is allergic to kitties) |
| Let them acclimate from a far. Keep the dogs isolated and let the kitten roam. From past experience the cat will soon rule the roost. Our Eli was 2 when we got Jake our 10 week old Lab puppy, she was really quick to let him know who was alpha in our house. When Jake past and we got Chauncey, Eli was about 15 years old and we were concerned about bringing a new puppy in the house. Well our concerns should have been for Chauncey. Eli was quick to put him in his place. |
| She is ADORABLE! I have an 18 year old cat who has trained many dogs. No one bugs her except to give her a good licking. I think she kind of likes it. |
Ecco is doing very well with the new kitty... |
Oh my, that is the sweetest photo.  Now I want another kitten and a puppy.  |
| how did you come by an old english kitten anyway??? |
| I have three cats with Kenzie and I've never had any problems. One is a little nervous and runs, so Kenz chases (nothing malicious); in fact I'm begining to think Cracker (British Cream) does it on purpose. I leave adjacent doors wedged slightly open to allow escape if necessary, but if any get cornered they give a quick swipe and Kenz backs off. My British Blue, Stilton, is too big to run (7 kilos) and therefore just head butts Kenzie and gets licked in exchange. My Tabby, Pickle, doesn't run either (see avatar). I wouldn't worry too much, they will turn out great play mates. Nik |
Guest wrote: how did you come by an old english kitten anyway??? I know, right?! I saw this one in the litter and thought, "She's the one!" Do you think I should put her in herding or agility? Or should I just wait to see what she's more inclined to? |
let's wait and see if you can win america's funniest videos when she herds the sheepies.   |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|