Introducing Kittens to Family Dogs

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Ahhh bless him ... I think he will be a great protector of your little kitties.

[blackcat]

yep, he is definitely more relaxed with them now. It's all in the eyes, What a scrummy family you have

[muckyhen]

And another update:

Bear has definitely turned a corner with the kittens     He's still watching them carefully but is making no attempts whatsoever to go for them and is letting them rub him and chomp on his tail  

Just look at my good boy:







and I think I've already mentioned that Mika especially loves him  







Isn't he a tolerant old boy?    

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

 

[blackcat]

ah sweet, your bear looks just as self-conscious as my Shadow does when the cats go up and snuggle him. 

[muckyhen]

I just wanted to post a little update for you all as I'm very grateful for all of the helpful advice 

We spent a few hours with a bag of Naturemenu meaty treats which got frequently shared between the kittens and dogs and, well, you can see how it went 












And this is my collie (who I was worried about) with Mika and he was actually more worried about the kittens getting more treats than him rather than having the kittens so close. Mika actually adores Bear and spent a fair amount of time rubbing himself against Bear's cheek 






Whilst supervising Bear and Mika, Flora went off playing with Mango and, when I caught up with them, Mango had a damp back so Flora had always had her mouth in contact with him at some point. However, given that she is an American Bulldog with an incredibly strong jaw, I think that I can safely say that Flora had no intention of causing him any harm because, if she'd really wanted to, she could have given him a lot more than soggy fur!!!!!

[blackcat]

BD is right. I forgot, when I posted this morning that my old Bimbo dog was trained to kill. We introduced her to kitten through the flywire door and after a few lunges, countered by the kitten humping its back and fluffing its tail (all 6 hairs of it  ) things calmed down a bit and a week later they were fine together. The more people intervene in the process, the more problems you make.

[Borderdawn]

Hello there, and I dont think you are waffling on, just concerned.

I have 3 working Border Terriers who kill small vermin, I had up untill yesterday 5 Cats, I now have 6.  Yesterday I bought home a 16wk old  British shorthaired kitten from the same breeder as my other two BSH's.  I know my dogs, and I am sure you do too, I knew that my most sharpest keenest Terrier would think he was ace, and he did!  He offered him raggers and tennis balls! I thought (after last time) my female would be the same, creeping round the floor on her tummy, hoping she could give him a lick, I was right! I didnt know how my 7mth old pup would be, he is VERY keen on chasing stuff and I did wonder, he has never seen a kitten, nor anything smaller than him for that matter.  He was fab, loves the kitten to bits.

What I am trying to say is dont get wound up, it passes to your pets, YOU know your dogs and I am certain your judgment is the one that matters, nobody elses. 

I use a big crate for a kitten, in the lounge with a box in it so the kitten can hide and feel safe if it wants or needs to, within 15 minutes of the kitten being here, and having NEVER seen a dog before in his life, he was out and about, the cage has been put away and I wont need it again.  I do try NOT to keep on at the dogs, if they want to sniff I let them, if I think the Cat isnt comfortable, I never tell the dogs "No" I just call their names in a pleasant voice and give them a treat, that way they learn leaving the Cat alone brings rewards.  its how I do it anyway and it works for me.

Proof for you, "Rowan" arrived here at 6.45pm yesterday, this was taken at 5.00pm tonight!

[blackcat]

It depends on the dog. I would completely trust Shadow with any cat (I know the cat would win if it were a show-down) but there are some dogs of my aquaintance i would always want to be in the same room with them. As you say, Kittens can be bolshy and take on more than they can handle, and if the dog is even slightly inclined to see them as prey, then I would never leave them alone. Your mum is right, one bite and they are either gone or seriously maimed. Not worth the risk.

[Ralph's mum (angie)]

muckyhen, you know the nature of your dogs better than anybody,

and I think if you thought that any of them where in danger you wouldn't have them together, keep up the good work

[muckyhen]

I wonder whether any of you more knowledgable people might have any words of wisdom to pass on. With my older cats, they were here for a year before we brought our first dog home and so were well established.

This time around, we had 2 older cats and 2 dogs here when the kittens arrived. The kittens are incredibly bolshy and totally unphased by the dogs. Flora (14 month old American Bulldog) absolutely adores the kittens but gets very very excited by their presence and wants them to be able to play with her    Bear (12 year old collie) still seems a little "keen" to me    There have been lots of gentle introductions and supervised shared time and we are now at a point where I can pretty much let the kittens roam for a while, although Bear is put in a crate for the safety of the kittens. I'm hoping that he'll get used to seeing the kittens running around and realise that they aren't toys.

What I'd like to ask though is this: do you ever relax when cats are mixing with dogs? I mean, I know when the kittens are bigger and have been around for years then I expect to be able to chill, but I have also got my mum in my ear saying "one bite and the kittens will be dead" which I do understand but surely that goes for any cat/dog relationship? Most dogs are bigger than the cats they live with and could - should they choose to - inflict terrible damage, but they don't. I think I need to have more faith in my dogs whilst keeping a close eye on them.

Oh blimey. What a lot of waffling. I think I'm just feeling a bit wibbly and possibly just need a bit of reassurance that this will all come right in the end