# Kitties coming home to DOG



## DevonsOhMy (Sep 23, 2010)

After a _long _wait, my 2 devon kitties are coming home next Friday. The idea _had_ been to bring home a kitty and the puppy at the same time, but the first litter of kitties was still-born.  So, instead of kitties meeting a tiny new puppy, kitties are going to meet 7-month old, 45lb DOG (ok, technically still a puppy, but a really large one!).

Just wondering if any of your cats were brought home to a resident dog, and how that went. I really, really want my 2 kitties to make friends with the dog, and vice versa, so I want to get this introduction done right. 

I've received some great advice from a dog forum I also subscribe to, but figured I'd cover my bases and see if anyone on here had experience from the cat end of things (esp those of you who own Rex cats, as I hear they're just,..well... different). My plan right now is to keep the 2 kittens (they will be 14 weeks old) in 1 room of the house with the door closed for a day or two, then replace closed door with baby gate so dog and cats can sniff through (supervised only). Then dog meets kittens with leash + owner, and go from there. There are high places in each room for kitties to jump to where dog can't follow, and I'll probably replace baby gate permanently at door of pantry with kitty litter and kitty food inside and gate raised a bit so it becomes a cat-only space.

Anyway, stories, suggestions, or experience are appreciated.


my boy Aysu (the white bi-color)









my girl Pickett 









My other girl, Lilith


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## Hitomi (Nov 15, 2010)

I wanted to say they are beautiful!And try giving the Doggie lots of treats when she sees them and is good.Btw What breed is Lilith?Some breeds of dogs just don't like cats.My Dads dog Harvey(aussie cattle dog/American bulldog) surprisingly does like cats but that's from a momma cat stealing him away and nursing him when his mom left the whelping box to eat.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Congratulations on your choice of Devons!....you're going to just love these guys to bits! I have 2 and my boy looked very similar to Aysu, almost like a Sphynx at 4 mos., and it took a year for his coat to come in. You're two are adooorable! 

It may depend on the breeding and bloodlines, but my Devons are very outgoing confident cats, and want to be involved with _every_thing. They are real lap sitters, as they love the warmth or love sitting on floor heat registers. And they are _very busy_ cats, into everything. Mine are 6 y.o. now and still kittenlike. Both of them retrieve toys....my girl likes little stuffed mousies, my boy any kinds of twist ties or pieces of wire. They don't sleep a lot either....usually awake if I'm awake but like to snuggle under the covers for late afternoon nap with me.

The only experience I had with a dog was a rescue Papillon I had for 10 days that had come from a puppy mill and had been used as a stud. Even tho I kept him on the leash inside, he thought my cats were females that needed servicing. My girl about a year at the time, attacked him repeatedly, so it just wasn't going to work out and the Papillon was returned. 

You must have control of your dog, and the gates are a good idea, tho the Devons will probably want to climb them. So when you want them to get together, don't force it, but do _keep a leash on your dog at all times_, and if he looks like he wants to go after them, get him to focus on you (clicker training is good for that).

Anyway, I'll be following your adventures with your Devons with interest. Have fun!


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## DevonsOhMy (Sep 23, 2010)

Hitomi said:


> My Dads dog Harvey(aussie cattle dog/American bulldog) surprisingly does like cats but that's from a momma cat stealing him away and nursing him when his mom left the whelping box to eat.


 
Wow. That's crazy! And sort of cool.  Lilith is a standard poodle. She's the first poodle I've owned or even been around, so I don't have a clue breed-wise what is normal... But I do know that I saw no cats at the breeders (lots of different dogs and people, but no cats), and I have no cats, and there are few to no street cats where I live,... SO...


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## Hitomi (Nov 15, 2010)

DevonsOhMy said:


> Wow. That's crazy! And sort of cool.  Lilith is a standard poodle. She's the first poodle I've owned or even been around, so I don't have a clue breed-wise what is normal... But I do know that I saw no cats at the breeders (lots of different dogs and people, but no cats), and I have no cats, and there are few to no street cats where I live,... SO...


Do you know anyone with a doggie friendly cat you could test it on?Poodles were hunting dogs at one point in time(hardly ever anymore) so I don't know.I think it might depend on the breeding,personality,and training.Harvey only chased Boo one time and stopped when I scolded him.He was still a pup then though.Aussie cattle dogs are herding dogs while American Bulldogs are all around working dogs.His genes say he shouldn't be around small animals but his personality and training say other wise.I've seen two Newfoundlands/Saint Bernards and a Saint Bernard/German Shepherd dogs cuddle with a litter of kittens.


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## Church's Mum (Jan 6, 2011)

When I got my oldest, Church, in 1997 I brought him home to my mum's year and half old Lhasa Apso. Granted he wasn't a huge dog, but Church really didn't care much. And when he grew up he started beating the crap out of Bijou (he's SUCH a bully).


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

I had my resident dog Rocky for roughly 5 years before Miu. I was a novice at the time so I didn't lock Miu up at all. Lucky for me, she is a confident cat. Although she hissed at the beginning, they somehow just started to get along. She knows her place and if Rocky 'yells' at her for being bad, she surrenders. I had my dog puppy trained early on so he knows 'leave it' command. He is the boss of the furkid family though. He largely leaves them alone but if he sees me scolding them, he comes over to lend a helping hand.

