Don't really know where to post this but i will put it in this section unless moderators think otherwise. So mum wants to get a kitten : ??? :-\ hmmm, barley and kitten does not sound like a good combination, especially is the house wants to stay upright. Puzzle will be fine, one hiss from the kitten and she will climbing up the nearest human as quick as possible. Any tips or ideas on how to get barley used to the new family member would be very grateful. Mum has always been a cat person, dad has been a dog person, same as me, so we got dogs but now mum wants to get a kitten. I am not totally against the idea as i am sure that with enough effort and training barley would get used to a kitten but it is just dependant on how long it will take as he can be very stubborn. And there is the issue of when, it could be as soon as next week ??? ??? ??? as mum has already found a gorgeous kitten that is used to dogs, she has yet to contact the owners to see if it is still available, but then it might be months away from now so yeah very helpful
Re: Kitten Does Barley have any tendencies to chase small furry animals? The key thing will be preventing the dogs from chasing till they realise that the kitten is part of the family. I've never introduced a cat and dog so I'm not much help But I would expect that the kitten won't necessarily automatically see all dogs as ok. It's used to the dogs it has around at the moment but not your dogs, so it might be a bit taken aback by them at first. Still, having had dog exposure is a very good start and I'm sure that will help
Re: Kitten I haven't done this either but I have read it's important to always make sure the cat/kitten has an escape route from the dogs.... Good luck!!
Re: Kitten Sorry, no experience here Annabelle. OH does not like cats and would not have one darken the homestead. Only experience we had was a visit to a friend's house. Lilly wanted to play - cat was decidedly NOT up for that and scarpered upstairs. On the plus side for Lilly, she scoffed all the cat food, and the owner topped up the cat dish saying, I think your dog is hungry, I'll just fill up the dish. Sometimes I think cat owners and dog owners come from different planets ;D Good luck Grumpy might surprise you
Re: Kitten I guess your mum is absolutely set on a kitten, rather than an older cat? Cats Protection (and other rescue centres) often have older cats who are wise to dogs, and more able to get out of the way quickly This time last year we were happily planning to get our new puppy, then ended up taking on my late mother-in-law's 2 elderly cats also a month before the pup arrived! It was pretty interesting at times, but now they've settled well, although the cats definitely have the upper hand and will chase the dog out if the kitchen (their primary domain) if she gets too cheeky!
Re: Kitten mum would prefer a kitten as it would not be set in its ways and she believes that the dogs would accept a kitten more than an older cat. The problems would come when the cat wants to get out of the way quickly as then barley would chase and all hell would break loose, with a kitten mum hopes to get it used to the dogs and dogs used to it so that it does not flea when it sees them and grows to like them, like barley has with puzzle, he is very tolerant of her nibbling his ears and pestering him to play all the time. And yes she has looked on rescue sites already but has not found any sutible kittens in our area and she has been looking every night just incase the right kitten comes along, and she is specific about what kitten she wants, she will not have a black one or black and white every other colour would be accepted.
Re: Kitten Ah well, good luck anyway! Just to add, I've found the best thing is when the cat stands its ground, which is why we've done OK with the older cats. Basically if the cat runs, even the mildest most cooperative dog will be tempted (and if I understand rightly, Barley is neither mild nor completely cooperative!) The other thing might be to look at the more static, house-cat kinds of breeds who will just lounge on the sofa rather than a sporty british shorthair who will sit on the garden fence laughing at the dogs! I think though, as with most such things, the dynamic will resolve itself with time either way. And you might be able to get the kitten snuggling up to one or the other of the dogs- how cute would that be?? ;D
Re: Kitten Two dog and two cat household here, they all get along but the cats definitely have the upper paw. To introduce a kitten you need to make sure that the kitten has an escape route, especially to somewhere high. So, I would go for a baby gate on the stairs so kitty can nip off upstairs unmolested and hopefully also a high level cat climbing and activity centre somewhere. Kittens are very fussy about eating and drinking - many will not drink or eat out of a bowl with dog slobber in it, and they hate having food and water bowls next to each other. They will also train to a litter tray easier if the litter tray is in a different room from the food and water. When introducing the kitten, a good suggestion is to let the kitten in with the dogs only when you can create a positive association. In other words, whenever kitty is in the room you reward the dogs with games and food for calm behaviour around kitty, and build an association that kitten in room = good fun for dogs. Hope this helps and good luck!
Re: Kitten I have rescued several kittens from France over the years and re homed them in Germany. They stayed in our house for a couple of weeks, until i had homes for them, and the dogs, while not wild about them, tolerated them. And as a teenager I rescued three kittens who had been abandoned in the woods and brought them home to our three non-cat-friendly dogs. In all cases, the dogs accepted them; I think because they saw them as babies. But obviously you need to be careful though.
