hi there, i am desperate for some advice as i have an 2 yr old Westie who was introduced to our new kitten yesterday. the kitten is only 6 weeks old so obviously hissing ect at Charlie yet charlie is determined to chase and jump all over her. will this calm down or have i made a huge mistake? other people have told me that dogs are generally good with younger cats if introduced slowly but i teach during the day and im worried that charlie may worry the kitten into a heart attack. any advice or should i think of letting the kitten go to another home???

It might work, it might not - but you can try some more things first...

On no account should they be left together unsupervised for a long long time.  If you have to go out, they should at least be shut (locked to be sure) in separate rooms of the house.

Do you have a crate for your dog?  IMO, in this situation, you need one.  If you have a crate, I would put the dog in the crate and allow the kitten to explore fully and get confidence around your dog.  I would feed the cat its meals on top of the dog crate, while the dog is inside. 

When they are introduced to each other outside of the crate, the dog must be on a lead at all times they are together at first. 

Unless a dog has been brought up with a cat, then cats are considered prey animals to them, so be very very careful....

OneTwoThree, what would you suggest for the other way around, with a new pup and a kitten of 6 months old? Bearing in mind the pup won't be used to his collar or lead, or the crate?

Thanks :D

When I introduced my 2 kittens to my 2 rescue dogs I let them sniff the box then I got them out and they had a really good sniff Lady my youngest dog is very boiserious (sp) so she was following one the kittens around  and sniffing right in her face to the point where the kitten hissed at her so that started Lady barking then my other dog joined in so we firmly said NO and put the dogs in the kitchen to cool off

We thought we were going to have major problems so when we fetched them back in they were on there leads so they could get used of the kittens walking around then the kittens got locked in the kitchen for bed

The next day we kept them in the kitchen (as they were still being litter trained ) and left the door open so the dogs could wonder in and out keeping an extra eye on Lady so she was not in there face to much

And they are 6 month old now and they get on great can leave them alone together with no probs but it was a long time before we trusted them alone together

We even have another kitten who's 3 month old and he is very naughty when the dogs walk past him he is forever pawing at there tails and the dogs walk away they are very tolerant with him luckily

The only prob I have with me oldest dog and that is when he is eating a pigs ear he snaps at them if there go near him so that kittens are kept out the way then

And when the dogs are on there they still they still try to chase other cats funny how they minds work

Sharon

For some expert advise join these forums they have helped me in the past

http://www.catforum.com/

http://catchat.org/cgi-bin/discus/discus.gsi?...

I think it's much easier to have the cat first and then introduce the puppy.  That way, the pup grows up with the cat and is less likely to see it as a prey animal.  Try to have at least 2 people there when they first meet - one person to manage the pup and another to manage the cat.  The pup might be as wary of the cat as the cat is of the pup...on the other hand some pups are so confident they will just want to play with the cat as though it were another dog - it varies a lot.

The one thing to watch out for though is to let the cat have its own space - if the cat doesn't get this, it's been known for them to leave home when dogs come along! 

One good tip, is that cats can jump higher and are much more agile and co-ordinated than puppies, so if I were you, I'd give the cat a basket or something somewhere high up, where the pup can't reach.  That way the cat can escape from the advances of an enthusiastic pup when it wants to!

Hi Onetwothree,

Thanks for the reply, we are going to put a gate at the bottom of the stairs firstly to stop the pup going up and down as he pleases, and secondly to give the cat somewhere to escape to if she needs to.

When you say 'manage the pup', is it enough just to sit on the floor with him and physically stop him, or is it best to to put him on a lead or in his crate, even though he won't be used to either by then?

Thanks again :D

Please please don't put the Westie in the crate and FEED the kitten on top of it   This could drive the poor dog nuts trying to get at the cat and the food and won't lead to harmony in the home :( :(   You could however, feed the Westie in the crate while feeding the kitten where it can see and be seen safely but not too close ;)

The best thing you can do at the moment is supervise all contact between the two.  Keep the dog on a lead and allow the kitten to be free, and get some really tasty titbits to feed both with.  They will then begin to associate each other with nice things happening.  On NO account should the Westie be allowed the opportunity to chase the kitten, this is self rewarding and you will never be able to trust him if he does this as he'll find it too much fun :(    Do let the kitten roam around the house while the Westie is crated and then switch so that the kitten is crated and the Westie can sniff around and get the scent of the kitten, while the kitten gets the scent of the dog in the crate ;)   Never allow the Westie to pester the kitten.  It takes a bit of work but before long they'll be the best of friends :)  Mine actually sleep together now, tho the cats hated the pup when he came and he wanted to kill them

Hmm, admittedly I don't have Westies, but this method has worked for us... (But obviously only if you have a solid crate, or can put a board on top of it - can't feed a cat standing on a wire crate.)

The dog doesn't seem to go mad trying to get the cat or the food - although we have given the dog a stuffed kong while the cat is eating, so perhaps that has helped.  The thing is - there are two animals here, the cat and the dog, and you have to think about the situation from each of their perspectives.  The cat/kitten will be the new animal in the house and will be the baby, so is greatest at risk from having unpleasant associations with the dog and eventually perhaps from running away as a result.  From my experiences, feeding the cat on the crate has meant that the cat has pleasant associations with the dog's presence - it means food time. 

Hi Natalie - I think this really depends on the pup, and is what I meant by every pup is different.

A lot of pups come with a little collar on already, from the breeder, so they are already used to wearing a collar.  But others don't. 

Some pups don't really react much when a lead is attached, others really panic about it. 

Some pups are pretty easy to crate train while others are a nightmare and take a while.

It also depends on what breed he is and how big he will be when you get him, compared to your cat.  If he's a chihuahua, you'll have different concerns to if he's a Rottie for eg.

When you get your pup you'll have a much better idea about what his little character is and how he might react to all of these things.  If you're worried about how he might react to the collar/lead, you could try them out in another room, without the cat being anywhere at all - perhaps put them on when you feed him, or give him some treats as you put it on.  If he doesn't seem that bothered by them, then you could think about using them for the cat introduction.  It might be a good idea to let him settle in for a day or so first, before you introduce the cat to him - but that might not be possible because of the lay-out of your house.

What you DON'T want to do is put the collar and lead on, the pup to hate this, then show him the cat, because it's likely the fear and discomfort he's experiencing from the collar and lead could be mixed in his mind with the cat, and he could end up hating or fearing that as well.

Hi Onetwothree :)

>What you DON'T want to do is put the collar and lead on, the pup to hate this, then show him the cat, because it's likely the fear and discomfort he's experiencing from the collar and lead could be mixed in his mind with the cat, and he could end up hating or fearing that as well.

This is exactly what I was worried about, but you have put my mind at rest, thank you :D

I have been thinking about how to go about the intro's for a while, and the answer was staring me in the face all the time :rolleyes: I hadn't thought about not introducing them right away, it is perfectly possible to give the pup time to get used to a lead and collar, and it would mean I could put off the intro's until my son is at school, so if anything really nasty happened he wouldn't be watching! I don't think the cat would be too bothered, she has recently let squirrels and frogs wonder around the kitchen and she hasn't battered an eye lash, but it is how the pup reacts to the cat that will be the concern, the pup is an Australian Shepherd, so there will be some chasing and herding I should expect!!! What am I letting myself in for? ;) :P

Well, thanks again, I am a lot calmer about it now :D