Thanks for all being so patient with my questions...but here's another! We have a 14 month old Golden Retriever. A sweet girl but runs the house and is very active. I have had many cats that I've introduced to puppies (in the past) but not the other way around. Essentially, the kitten could get hurt by Sadie's brute (unintentional) strength (she is not aggressive just kinda big and clumsy) so of course any exchanges between the two will be closely monitored for some time. I expect once Sadie understands the expectations around the kitten she will "get" that she must be careful and my hope is that they will be terrific friends. In my research of breeders I saw many pictures of Raggies with Goldens so I know it can work! So..my question is...when I first bring home Jasper should I keep them separated for a few days? Should I separate them but let Sadie see Jasper in another room (through a gate)? I will keep Sadie on her leash (we have a gentle leader leash that goes over the muzzle) that keeps her under great control. If you have any experience here I would certainly appreciate it!
Thanks!
Hi Ruthann
If you do as you suggest and introduce them slowly with Sadie on a lead then Jasper should come to no harm. We have Lucy, a 5 year old rescue collie cross and when she arrived we only had one cat, Gracie who lived upstairs so she didn't see her. Lucy had been ill-treated as a puppy and is still very nervous but she has never tried to harm any of the cats or kittens who have arrived here over the past 3 years. I also breed so when the kittens first come downstairs at the age of 6 weeks they suddenly meet this big black monster :-). The kittens hiss and spit at her for a day or two and by the end of the week they are sitting on the arms of the chairs swatting at Lucy's tail as she walks past!! Now, Lucy is so used to cats and kittens that she lets them curl up beside her to sleep and even lets Evie steal her dinner from her bowl (not something to be recommended initially!). I would just say, make sure there is no reason for Sadie to become jealous of the new arrival as this is what will cause problems in the long run.
Good luck!!
Introduce to a resident dog in the same way as a resident kitten with the additional care and supervision you plan. Keep them apart, allowing sniffing under the door, progress to visiting the space of the other with the other absent, exchange bedding or other scented items and only then allow carefully supervised meetings.
We just did this and I think it is important to go very slow and another thing that might be helpful is to put a baby gate in between them so that they can see one another but not get to each other. Our German Shepherd and kitten actually play now. Bentley the kitten flew off the couch onto his back the other night and I thought I would never see that happen.
