Ragdoll Cat Forums

I'm new here and have been lurking a while trying to get all my ducks in a row for bringing my new kittens home. A little background- we purchased a home a few months ago and promised my daughter a puppy and being a cat lover I did months of research and decided to get 2 ragdoll kittens. We decided on a lab puppy because all the research we did suggested they are good with other animals. We got the puppy before the kittens so that I could have help during the day watching the puppy while my kids are out of school for the summer (they are teens). The kittens were raised with a dog in their home. We brought the kittens home this week and I have the upstairs area blocked off with a baby gate for them as their "safe" area. They are doing great. One is a bit shy at first, but they are the best kittens ever! They have made nose to nose contact with the puppy through the gate and we have even introduced them to each other while we are holding the kitten and also petting the puppy. The shy kitten has hissed at the puppy but that was about it. The other kitten doesn't seem to mind the puppy at all. The problem I have is the puppy. She's big (about 32 lbs and only 14 weeks old) and I really don't want her to hurt the kittens- she wants to play with them but she's a big dopey thing and pretty clumsy. LOL I don't know if the kittens will try and swat at her if she hurts them, but I don't want to have it come to that either. Any advice?

Sorry this is a book- but I thought a little back ground might help.

*UPDATE* - just thought I'd update you as you were very helpful. The kittens were separated from the puppy for about 1 1/2- 2 weeks. At that point they started climbing the baby gate. The puppy went after the kittens several times and the kittens pretty much did nothing. One hissed 2 times total I think. We had to be really careful those first few weeks to make sure we had the animals in sight at all times. As of now, the kittens can walk past the puppy at times and she will ignore them, but other times she will chase them and want to play. We have the house set up in a way that the kittens can always run and get into a hiding spot if they need to. The kittens are much quicker than the puppy so it works. Sometimes they sleep near each other, but no cuddling yet. The puppy tries at times, but she's so big that the kittens want away from her because she's squishing them.

Go slowly and carefully supervise. Keep the time they are together carefully supervised until you are comfortable it is safe to do otherwise. After some time you will have seen the full range of interaction and you will either decide you never want them together without you or that they will be OK. However, keep in mind that feeding time for either is a higher risk time for problems with dogs, since some can be territorial about "their" food and may even believe cat food is theirs. This can change and can arise unexpectedly, particularly when an older dog has gotten cranky at times.

In general, Ragdolls love their dogs and some even seem to prefer a dog to other cats.

Thanks so much for your response. I figured we'd just have to take it slow and it may take a long time. Time I do have and I want to keep them all safe (and happy too!) We will always keep the cat food area away from the dog and we usually the dog outside to feed her, so maybe we will continue with that. Thanks for the warning.

Keeping them apart for feeding is really important like Jan says.

As they have grown up with dogs there may not be too many problems but with yours being a puppy, like you say, it's the boisterous nature of the dog that could be a problem. Generally I have found that the kittens soon learn to keep up off the floor when boisterous dogs are jumping around but you have to wait until they have worked that out before you ever risk leaving them alone in the same room. Don't forget too that the kittens could also hurt the puppy. Even when they look like they are playing together you have to be careful that the kittens don't swipe their sharp little claws near the puppy's eyes.

I'm sure with a little patience and careful monitoring it won't be long before you have the perfect family with kittens and puppy sharing beds and toys. Good luck and I hope we get to see some photos too please

We have two ragdolls under the age of 18 months...we had a boxer, just lost her two weeks ago. I know from past experience Labs are chow hounds..LOL. My boxer wasn't a foodie but she would eat cat food any chance she got.
We keep the cat food and litter box in our computer room and use a baby gate so the cats can go in and out but the dog could not. (the kind of gate, you step on a pedal and the door swings open. We actually removed a bar to make it easier for the kitties) Might be an option

Gosh I would have to say do like the above posts say. I did everything that I was NOT suppose to do. Just brought the cat home and put him down. Both my dogs looked at me like I was out of my mind . Needless to say I was lucky. Very lucky. They loved each other from the get go and are inseperable now. I am adding a kitten in a couple weeks so I wonder which way I will go now that there is another cat in the home.
Welcome to the forum! Look forward to seeing some of your fur family.

Lexi

Wow ... you must love a challenge - both my dogs were older and trained before I got my raggies and even then I decided not to get more than one at I time to prevent the hunting drive (I must say though my dogs are terrier breeds).
I would at least have waited until the puppy had basic obedience understood - now with the kittens home you'll have quite some work ahead of you.

Thank you all. The puppy has been going to weekly obedience classes since we got her and she's doing really well. She was house broken within 2 days and knows basic commands (sit, stay, down, things like that.) The problem is her energy level and she's big. She romps around when she plays and I don't want a hurt kitten. We'll just keep taking it slow day by day and hopefully before too long they will be the best of friends.

It really sounds like you are doing everything right so far. Be prepared because at some point there likely will be a little hissy fit and maybe some swats on both sides but with good supervision and common sense, you will get a good feel for when they are ready for more interaction.

Update in original post