? for all dog owners with kittens/cats

[Chilli]

Has Zoe been around any cats in her life? If so, how did she act?
I've never introduced a kitten to a dog, but I've introduced two dogs to two cats on different occasions.
All I can really say is never leave her alone with the kitten until you are for certain they'll get along. I still don't leave Skylar alone with any of the cats.
I don't really know how to help much, but I know others here on PT will give you better advise than me.
Good luck!

[Kfamr]

If Zoe has never been around cats before, I suggest taking her to the local Petsmart/Petco near their cat adoption area to see how she reacts. If you don't have any local, perhaps cotacting the local shelter and ask them?

[Pembroke_Corgi]

When I got Seine, she was about 4 months old, and she was a stray so I don't really know if she had been around any dogs or not before. But, my dogs had lived with a cat before, and I often take them to my mom's house (she has a large cat who hates them) so they were sort of used to it, but had never really gotten very close to either of them.

The first day we brought Seine home she was scared of every noise they made, but very soon she was beating the dogs into submission! We have a spare room where we let her be alone, and we put up a baby gate with a hole cut out so she could go in and out as she pleased but the dogs couldn't get in. I have to admit the first week was a bit stressful, wondering whether or not there would be harmony, but it worked out once the pets adjusted to one another.

My advice is to make sure you let the new addition have some space of his or her own and let them make the decision of when to explore and make friends with the other pets. Also, it might help if you chose a cat with an outgoing personality- we chose Seine for her fearless personality so she could take on Marta, who just loves to "herd" her. Whew- sorry that was so long winded, hopefully you found it somewhat helpful!

[Roxyluvsme13]

Lily was scared of Skye at first. It was funny . Lily wasnt raised near any cats, and Skye only knew Tink. Luckily in their situation they got along great, and are now the best of friends. Of course they are about the same size, too

[BitsyNaceyDog]

keeping the new cat in a crate for a day would be pretty stressful for the cat. I'd keep him (or her) in a bathroom for a day or so. Zoe will be able to sniff the new addition under the door and start to become aquatinted with the cat. The cat will be able to get to know Zoe some this way too.

I have a baby gate on my bedroom door so the cats can get away from the dogs if they want. It's usually not a big deal though, my cats and dogs often lay and sleep together. It's when the dogs are playing and roughhousing that the cats usually retreat to the bedroom.

I'd also suggest keeping the cat and Zoe separated when no one is home, at least for awhile.

Cats and dogs can be funny. Usually people worry about dogs hurting cats but it's often the cat that beats up on the dog. At Christmas we took Nacey to my in-law's house where she met my sister-in-law's cat for the first time. Nacey couldn't have cared less about the cat, but the cat hated Nacey. The cat guarded her toys and food bowl from Nacey, she even jumped on Nacey at one point when Nacey got too close to "her room".

[elizabethann]

Try separating them by a baby gate. That's what I did when I brought Fenway home to meet his new brothers, Cosmo & Maxie. I let them see eachother for about 1-2 days behind the gate. At one point I moved the cats in to where the dog was and moved the dog to where the cats were. They walked around and smelled and smelled and smelled these strange scents. Then after about 1 more day I opened the gate and they met. It was funny. Cosmo wasn't too sure about Fenway but Maxie made sure Fenway knew who wore the pants in the family.

I was actually very nervous about Maxie and wasn't sure if I would keep Fenway because my Neice once brought over her pug and Maxie freaked out (literally tried to climb the walls). It was sad to see. So I wasn't going to keep Fenway if Maxie was afraid of him.

Now Maxie beats Fenway up!

Good luck!

[DIANESDOGS]

I agree with gating idea. That way they can see and smell each other. Also it will give them time to adjust to the others presence. I also had a cat (gone now) who wasn't very fond of her brother dogs. But she certainly took care of herself. She just wasn't into all this bounding nonsense and calmly and politely (almost rolling her eyes) waited for the dogs to leave her alone. If their attempts to play with her went on too long... she would give them a hiss and jab of her paw. And they knew, party time was over.