Introducing Kitten to Dogs

[Judecat (Paula)]

Sounds like you are doing everything perfectly fine to me.  Photos soon please.

[woodlandcats]

I think you're doing fine.
Of course I don't know your dogs, I'm only experienced with my lot, one of them adoring kittens/cats so that's no reference.
Mind you, Emma loves kittens so much, she would lick them and they would end up all wet and a foot away

They can be a bit awkward and step on a kitten, but it should do no harm.

This is how Emma reacted to the new family member



later...

[Chook]

Well we have been cage free since Saturday morning and it's been going really well!
Mouse has been running rings round them, he and Disney have been absolutely fine 
Gomez keeps trying to sniff mouse but keeps getting smacked round the nose 
Mouse is lording it up, teasing gomez all the time!
Last night the mouse slept with mummy , the doggies usually sleep on the bedroom floor at the end of the bed, but slept downstairs to show their disgust!
In the day mouse sleeps on his sleves!
Obviously we are always watching them!
The pack order was Disney in charge of gomez, but now it's Mouse, Disney then Gomez 

btw rottie x lab any pics?

[blackcat]

Definitely one day at a time, and always under supervision until the dogs are comfy with the cat. Shadow (my labxrottie) was beaten into submission by cats when he was a puppy and so has always accepted that they are higher up the pecking order, but two dogs who are accustomed to each other, but not the cat, can incited each other to do something that neither would do as an individual. But cats are pretty smart and soon sort them out if the humans are as smart as you guys seem to be - you are doing a great job - and I love the idea of the aerial pathway to give Mouse an option of keeping out of the way - very good lateral thinking there!!

[Millys Mum]

Crates are very handy for doing safe initial intros so a good move on your behalf, hes naturally going to be scared as they are so much bigger than him! I would do supervised time with them and not leave them all alone until he is plenty bigger and capable of properly defending himself if needed, because of the size and breeds you have.
Do they act as a pack when together?
Id also keep the baby gates up so he can always escape if need be, i like the idea of his shelves so will go and look at your welcome post 

[Chook]

Mouse may not be dumb enough to walk through the bars but he may be that curious.  Cats are notorious for going where you don't want them to - or is that just mine  

I've introducede dogs to kittens before and cats to puppies and so far all have survived the introduction stage.  You're right to be cautious and taking it slowly but at some point you are going to have to let them interact together.  Part of the problem may be that you're introducing two dogs  - are you worried about keeping an eye on both of them at the same time?  If so, would it be possible to do a 'staggered' introduction ie. let one dog meet the kitten before the other?  Just a thought.

Jean

Well that's reassuring thankyou. I know I will have to do it eventually and that maybe leaving it longer may actually make it worse. Not really worried about keeping an eye on both of them, and I was consider staggering them but then who to do first.
So in the last 15 mins I took the ball by the horns, hubby's here too so it's one person per dog.
Mouse was up on his shelves so we let the dogs into the room and kept them distracted with bonio's rewarding them for ignoring.
Mouse stayed up for about 5 minutes and then made his way down and jumped in fornt of Gomez. Gomez cautiously walked upto mouse for a sniff and Mouse hissed and gomez tried to kind of snap back but mouse struck him on the nose several times and then gomez backed off.
Disney has stayed well out of the picture, hoping she doesn't have a more cunning plan.
Now mouse is in the kitchen playing with a paper ball and the dogs cant get through the baby gate, I'm sure he will come back in and we will have another stand off. But so far so good. I now realise though how sharp mouse is and how much he has grown, I think he's gonna be quite a big cat, so I am feeling a little bit better because I can see he can defend himself. I guess it's one day at a time . But I just want it to be happy families.

[JeanH]

Mouse may not be dumb enough to walk through the bars but he may be that curious.  Cats are notorious for going where you don't want them to - or is that just mine  

I've introducede dogs to kittens before and cats to puppies and so far all have survived the introduction stage.  You're right to be cautious and taking it slowly but at some point you are going to have to let them interact together.  Part of the problem may be that you're introducing two dogs  - are you worried about keeping an eye on both of them at the same time?  If so, would it be possible to do a 'staggered' introduction ie. let one dog meet the kitten before the other?  Just a thought.

