Kittens And The Hounds

[Guest LolaNLucy]

Both of my dogs tested 'not cat friendly' when they retired. Lola has been with us for 2 1/2 yrs and Lucy has been with us for almost 2 yrs. Other then at the track they never really spent any time with a kitty.

 

So 2wks ago I found a cooler on the side of the road with 4 kittens in it. I found homes for all of them and opted to keep 1 on a trial basis. It would depend on how he got along with the dogs. When I first introduced them the dogs were muzzled and I had a spray bottle in hand. If they showed any interest in the kitten I sprayed them. It only took 1 spray each for them to get the hint. They actually leave the room when the kitten walks in and even when he takes off running across the floor they don't respond. But for everyone's safety I've kept muzzles on the dogs whenever the kitten is out of his crate.

 

I'm wondering when it's ok to start leaving muzzles off and whether I should take both muzzles off or if I should leave 1 muzzled for now while I test how the other behaves. I just want to make sure nobody gets hurt. I will always muzzle when we're not home but my dd is homeschooled and I work 2 days a week so it's rare for them to be home without somebody here.

 

Any advise on how to make this work is appreciated!

 

Thanks

Tracey

[buddibear]

The house has a grey, stand poo and a dal. My latest foster grey was a 8yo returned pet.He was cat tested several times at his 1st vetting before coming on board. We have a 23 yo Russian Blue who stays in the kitchen and eats and potties out on a screen porch. If we leave the house we never leave her in the house.Coming in from the pool, the foster grabbed the cat and ran through the house tossing her in the air .Nobody was injured,but HE lost his welcome.Violence can start up even with muzzles.

[Pepsi2004]

We always either crate the dogs or put the cats in our bedroom, even if we go into the yard - they don't show any interest in the cats - never have, but I hate tempting fate.

 

In your case, I would leave one muzzled as you see what the other will do - too easy to develop a pack reaction if they are both unmuzzled at this point.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Pepsi2004

[GeorgeofNE]

Tracey, I'd wait before I'd chance that.

 

As the kitten gets a bit older and larger, it will get WAY more obnoxious and sassy. It doesn't matter if you're home. It won't matter if you're five feet away. If either girl decides to grab that kitten, they'll get it!

 

I would alternate having them muzzled, and confining the kitten so they cannot get at it, but they can be unmuzzled.

 

George never showed the slightest interest in my cats--but I still kept him muzzled any time he was out of his crate for the first two weeks. And I mean NO interest, ever! So I felt safe discontinuing. I did keep a kitty escape route for about a month longer. Also, the cats I had at the time were adults who had lived with a dog for about 12 years for one, and his entire life for the other. No fear, no running, no romping, no "lemme see what happens if I swat that tail!"

 

By the time Mister Bigglesworth arrived, I knew George was truly cat safe. Even so, I kept the kitten in a dog crate when I wasn't home for everyone's safety and sanity!

[Guest LolaNLucy]

Thanks! My instinct was to continue as we are for now and work 1 at a time with the girls. I have part of the house set so the dogs are kept away from it and I have a crate for the kitty in that part of the house. He's put in there part of the day to give the dogs time unmuzzled.

 

I've never introduced a kitten into the house before so this is all new for me!

 

Frankie says thanks- this is where he is as I type this

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Good luck. Thats all I can say. If your hounds tested "no" with cats, then that should be your guidance. Can they change, I suppose, but I wouldnt chance it myself. I do cat testing and have had a few that tested ok, then the second time I brought them to my house (I will test hounds 2 times at different days to be sure) they changed their minds and wanted to eat them. I havent yet heard of one going the other way. JMO.

[GreytNut]

It sounds like you're doing well, but I wouldn't take the muzzles off just yet. As Susan said, the obnoxious adolescent stage is coming. I personally wouldn't try bringing a cat home if my dogs tested not cat safe, but I also know that some groups will label a dog not cat safe if it shows the slightest bit of interest just to be on the safe side (which is understandable). It might be worth putting in a call to your adoption group and asking how the dogs reacted to the test cat to gain some insight in that regard. From your description though, your dogs sound cat correctable.

 

Even once you're absolutely certain the dogs won't make a grab for the kitten, I would separate them when you're not there to immediately supervise, and always make sure there is a safe place in every room for the cat to go if he feels threatened. I do this even though my hounds tested cat safe and have lived with cats for years. You never know when someone might be having a bad day and/or when the cat might decide to push his luck just a little too far.

Edited August 23, 2010 by GreytNut

[Guest LolaNLucy]

It sounds like you're doing well, but I wouldn't take the muzzles off just yet. As Susan said, the obnoxious adolescent stage is coming. I personally wouldn't try bringing a cat home if my dogs tested not cat safe, but I also know that some groups will label a dog not cat safe if it shows the slightest bit of interest just to be on the safe side (which is understandable). It might be worth putting in a call to your adoption group and asking how the dogs reacted to the test cat to gain some insight in that regard. From your description though, your dogs sound cat correctable.

 

Even once you're absolutely certain the dogs won't make a grab for the kitten, I would separate them when you're not there to immediately supervise, and always make sure there is a safe place in every room for the cat to go if he feels threatened. I do this even though my hounds tested cat safe and have lived with cats for years. You never know when someone might be having a bad day and/or when the cat might decide to push his luck just a little too far.

 

 

So far so good still. Both dogs are still muzzled when Frankie is out and we don't let Frankie loose when we go out. We've gone 2 full weeks and the only incident we've had was actually a good thing. Lucy was muzzled and asleep in her bed yesterday. Frankie walked over to her and started to swat at her face and muzzle. Lucy growled but never even lifted her head up. It was definitely a warning to back off which he did.

 

Lola completely ignores the kitten and likes to lay in my bedroom which is a kitten free zone.

 

3 weeks ago I would have said I would never bring a cat home since my dogs weren't cat friendly. I didn't intend to keep him and I do have a back home lined up in case this doesn't work out with the dogs. The original plan was to do a trial run and see how the dogs reacted. I honestly expected they would try to eat the kitten but that hasn't been the case. So for now we take it 1 day at a time. I praise the girls for ignoring him and keep a spray bottle close at hand.

 

Thanks for the advise.