Talk of a kitten

[tikeyas_mom]

I'm a little worried.. My SO wants to bring home a baby kitten soon.. His friends cat just had a litter of 6 kittens two weeks ago, and hes always wanted another cat since his lovely Misty passed away 5 years ago... I am just a little hesitant with Tikeya (in my sig) shes always been interested in chasing small animals, like squirrels, and birds, and cats in the past...

I am wondering if anyone has has a dog with a prey drive get along with their kitty eventually??

Tikeya was totally fine with my brothers cat, she never bothered him.. But he was one fo a kind, he would attack her for no reason, other then looking at him wrong.. So she knew he was dominant.... I have been doing some research online about how to properly intorduce a kitten and a senior prey driven dog... It seems that the intro can take weeks to happen, and even then it isnt completely safe to ever trust the dog with the kitten alone.. .

My SO is really keen on getting this kitten, hes already bought toys, But I am just super hesitant about it.. I warned him that she isnt the same dog around little animals, But he seriously believes that she will be fine with it because she is senior and she never ever hurt Fuzzy (brothers maine coon cat)...

The kittens still much to young to come home, they are keeping it till it is 8 weeks old.. But I was just wanting to get advise? or possibly hear some other peoples experiences with cats and dogs...


I watched cesar millan the other day and he was able to intorduce a prey driven GSD to a 6 month old cat properly, and they were totally fine together after...

So I know it is possible... But how??????? I wish Cesar would come to Canada lol

[Logan]

I don't really have any advice for you, but I would definitely make arrangements to keep them seperated until you know you can trust Tikeya with the kitten. I hope it works out. I worry about the same thing with our Bulldog, Mack, if we were to bring in another cat. We have no problems with him and our Butter, but Butter was here when Mack was a puppy, so he grew up with him. Good luck!! :) Kittens are so much fun!

[joycenalex]

princess peanut is part greyhound, has a high prey drive and lives with 4 cats, mostly sucessfully. squirty, 8# alpha can and has made peanut get off the big bed just by force of her personality and a well placed meow and paw slap a time or two. things i did, made sure that the dog can't get to the cats food and water, the litter pan is never available to the dog, so i cut a hole in the bottom of the door to the basement, so the cats have a private area for elimination or they had an escape hatch, put a baby gate across the computer room door so that the cats could make it under or over if they had to in a hurry, peanut will on occasion....exercise.... one chubby cat. the first several weeks keep a leash on the dog so you can grab the dog if needs be. and remind the dog, some cats have knives in their paws.
it may not work, and it might, if it doesn't work will your SO find the cat another home?

[k9krazee]

I don't really have any advice, but I guess I have a little bit of experience. I have 3 prey driven JRTs. Any critter outside (a cat, mouse, turtle, snake, racoon, opossum, squirrel, etc) is fair game to them, but they live with 3 indoor/outdoor cats and have learned that they are part of the family and not to be messed with. They definietely know the difference between 'their' cats that are outside and strange ones! We got them all as kittens, which I think helps.

I would definitely keep the kitten and Tikeya seperate at all times and only together when Tikeya is on a leash or maybe even a muzzle. It only takes a second for something to happen. If I wasn't sure how the dog would react I would introduce the cat in a wire kennel and reward the dog every time she looks away or ignores the cat. I wouldn't let her get too interested, smelling is fine at first, but I'd want to reinforce ignoring for the most part. Try to stay as calm as possible during the introductions. If you're nervous, she'll pick up on it. Can you bring a blanket to visit the kittens so Tikeya can be aquainted with the smell before one comes home?

Our cats their food up on a shelf that they can get to and the dogs can not. They actually spend most of their time up there away from the dogs. Like Joyce mentioned, it's a good idea to have a room that the cat can go into without the dog. We used to have a door leading to the basement with a small cat door cut out.

[Karen]

I understand your hesitation. My first dog - best dog in the whole wide world and smartest dog ever - Sheba, had a prey drive that was amazing. If it was not human or canine, and she could catch it, she'd kill it. She was a Shepherd mix, so similar in size to your girl.

I would be prepared to keep them completely separated, and if that's not possible, wouldn't get the kitten. Unless you are willing to keep Tikeya on a leash whenever she and the kitten are in the same room, and be hyper alert, the worst could happen. And it only takes a second. One shake, and it's over, I've seen it happen.

Be very, very, very careful.

[Husky_mom]

I know first hand the drive-small pet issue way too well... my husky girls have killed a few critters.... that is one main reason I don´t allow Queequeg, my pom, to interact with them.... she´s small, cat like and squeaky noise making....

