the truth about cats and dogs...or at least, some advice?

[abg73]

We brought a new kitten home today. Her name is "Ming-Ming". (Ming-Ming Agatha VonDolcimer in full.)
She is the tiniest, sweetest thing you have ever seen. Actually, probably too young to be away from her mother just yet.
We have a dog too - a six year old black lab. Very well mannered and good natured but I am wondering how to go about letting them get acquainted...?
I want them to be friends but our dog is a bit overly enthusiastic.
Anyone have any experience with this who would like to share some suggestions?

[Claire]

We have a dog too - a six year old black lab. Very well mannered and good natured but I am wondering how to go about letting them get acquainted...?
I want them to be friends but our dog is a bit overly enthusiastic.


Isn't it fun? Since my daughter has been working at the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, she's brought home kittens over the years to be fostered until old enough to be adopted. We had so much fun with them and ended up keeping them because, well, they became family.
We also had quite a few dogs in the household during those times and it was interesting to see the interactions. The dogs were always curious and had their individual ways of dealing with the spiky little furrballs. I would strongly caution against letting your Lab have free reign around the kitten for quite a while. They are just too rambunctious and the kittens are fragile. I would engage the dog to watch and be amused at the antics while holding her back and lavishing her with praise. I would team up with the dog like the kitten is the outsider and you are just tickled pink to have a goofball to watch. Be careful of the proximity. Kittens spit and spazz and a dog can snap really fast. Try not to let the dog think that it is being limited by the new addition to the household. When things are quiet and the kitten is sleeping in your lap, say, you can invite the dog to schmooze, too, all of you being calm and cozy and sharing scents together. you might let the dog sleep with the blankie the kitty had.
All my experience over the years shows that the dogs and cats can become great friends.
It's also helpful to use flower essences to help smooth over weird family adjustments or the trauma to the kitty of losing her mama too soon. A bit of rescue remedy in the waterbowl or wiped on her fur might help her. I don't have my books with me, so I cannot recommend individual flower remedies.
One more thing, it seems like most of the cat toys out there involve feathers. What a lousy idea. Ours love the little balls that have a little bell in them or even just a pingpong ball.
And for anyone who might be interested, the shelters are loaded with cats and kittens this time of year and the County website gives photos of the newest arrivals. cute, cute.

[Nancylynna]

In my experience, cats and dogs get along much better than cats and cats.

We have a dog too - a six year old black lab. Very well mannered and good natured but I am wondering how to go about letting them get acquainted...?
I want them to be friends but our dog is a bit overly enthusiastic.


Isn't it fun? Since my daughter has been working at the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, she's brought home kittens over the years to be fostered until old enough to be adopted. We had so much fun with them and ended up keeping them because, well, they became family.
We also had quite a few dogs in the household during those times and it was interesting to see the interactions. The dogs were always curious and had their individual ways of dealing with the spiky little furrballs. I would strongly caution against letting your Lab have free reign around the kitten for quite a while. They are just too rambunctious and the kittens are fragile. I would engage the dog to watch and be amused at the antics while holding her back and lavishing her with praise. I would team up with the dog like the kitten is the outsider and you are just tickled pink to have a goofball to watch. Be careful of the proximity. Kittens spit and spazz and a dog can snap really fast. Try not to let the dog think that it is being limited by the new addition to the household. When things are quiet and the kitten is sleeping in your lap, say, you can invite the dog to schmooze, too, all of you being calm and cozy and sharing scents together. you might let the dog sleep with the blankie the kitty had.
All my experience over the years shows that the dogs and cats can become great friends.
It's also helpful to use flower essences to help smooth over weird family adjustments or the trauma to the kitty of losing her mama too soon. A bit of rescue remedy in the waterbowl or wiped on her fur might help her. I don't have my books with me, so I cannot recommend individual flower remedies.
One more thing, it seems like most of the cat toys out there involve feathers. What a lousy idea. Ours love the little balls that have a little bell in them or even just a pingpong ball.
And for anyone who might be interested, the shelters are loaded with cats and kittens this time of year and the County website gives photos of the newest arrivals. cute, cute.

