I am bringing a kitten home next week named Gadien and I'm getting it as a belated birthday gift. I have a gentle black lab, and want to know how I can safely nurture it to our dog and house.
I also had my mom suggest that I give a blanket to the breeder and have the cat sleep on it a night so she can give it back and have a scented cat blanket
Noelle
Favorite Answer
Well, what I did when I first got my kitten was I kept the kitty in his crate and let the dog sniff him. If the dog growled, I disciplined him and tried again in 5-10 minutes. Once the dog was used to the kitty, I let the cat out and held him, with my dog sitting beside me. This way, the dog and kitten got some interaction with me in control. Once that went well, I let the kitten walk around a little bit, but made sure the dog didn't get too excited and jump around. If all went well, i let them play, yet kept a close eye on them, making sure the dog didn't get too physical. That should do it. It's mostly about trusting your dog NOT to try and hurt the kitten. I have an 8 year old Golden retriever and a 2 year old Maine Coon and they get along great. The cat LOVES the dog and vice versa.
Ashley. Say NO to breeding mutts
Keep one locked up(or in another room) when the other is loose in the house until the kitten is old enough to run away from the dog if it has to. When you first bring the kitten home put the kitten in a kennel and let the dog smell it safely through the bars, if the dog growls or anything re-move the dog for a bit and try again. Make sure you have plenty of places for the kitten to jump on/hide in just in case the dog decides he doesn't like it much or thinks it's fun to chase.
SilverLynx
If you say he's gentle, he's probably gentle enough to understand the "strange new puppy". If you have a crate or cage for your dog, pop him inside and sit down beside the crate with your back to the dog, holding the kitten.
Now the kitten can sniff the dog safely, and recognize that a bark or two isn't anything to be scared of.
Remain in the room, and if you like keep your dog on a leash so you can correct him as necessary to keep him from nipping at the kitten or from barking at the kitten. You should let him sniff the kitten, though. He'll recognise the "new puppy" as part of the family unit and treat it as such.
Stay calm around your dog, and demonstrate to him that the kitten is to be respected. He'll figure it out, especially if he's gentle mannered.
Then you can let him out of the crate/cage and let him walk around (so long as he's being calm) while you hold the kitten for him to sniff and greet.
At night you should crate them separately until the kitten is big enough to say "yo, don't you think about it" if doggy wants to play "chase the kitty" in the middle of the night.
Hugo
Keep their interactions under close supervision. Any aggression by the dog must be stopped and corrected immediately. Never ever let your dog chase the new cat. The dog can never be allowed to use its mouth on the cat. Also this may suck for the dog but it just got demoted one more step on the family hierarchy ladder. The new kitten outranks the dog but dogs always have to be last in the pack. That's just the way it is. If the dog is friendly, and since the cat is so young, they ought to become great friends in time.
franciosa
regrettably it is the way cats are. some older cats make acquaintances with the recent kitten after some weeks, months or perchance some years. It relies upon on the cat. Your older cat will possibly in no way thoroughly like the recent one, yet at last she would be ready to get to the element the place she would not run away each and all the time. Sorry, i comprehend that wasn't too effective, haha. each case is distinctive.