# Got advice? ... want to get a kitten...



## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

I have always had cats and dogs together and they have done fine. In fact Jordan has her own cat. But I am always around to supervise when they are puppies and kittens. I still do not leave Jordan locked alone in a room with cats. I know she would never hurt one on purpose but I still don't take any chances. Thank you so much for rescuing your kitten. Can't wait to hear and see the pics (lots please!!)


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## monarchs_joy (Aug 13, 2011)

Your plan sounds good and was basically what I did when I had a resident cat and then introduced dogs (and then again when I introduced a new kitten to resident dogs). My cats/dogs have always done well. Finn was a PITA about cat chasing when he first got here, but he and the cat mostly worked it out now. You may want to make sure you keep the kittens nails trimmed regularly just in case. My biggest challenge is always dogs and the litter box/cat food. I use baby gates with a cat door in them so the cat can get in and out but the dogs can't. 

Thanks for rescuing a kitten!!!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

My 2 cats were 6yrs old when I got my first dog so they had never in their life seen a dog.
Bear, I didn't worry about that introduction, she was 6wks old and actually smaller than the cats.
With Guinness, he was an adult from the shelter so I didn't know how he would be with cats so this is what I did:
I guess I sort of was going under the assumption that Guinness needed to prove his cat safeness to me before he was trusted.
Guinness was on a leash ALL THE TIME for the first few weeks I had him. The first few days I kept him tethered to my ankle. After I was pretty sure he didn't mean the cats any harm, I still kept him on a leash, but just let it drag behind him so I could grab it if I needed to. Once I decided he was okay, I took off the leash in the house.
But, for about 3 months I kept the cats locked in my bedroom if I wasn't home.

For the litterbox, I keep it in the laundry room with a cat door cut into the door. That way cats can go in and out, but dogs can't. You will want to figure something out as no dog can resist kitty roca!


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Am planning on having a cat box for only a while, until kitty is ok outdoors. Would like to create arrangement so cat can go in and out a back window. Had forgotten that dogs like cat poop! 

Will be sure to have gates between feline and dogs whenever possible. When DD was a toddler I had three cats and I made sure they always had a safe place to go where her little hands couldn't reach them. Will do something similar again.


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

Without an adult to show the kitten the ropes of being outside, I would really worry.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

My dogs HATE cats.... both Tucker and Reece have chased ones across the street ... lol.

Yet they were perfectly fine with cuddling with our own cat. 

I think dogs know the difference when the cat is yours. 

It's nice that you want to rescue a kitty, there's so many of them!  I hope it all works out for you.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

I'm not going to preach but need to point out the life expectancy differences between indoor only and outdoor cats
Preventing Feline Behavior Problems : Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

It's like 14 yrs vs 4 yrs


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## Hunter'sMom (Sep 5, 2011)

My parents have always had indoor/outdoor cats, and they have all lived to be ~14-16. Their current "old guy" is around 12. My hound dog hates cats but with slow introductions to my parents cats, she has learned that they are off-limits. Now her relationship with the neighbor's cat is another story...


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

My guess is it depends a lot on where you live. It is statistically significant.


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## MicheleKC87 (Feb 3, 2011)

I've always had cats and dogs together. I just slowly introduced them. It shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

I know, I am thinking about adding a kitten to my family. I like cats, but dogs are my favorite  I was looking at reputable breeders for main ***** and ragdolls, but just do not think I can spend $800-900 on a cat. My husband would KILL me!!! haha!

I am even open to adopting an older one that way I know the personality of it. Good-Luck!!


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## MicheleKC87 (Feb 3, 2011)

kfayard said:


> I know, I am thinking about adding a kitten to my family. I like cats, but dogs are my favorite  I was looking at reputable breeders for main ***** and ragdolls, but just do not think I can spend $800-900 on a cat. My husband would KILL me!!! haha!
> 
> I am even open to adopting an older one that way I know the personality of it. Good-Luck!!


Most of my kitties were rescued off the street. They are so sweet! I have never paid for a cat, and I think mine are just as sweet and beautiful as any cat. But those ragdolls sure are adorable!


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

Great to see this question. I'm thinking of adopting a kitten soon too and had the same doubts... my main concern is the bitey-face games that dogs play. Austin loves that and wrestling with his doggie friends. What if he decides to try to play that game with the kitten? Do pups understand difference between them and cats?