[abg73]

Thank you so much for the helpful information!
So far, so good. We have kept the dog and kitty separate except for times when we can sit with them together. The kitten is very very little and yes, much too fragile to be left unsupervised with the dog, but completely fearless and totally enamored by this huge, black, clumsy, overly enthusiastic canine!
I am concerned because we have kept kitty inside mostly and so the dog has been staying outside, which he resents. And when I talk or play with the cat he whines incessantly at the door. It is only to be expected that he has a kind of older sibling complex -- he and I have been close as a girl and a dog can be for six years without any other animal trying to share my attention. I have been trying to set aside time especially for just him and I and lavishing extra affection on him, making sure he still knows he's "top dog".
The ball toys for the kitten sound like a good idea...she has absolutely no interest in the little feather toys we bought her!
One more question maybe you could advise me on? Although kitty is eating solid food quite heartily now, she is still rooting around and trying to nurse. We have a blanket for her and she really enjoys "nursing" on that. I think its because she was taken away from her mom too soon and that its harmless to let her do it for awhile, if it is comforting (she has not been at our house for a week yet.) My roommate disagrees. She says we should put a stop to it now or else she will develop a habit of it as an adult.
What do you think??

[Claire]

Well, first of all, all our cats love to paw and knead their blankets Even our big studly male loves his woollie blanket and de-stresses himself that way. We've had to move a couple of times recently which was very hard on him, but he just paws at his bedding while purring, then settles down. I found a big mohair blanket at a thriftshop and cut it up for the cats so they would paw that and not other things. They love it and only do it to their blankets. If all our cats do that, it must be important to them, and not all of them lost their mamas too early.
As to the dog being left out, that is tricky, as you said. There is a Bach Flower essence for new family additions and sibling rivalry situations, I'm pretty sure. (Maybe separation anxiety in the mix?)
Could your dog be in a tie-down at times while the kitten is loose? You'd still have to keep the kitten from jumping on the dog's head or something, but there would be less separation anxiety. If there's any way to include the dog as in a normal situation, I would try to. It's hard not to show utter delight at the cute stuff the kitten is doing.
Animals understand so much, I would show your Lab a mental picture of how fragile the kittie is and try to bring out the maternal instincts to protect her. We used to have a Lab/ Golden cross that would show us any orphaned bird or baby rabbit or any tiny mammal in the yard, all in this kind of concerned Nanny mode. It was very sweet. That's what we're looking for here, right? Any signs of that should be reinforced very positively.
Good luck and keep us all posted.

Thank you so much for the helpful information!
So far, so good. We have kept the dog and kitty separate except for times when we can sit with them together. The kitten is very very little and yes, much too fragile to be left unsupervised with the dog, but completely fearless and totally enamored by this huge, black, clumsy, overly enthusiastic canine!
I am concerned because we have kept kitty inside mostly and so the dog has been staying outside, which he resents. And when I talk or play with the cat he whines incessantly at the door. It is only to be expected that he has a kind of older sibling complex -- he and I have been close as a girl and a dog can be for six years without any other animal trying to share my attention. I have been trying to set aside time especially for just him and I and lavishing extra affection on him, making sure he still knows he's "top dog".
The ball toys for the kitten sound like a good idea...she has absolutely no interest in the little feather toys we bought her!
One more question maybe you could advise me on? Although kitty is eating solid food quite heartily now, she is still rooting around and trying to nurse. We have a blanket for her and she really enjoys "nursing" on that. I think its because she was taken away from her mom too soon and that its harmless to let her do it for awhile, if it is comforting (she has not been at our house for a week yet.) My roommate disagrees. She says we should put a stop to it now or else she will develop a habit of it as an adult.
What do you think??