I thinnk Ashlee made a point... give the cat and dog a separate room, a place where they have no interaction unless the dog, Tikeya, is leashed adn/or muzzled for the cat´s safety and go from there...

time will tell if they can be trusted together or not... each dog/cat relationship is different, but in order to try out you must have a safety place for the cat to go...

as the baby gate or the hole in door.... although I won´t trust too much a baby gate... a determined husky, senior or not, may jump or bump it off in order to get to "target"....

anyway i do hope everything goes well and if you get the kitty I´ll be expecting tons of pics!!! :D

[tikeyas_mom]

Thanks for all the advise and storys everyone.. I went out yesterday and bought Tikeya a new Choke chain, leash, and double leash for Tikeya and Ebony to go for walks on.. I am going to def bring a little blanket with me, when we go see the kitten.. I am going to get the kittens sent and then let Tikeya sniff it.. I will Def NOT let Tikeya around the kitten without a leash on, and a choker.. I know it may sound harsh to some, but I know for sure that she will have to be corrected... a couple times at least...


Wish me luck!! and expect lots of pics ;).

PS If the kitten doesn't work out, she will be rehomed... my mom and dad have been thinking about adding a kitten to their home. And both their dogs love cats... So they will have no worries.

[cyber-sibes]

I think it really depends on the dog. Karen is right, though, it only takes a second for it all to end badly for the kitten. Sibes are fast. You do hear about Siberians killing cats pretty often. (Even Tamara lost one of her house cats to her dogs)

[lute]

I can't help you any. My RB Gracie had a very high prey drive. She got several of my chickens and even my brother's kitten. I've met only one Sibe that wouldn't gladly gnaw on a little critter. I hope you can find a way to introduce her and the kitten with no accidents.

[Seravieve]

All I can offer is hope...

No positive cat & dog stories here... Zeke de-tailed J's cat a couple years back. Bit and pulled all the skin right off of Jake's tail. 1 ER Vet trip & $350 later.. a cat with a nub for a tail.

It was REALLY sad. And disgusting for that matter.

I don't know that I'd even risk it honestly, if it were me. Knowingly adding a cat to a house with a dog who has a high prey drive.. sounds like a lot of hassle and ultimately trouble. Always having to worry about keeping doors shut or whatever.. Making sure they dont see each other. I'd say get a puppy! =) But I'm a dog person so.. :D lol.

[cyber-sibes]

I've been thinking about your situation all night -
I will Def NOT let Tikeya around the kitten without a leash on, and a choker...Seriously, you might want to get a muzzle, she could have that kitten in her jaws before you even realize what just happened.

The concern here is that you already know Tikeya has a high prey drive. It's not like she is passive.

I do know people who have sibes & cats, quite a few. Most of them got the cats when the sibes were puppies. We raised Star with two cats, but Star was only 5 weeks old when we got her. I know that I would never even attempt to have a kitten with Jack around.

Should something happen, is you SO willing to accept that Tikeya is just being true to her nature? I'd hate to think he would punish her or hold it against her if something awful happens. Good luck.

[wolfsoul]

My coworker has a very high prey-drive pit bull who attacks other dogs with no warning. She has spent many months now taking her out on leash with a cage muzzle and introducing her, and has found her own ways to break through the dog's drive. I know how hard it is to reach a dog when they are in drive. I remember how badly Visa would scream and bite at me and grab my clothes if I tried to restrain her and make her calm down when we first started agility -- she would see the other dogs run, and if they were fast enough she would go into drive, and it's almost impossible to get into their head -- they don't see or hear anything but what they want to go after or what they wnt to do, and holding them back only sends them into a frenzy. I had to develop my own techniques to deal with a highly driven dog bred for the prey drive to do protection sports, and I think you can develop your own techniques for Tikeya and her prey drive to catch small prey. :)

I wouldn't use a cage muzzle with her, I would use a tight muzzle every time you introduce. I found this very helpful with my dogs when they go into drive. When dogs hear themselves screaming or barking, they tend to make themselves more excited (and I know how vocal Tikeya is LOL) and soon your voice is just a mere echo in the far off distance to them. They just go into a frenzy. The less they hear themselves, the better.

[luvofallhorses]

I would definately introduce slowly! I think dogs that have a high prey drive see that kittens especially baby baby ones are more prey than a full grown house cat.

[tikeyas_mom]

I wouldn't use a cage muzzle with her, I would use a tight muzzle every time you introduce. I found this very helpful with my dogs when they go into drive. When dogs hear themselves screaming or barking, they tend to make themselves more excited (and I know how vocal Tikeya is LOL) and soon your voice is just a mere echo in the far off distance to them. They just go into a frenzy. The less they hear themselves, the better.


Your right Tikeya is very Vocal lol.
Do you have a muzzle I can borrow haha? Visa is around the same sized face as Tikeya.

Lemme know ..

I met the kitten and its so friggen cute I hope this works out. I love it already and its not even gunna be home for 4 weeks lol