Jean

[Den]

LOL yes, he would. But he can get out that way if he wants. With Memphis he always wanted to go up high, so he was rarely on the ground for the first couple of days. It really all does depend on the dogs to be honest and how they will react. If they would chase it's best to restrain them otherwise it becomes a game to them. Like I said before I wouldn't ever allow a cat/kitten to scratch a dog. They can do a lot of damage since they always aim for the face and dogs noses are ever so sensitive, plus I've seen injuries of dogs scratched in the eye. Just like I wouldn't allow a dog to chase/bite a cat. It's all equal in my house. I'm the voice of reason and get in there before anyone else had a chance to.

A lot of people DO recommend dog gates for introducing cats and dogs. To be honest I forgot all about that option  If they are good with the buns I really don't think you will have too much of a problem. You might find everyone runs away from everyone to begin with, then they get curious. It's the movement of Mouse that they would react too, so they would act differently with him out of a crate to what he is in it. Go with your gut instinct and watch everyone's behaviour. You know your dogs the best and how they will react 

Mouse will probably be a bit hissy and defensive, might hide. That would be normal, then you might find he becomes a big tough kitty who sticks up for himself. Cats and dogs do usually sort themselves out you just need to make sure they don't go too far whilst getting to know each other.

If the dogs get too exicted and too much then try distracting them with food and toys. Make yourself more fun and inticing than Mouse. They will soon ignore him. You'll probably also that they recongnise he's just a baby and they will be gentle with him!!! Dogs are so amazing in that way 

[Chook]

yeah don't get me wrong the prey drive thing is in the back of my mind, I know they will want to get close up and personal and I expect a few scratches from Mouse. I have baby gates separating the lounge form the other rooms, I am considering letting them see him through the baby gates. But Mouse can walk through the gaps, would he be that dumb?

[Den]

LOL they like to be awkward don't they. The lead suggestion is only because it allows you to be in control and gives you that piece of mind with safety for everyone, stops any chasing or rough housing whilst you observe everyones behaviour. LOL but it won't work.

I *think* that based on what you've said about them and how they are with the buns and birds that it *should* be perfectly fine to let them all out together. My worry was with them having a prey drive, based on the breeds. But it seems like you've got lucky with your pooches and don't have to worry about them. Just do what you did with them and the buns and you should be fine

Until Mouse is bigger and sturdier it might be safer to separate them at night or when you aren't around just so Gomez doesn't accidently hurt little Mousey.

[Chook]

OK so the breeds aren't renowned for being cat lovers. 
But Disney has ignored Mouse completely I think she is scared of him and she was an abused pup and is completely submissive of me. Gomez hasn't got 2 brain cells to rub together and thinks everything is a toy, he isn't malicious. He did eat a frog once, but then sicked it up and it hopped away !
We have 2 rabbits, when we first got them they were very interested but now they are used to them and just ignore them, they are in the run everyday with the dogs out too! They are fine with birds.
The cat they see is next door's but she is a tease and is always trying to get their attention, sometimes they bark at her.
Disney can clear six foot fences, but never has for the sake of the cat.
The problem I also have with leads is that if they meet another dog who is a bit aggressive and they are on leads they act viciously, whereas if they are loose they kind of meet have a sniff bit of a play nip and then are fine. I find that leads accelerate aggression with my 2!

[Den]

LOL you could give the dogs a great lesson in lead doesn't mean walkies  I've always had a houselead so I can use it in circumstances such as this and Molly knows it doesn't mean walkies. You could always try with food. So have Gomez and Disney in a sit and keep their attention with food whilst Mouse runs around. Personally I think in general it's best to let them mingle and get used to one another if possible, but I totally see and appreciate that there is a massive size and weight between Gomez and Mouse.