I got my second cat, Jack a year after. I put him in the bathroom for approximately 1-2 weeks so the other two had a chance to sniff and get to know him. Then after I had a see-through 'prison bar' door put in so they could actually see and play pawsies with each other. After a month, I neutered him, put him in the bigger dining room with a window and moved the same door over. He was locked in there for approximately a week or two and then he was allowed the run of the house. Rocky is totally good friends with him because he's a quiet cat. And also cuz he had a chance to get to know him first.

At first, Miu would smack Jack silly but he's a very mellow, mild cat so he didn't fight back. He also knows his place in the hierarchy too. Roughly another 2-3 weeks after that, she stopped smacking him and started to play fight him. After about week after that, he started to play fight back.

In total, it's been roughly almost 3 months since I got Jack the 2nd cat and all is well in my household in terms of their relationships. This is just my example however, your results may vary.


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

My experience with cats and dogs has all been great. All of my currents cats came into the house as kittens. My mixed breed dog LOVES kittens and is extremely gentle with them. They all grew up rubbing against her, snuggling, and sleeping with her. My French Bulldog also likes cats but had never been exposed to them until she lived with me at 2 years old. She didn't pay them any attention at all when she first came into the house. Now, she tries to play with them occasionally which they don't like but otherwise they snuggle up to her too.

I wouldn't suggest trying to test your puppy out with a friend's cat. Even if they live with dogs and get along with them... they are still cats. Most cats take some time to warm up to new dogs.

I think they'll be just fine. A little time to get used to each other and I'm sure they'll be buddies in no time. The puppy might try to pounce and chase them occasionally but I'm betting the cats will put her in her place  Plus, Poodles are incredibly smart and I'm sure she'll pick up on the behaviors you do and don't approve of with the cats pretty quickly.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

catloverami said:


> So when you want them to get together, don't force it, but do _keep a leash on your dog at all times_, and if he looks like he wants to go after them, get him to focus on you (clicker training is good for that).


I second the leash advice! This was how we introduced Apollo to my parents' two dachshunds last time we brought him over to their place. In their case it didn't work out (dachshunds are bred hunting dogs, and loooove chasing small furry things  ). I never tried anything else to get them to get along since it was just a visit, not a permanent situation, so I can't give you further advice on that, but I was glad I'd used the leashes since it prevented them from hurting Apollo when they tried to lunge at him.

Hopefully all will go smooth though! I've heard lots of successful dog-cat intro stories. I think the problem with the dachshunds was just the nature of the breed (they're both purebreds). I had no problems at all introducing my pomeranian (who also lives with the dachshunds) to either of my cats when they visited. My pomeranian just ignored them. XD The cats were afraid of him at first, but his total lack of interest in them made them curious and they started following him around. I think Apollo decided his tail was a cat toy.

I know you haven't had your dog that long yet, so it may be hard to tell, but if you can get a sense of her temperment around other non-dog animals, or cats in particular, that should help prepare you for how she might react to the cats.


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## DevonsOhMy (Sep 23, 2010)

*Home 1 week early!*

Thanks so much for all the advice and stories!

As it turns out, the import papers were finished early so kitties came home TODAY. We just arrived after a grueling 6 hour drive from the breeders (for them - for me it was that long each direction!). The kitties are decompressing in their kitty room (1 of the bathrooms, kitty-proofed, with their litter, bed, a scratch pad and a little food and water). They were seriously NOT happy about that drive - meowed nearly the entire way back. When I took food in they hissed and ran from me. 

SO,.. yeah. We'll start with the kitties accepting ME and their room first, and maybe next week sometime I'll think about allowing the dog a quick sniff... Actually makes me feel better that they will be a while even getting used to the one new room, so I have time to re-read all the advice and plot my strategy before they get bored and restless in their room. On the plus side, my pup sniffed all over the back end of their carrier (while they were in it, although they couldn't see each other), all over me, and under the bathroom door with only a mild and very calm curiosity. 

Poor tired kitties,... but SO excited that they're HOME! When they calm down I'll take and post some pics. Now I'm off to read more threads in this forum and speed up the kitty-proofing of the rest of the house (which amounts to extending the puppy-proofing upwards).


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Congratulations on your new arrivals! You must be so excited. Your trip home sounds similar to (although a bit worse than) mine with Abby. Mine was a 3-hour drive each way. Abby also cried all the way home. When we got home, I put her in her safe room and opened the door to her carrier. She stayed in her carrier and hissed at me whenever I came in. On the plus side, by the following day, she was crawling all over me and purring up a storm. Good luck!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Just curious....did you visit the breeder and spend time with the kitties, or did you pick out your kitties from photos or video?


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## DevonsOhMy (Sep 23, 2010)

catloverami said:


> Just curious....did you visit the breeder and spend time with the kitties, or did you pick out your kitties from photos or video?


 

Neither. The breeder matched the kitties to me, based upon my stated preferences (for sex, coloring, temperament). I met them for the first time when I picked them up.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Just remember not to rush anything. Some cats need a goodly amount of time to settle. Just watch their reactions and gauge how to proceed from there. And also, one step at a time. Depending on how they are, one week after may not be enough to introduce to the dog. They have to get used to a lot of things. You, the environment, maybe the food if you're changing it etc. 

For reference, Jack is still a bit wary after 3 months with me. You may be able to go faster since you got them as kittens and hence would be easier. Miu I got as a kitten and her integration was much faster. But I would say, it's taken about a year for her to finally settle in to all the dynamics of this particular house. Like the house itself, the people living in the house, the other pets in the house, meal routines etc.

But yes, congrats again! They look very beautiful and sweet!


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