A Kitten Moves In With Dogs - Carole Wilbourn
Carole Wilbourn, The Cat Therapist, has been the leading voice in feline therapy for over 5 decades. She has helped thousands of cat moms and dads explore, face, and resolve cat behavioral and health issues. Carole is truly the most trusted Cat Therapist in the United States.
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17 Jun A Kitten Moves In With Dogs

Posted at 15:20h in Blog by

Introduction of a New Kitten to your Dogs — THE WILBOURN WAY

Alida and Sieglinde’s dogdom now a residence for a rescued kitten

Alida and Sieglinde are full grown dogs who have been the sole animal companions in this Los Angeles house for several years. But as of a few days ago, there’s a new kitten in residence. Besey is his name. The dogs have never lived with a kitten or cat before, and Edna, their guardian, wants to make sure there’s a peaceful transition. Diana, her housemate, rescued this kitten so whereas Edna will continue to be the dogs’ primary person, Besey will have Diana.

Besey is too small and fragile to hang out with the dogs

Preliminaries To Creating A Compatible Catmosphere

  • I sent a link of calming, engaging music that they could play that would trigger mellow feelings between the dogs and kitten.
  • The dogs should listen to the meows and cries of a cat/kitten on YouTube, and the kitten should listen to the sound of a barking dog. If the dogs aren’t barkers Edna can stroke and praise the dogs, while Diana does the same for the kitten to create a positive association with the sounds.
  • Continue to keep them separate for another two or three days.

Blurred Boundaries

  • The dogs should receive all of their attention from Edna. If Diana interacts with them, she should mention the kitten by name so the kitten feels acknowledged. If Edna interacts with the kitten, she should mention her dogs e.g. “Hey guys, I’m feeding or visiting the kitten so you don’t have to do it.” It’s a high priority that they know whom their primary person is. If the boundaries become blurred, they could feel rejected, and become resentful and/or offensive.
  • As it’s important to have visual contact, if possible set up an expandable gate or gates that stretch from the bottom to the top of the doorway. This will provide continuous visual but not physical contact. But if the door has glass see-through panels, the gates won’t be necessary.
  • if there is a gate, it should extend from bottom to top of door frame.  it may be necessary to stack the gates.

The gate

Introduction Day

  • Select a high feeding place for the kitten’s food to prevent a territorial tug-of-war.
  • Provide a high comfy perch, so the kitten can reign supreme at will.
  • Place her litter box where the dogs aren’t able to be litter bugs.
  • Dog-proof her toys in a basket on a high perch. The dogs might be able to snare a toy now and again, but you want to prevent total destruction.
  • Edna should escort the dogs in on a tight leash — while Diana and the kitten are in another room. After the dogs are settled, Diana and the kitten can enter. They could hang out for however long they all feel comfortable. This session should be repeated at least twice a day. Otherwise the kitten should remain behind the gate/s to avoid any accident. Especially since the dogs are big, a playful leap from one of the dogs could be a catastrophe to the kitten.

Beautiful Besey

Avoid Transitional Stress

  • Whenever Edna speaks to or touches the kitten, she must include the dogs verbally so they feel included. This is vital even if they can’t see or hear Edna, and the same applies when Diana interacts with the dogs —  she must acknowledge the kitten verbally. Avoid jealousy! Think of these announcements as a bridge to happy interactions.

Alida

  • The dogs and kitten should not be allowed to freely mingle until the kitten is of a size where it can’t be physically harmed by the dogs.
  • They could check with their veterinarian if they have any questions. Let’s treat this new chapter as an adventure — a day at a time.

 

Adventure for Dogs