I have to say that without seeing everything in person it is really hard to say what to do. You do have one breed renowned for their high prey drive and inability to live with cats unless brought up with them from a young age (but like everything every dog is different, so their are exceptions). Plus you have another dog which is half Lurcher, which again have a high prey drive and bad reputation with cats and half Weimaraner which are another high prey drive breed 

Personally if I were you, just solely based on the breeds involved I would definitely introduce a lead to see how they react with Mouse loose. How are Gomez and Disney off lead, what are they like with rabbits, squirrels, birds, neighbourhood cats etc?

[Chook]

To be honest I am tempted to just let them get on with it, but Gomez is so big and clumsy, I'm worried that with one snap back he could hurt Mouse, and Mouse seems to have no idea what is good for him. Plus when my dogs see thier leads they get so excited i thought it might complicate things.

[Den]

I introduced a 7/8 week kitty to a 2 a bit year Border Collie.

I kept Molly (dog) in another room for the first night, just letting Memphis (cat) get the understanding of the house, where things were etc. Then the next day or 2 I kept Molly on the lead and let Memphis do whatever he wanted. Firstly I held the lead, just to let Molly see and smell him from the other side of the room. Then I let her trail the lead so I could pick up the end of it to pull her away if needed. For the first couple of days Memphis would sit on the dining room chair (so nose height to Molly) and just hiss and spit at her. She got the message and just ran away, then got curious and nosey. Then I just left them to it  Pecking order in my house is I'm boss and they are equal  As a baby Memphis was allowed to grumble but he stopped as he realised Molly is harmless. I just have rules of NO scratching/clawing/biting and no chasing/barking. If Memphis had felt the need to get his claws out on her I would have picked him up, told him NO and put him somewhere else, then I would have monitered Mollys behaviour to make sure she didn't do whatever it was which resulted in the claws. If Molly had felt the need to chase she would have been back on the lead and told to 'leave'.

I would do that with any kitten to be honest.

Edit: Do you know what your dogs are like with cats in general. With those breeds I'd be inclined to be a bit careful unless you know exactly what they are like. Mals and Lurchers don't have the best reputation when it comes to cats and small furries.. although as with everything there are always the exception to the rules and some never have problems 

[Chook]

Just wondering if anyone has every introduced a new kitten to dogs before?

We have an Alaskan Malamute (Gomez) aged 6 and a Lurcher x weimeraner (Disney) who is 8, and now Mouse who is 12 weeks 
We thought that Mouse would have been fine with the dogs being so young (then 8 weeks) but on the first meeting he hissed at Gomez who then barked at him.

I know that cats tend to run rings round dogs, but at the moment we think Mouse is too little to, so we have them separated all the time.
We decided that the best way to get Mouse used to our dogs and be safe was to keep him in a large puppy crate in the lounge, this may sound cruel please dont shout at me  but the crate is for large dogs so is massive. He has everything he need inside; litter tray, scratch post, bed, hammock etc etc. The dogs are in the garden all day doing dog stuff, and Mouse has run of the house, at night he just sleeps so the dogs are in the lounge while he is safe in his crate!

We have made a high up shelf system for mouse (pictured in our welcome post) which he uses now but is intended as a nice dog free retreat when he is bigger.

So Gomez always wants to say hello to Mouse and walks up to the cage and Mouse hisses, claws and growls, and then Gomez barks and runs away.
But if Gomez is lying next to the cage (all the time  ) Mouse will quite happily eat his dinner, wash, poop, play, so I presume its all Cattitude.

So we are now wondering where to go next?
Do we let them all just get on with it and sort out the pecking order?
Wait until Mouse is neutered (sept 1)?
Obviously we will not make any more introductions without being in control. We did speak our vets, who we have a very good relationship with when we were considering getting Mouse and the general concensus from him and the othe 1000 people i asked was that it will all be fine once they are all settled. I am sure they will knowing my dogs, but I just need to know the best way to introduce them properly.

I hope none of you take exception to my actions, I jsut wanted Mouse to be safe and I wouldnt have got him if I thought he was at risk 

Clare x