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

My lab and kittens wrestle all of the time. There is a lot of grunting and growling from the dog but it's all in fun. He will get the kittens whole head in his mouth, but never uses any force. I thInk they do know the difference. If I can figure out how to post a video I have a really good one of Guinness & Oliver wrestling, and it's usually the cat that starts it!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

deleting message-trying video


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

I have 9 dogs and 2 ragdoll cats... and introduced both kittens slowly in a dog crate ... 
I set up the crate with a small cat box... blanket... food and water and toys for kitty and put it in a pretty main thoroughfare in my house but in a corner.. so they kitty could see the dogs and dogs could see the kitty... I would take kitty out for one on one time wiht the various dogs and when the kitty got big enough to jump or knew where the hiding places are then I let them out with the dogs when I am around to supervise but not at night or when I am not home until I know that everyone can be totally trusted. 

this has worked well for us here


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

we recently added a maine **** kitty to our home, they are very dog like!, while I have a domestic long hair (barn cat) 11 yrs of age, the MC is the only cat I would bring home now, he gets along famously with the goldens and our new rottie puppy Gemma , I have a thread on here somewhere...just search for Chaos! He is strictly indoor. Our cats can get under our lower level stairs into our crawlspace where their food and litter boxes are, the dogs cannot, so this solves the issue of catpoop snacking and eating each others food good luck in your kitty venture!!!!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Jennifer1 said:


> I'm not going to preach but need to point out the life expectancy differences between indoor only and outdoor cats
> Preventing Feline Behavior Problems : Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
> 
> It's like 14 yrs vs 4 yrs


We have an outdoor cat, he'll be 16 y.o. in Sept. We live in a semi rural area back from the road, so I'm sure that helped with his longevity.


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

Jennifer1 said:


> My lab and kittens wrestle all of the time. There is a lot of grunting and growling from the dog but it's all in fun. He will get the kittens whole head in his mouth, but never uses any force. I thInk they do know the difference. If I can figure out how to post a video I have a really good one of Guinness & Oliver wrestling, and it's usually the cat that starts it!


That's good to know. 


as far as i know, the easiest way to post a video is to upload it to YouTube and then give the link using the YouTube button on top.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks everyone--good info. I'm planning to introduce kitten to outdoors very slowly and carefully. I've done it before so have sense of what to do. We live on a very quiet street and cats door will be into the back yard. It won't be allowed out if I'm not home, until it's older and pretty savvy.


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## Nyahsmommy (Jul 23, 2011)

I would suggest getting two kittens around the same age rather than one. Kittens are very hyper and love to play in a way that is totally different than dogs. The first kitten I got I didn't need to do any intros (kittens are waaaay easier to introduce to other pets than adult cats btw) and she loved Nyah right away. As I said however she is a playful kitten and was constantly bouncing around on Nyah wanting her to play... Nyah just looked at her stupid and didn't know what to do. So we ended up getting her cage mate from the rescue two weeks later and they chase each other and kitten play all the time.

As for intros, I'd leave him/her in a seperate room for a few days until it is a bit settled in, then slowly introduce.


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## AnnaJack (May 5, 2012)

I had rescued a kitten that was only a few weeks old when my Golden, AnnaBelle was about 1. I kept the kitten in a cat carrier, except to feed it, because AnnaBelle was very curious and I was afraid she would unintentionally harm it. After a few days, I left the kitten on the floor to learn to walk and move around. AnnaBelle came running over and started to lick the kitten. From that point on, AnnaBelle had to be with the kitten at all times to clean it off and lick it's rear end to teach it to go to the bathroom. When the kitten left to go to its forever home, I had AnnaBelle in a seperate room. I left her out and she went straight to the spot where I had the cat carrier and looked sadly at me because her "baby" was not there. It was heart-breaking!
Looking back, I wish I would have kept the kitten because of the bond they had but I had already promised her to a loving family that had so badly wanted a kitten to love.


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

AnnaJack said:


> I had rescued a kitten that was only a few weeks old when my Golden, AnnaBelle was about 1. I kept the kitten in a cat carrier, except to feed it, because AnnaBelle was very curious and I was afraid she would unintentionally harm it. After a few days, I left the kitten on the floor to learn to walk and move around. AnnaBelle came running over and started to lick the kitten. From that point on, AnnaBelle had to be with the kitten at all times to clean it off and lick it's rear end to teach it to go to the bathroom. When the kitten left to go to its forever home, I had AnnaBelle in a seperate room. I left her out and she went straight to the spot where I had the cat carrier and looked sadly at me because her "baby" was not there. It was heart-breaking!
> Looking back, I wish I would have kept the kitten because of the bond they had but I had already promised her to a loving family that had so badly wanted a kitten to love.


awww... that is such a sweet story. I love how Annabelle is looking at the kitten in the 1st photo, like she's keeping an eye on her little one.


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## AnnaJack (May 5, 2012)

canine_mommy said:


> awww... that is such a sweet story. I love how Annabelle is looking at the kitten in the 1st photo, like she's keeping an eye on her little one.


It was the sweetest thing to see those 2 together! My husband and I are not particurally cat people, mainly because we are both allergic, but this kitten was so sweet! It was just so amazing to see how AnnaBelles motherly instincts kicked in even though biologically it was not hers and had never had any babies of her own. It's funny too because the kitten went to a dear friend's of mine home and she tells me all the time that Milo(the kitten) acts just like a dog. He follows her dog everywhere and does not use a litterbox. He has to go outside to use the bathroom when she takes her dog out to go.


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