How to get a kitten to be our dog's best friend?
July 7, 2011 6:06 PM   Subscribe

Tips for a successful dog and kitten union?

My fiancee and I have two dogs - a 12 year old Pomeranian and a 1 year old small mutt. We want to adopt a kitten, but obviously it is very important to us that the kitten gets along well with the dogs. We also really like cats with dog personalities - playful, cuddly, vocal, etc. When we go to shelters, what is the best way to test whether the the kitten, when grown, will likely have the kind of temperament we're looking for? Are all kittens playful and bold or is that a good indication?

Our 12 year old dog previously lived in a home with a cat and they got along well - still do, on visits. Our 1 year old dog loves everyone and everything - dogs, cats, people, squirrels ... he's never lived with a cat but we think he'll love it, especially if the kitten will play with him. This is pretty important. One of the shelters we contacted already told us not to bring the dogs, though, that it would be better for the kitten to meet them on home turf. That's fine I guess, and we don't mind an adjustment period where they get used to each other, but they need to get along and play well together eventually.

What's the best way to make this happen? What should we look for? We love dogs but are new to cats!
posted by ohsnapdragon to Pets & Animals (12 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Oh, I also wanted to ask - everyone says two kittens are better than one. Would one kitten + 2 dogs work as well, or is there something particularly good about two cats?
posted by ohsnapdragon at 6:11 PM on July 7, 2011


Response by poster: P.S. Picture.
posted by ohsnapdragon at 6:29 PM on July 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


What's good about two kittens is that they play with each other and learn things like how hard they can bite and scratch without doing any serious damage while they are playing.

It's been a long time since I had a kitten, but I'd think if you were really intent on having a cat that grows up with a specific kind of personality, you might be better off getting an adult cat with a personality that's already in full bloom. The two cats I have now were adopted as kittens, and their personalities are like night and day in spite of being raised nearly simultaneously (they were born a few weeks apart).

This is strictly anecdotal, but my experience has shown orange cats to be particularly gregarious. YMMV.
posted by MegoSteve at 6:59 PM on July 7, 2011


Most kittens will do just fine if they grow up with a dog. Most kittens will play with anything, including a dog. I recommend that you test the kitten out with a shelter dog -- most shelters do that, and have a dog they know is not cat-aggressive -- so you don't get one that totally panics when it meets the dog. (Even so, your kitten will probably get along with the dog after time.)

Two kittens are always twice as fun as one.
posted by jeather at 6:59 PM on July 7, 2011


Is there a reason you're looking to adopt a kitten rather than a cat? You may want to consider that if you haven't. If you hadn't specified kitten, I would have said, adopt the most confident, peaceful cat you can. Maine Coons, Bombays and Abyssinians are among the breeds with dog-like characteristics, and are generally good-natured.

Like dogs, you will have a much better idea of who you are adopting if you adopt an adult cat. Keep in mind that shelters are stressful environments for animals and give some weight to the assessment of the people who work/volunteer.

Have your dogs been around cats before or cat-tested?
posted by vers at 7:18 PM on July 7, 2011


Ahh, you are overthinking this? Get a kitten and put them together. If the dogs get along with others as well as you say they do, then it will work out.

The more you bring your emotions into this, the more they will think something's up and will act weird.
posted by TheBones at 7:26 PM on July 7, 2011


There was definitely a range of kitten personalities at the pound. Does yours put them in playrooms? Because we could just stand outside and see which ones were bullies, food aggressive, shy, etc. We ended up picking out a kitten that came up to us when we sat down and was playful but wasn't being a brat to the other kittens in the playroom.

We had two dogs (my roommate has since moved so only one dog now) when we brought the new kitten home. Kitten was 4 months old, spent about 3 hours in the corner which we blocked off from the dogs then emerged. He hissed at the dogs for about an hour then ignored them. Two days later they were best freaking friends.

Personally, I think getting a kitten was a good idea. He was practically raised by the dogs and acts just like them.

My cat and dog now spend at least 30 minutes every evening chasing each other around the apartment, tackling each other and wrestling.

I even have proof.
posted by magnetsphere at 7:37 PM on July 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


Slow intro -- everyone in separate rooms for awhile, provide things that smell of other animals before any direct sighting, and lots of treats when everyone does see each other to bring home message other animal is great. Go SLOW and it'll all go well.
posted by bearwife at 10:42 PM on July 7, 2011


Yeah, introduce everyone slowly. Also, not to harsh your kitten-mellow - but adult cats are really hard to adopt out, so if there is a dog-friendly older kitty . . then again, there is also probably a real glut of kittens out there now, so it's all the same in a way.

As long as the dogs are gentle, you should be okay. When you are introducing the various animals, give the kitten a used dog bed to sleep on and bring something that smells like the cat out for the dogs to sleep with. Get your smell all over everything.

Oh, and be careful with dog food and cat food - teach the cat to eat somewhere that it can get but the dogs can't. Cats need taurine, which is not in dog food, and dogs do not need Vitamin A, which is in cat food . . eventually long term not-eating-the-right-thing leads to a fat dog at least, health problems at worst.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:32 AM on July 8, 2011


In this case I think a kitten is the way to go - they're not afraid of anything and have no idea that they're not "supposed" to like dogs.
posted by radioamy at 7:33 AM on July 8, 2011


Counterpoint: Most cats, adult or kitten, have no idea they're not supposed to like dogs. I had two adult cats when I brought in my two adult dogs. Greyhounds, no less. The cats have never shown any dislike or fear in the least (and barely enough caution), and they had never lived with dogs before. All four get along fine now.

Yeah, I'm for the adaptability and adoptability of adult companion animals whenever it's feasible.
posted by vers at 4:13 PM on July 8, 2011


I had two adult cats when I got a puppy. Adult cats hissed, smacked puppy, etc. The cats now tolerate the dog and the dog mostly ignores the cats. When the dog was an adult I got two kittens. The dog was fascinated from the beginning. The kittens hissed and hid for a day or so, but quickly became best buddies with the dog. The kittens even tried to nurse from her. Now that they're all adults, the dog and two younger cats play, chase and even groom each other.

The reasoning (my reasoning) behind the idea that cats come in pairs is that they'll keep each other company. I think two dogs and a cat will be fine company for each other.
posted by deborah at 5:41 PM on July 8, 2011


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