We are about to get kittens - Got any advice?
@RawBill1 (8531)
Gold Coast, Australia
March 10, 2010 3:12am CST
Hi everyone. Any cat owners out there?
We have been promised some kittens as soon as they are 8 weeks old. My wife and kids are very excited about getting them. We are getting two female kittens and my kids have already named them. My wife has decided to make a cat tree which is one of those pole and platform things with toys and stuff hanging off it for them to play with. 
We have never owned cats before, so we are in the dark a little about what is required. Got any advice?
The biggest problem that I see is not from the cats, but from our four year old dog who has never had to share our attention with any other pets before. I think that she will not handle the situation very well! 
Has anyone ever introduced kittens into a house with a dog before? Any advice will be greatly appreciated! 
We have never owned cats before, so we are in the dark a little about what is required. Got any advice?
The biggest problem that I see is not from the cats, but from our four year old dog who has never had to share our attention with any other pets before. I think that she will not handle the situation very well!
Has anyone ever introduced kittens into a house with a dog before? Any advice will be greatly appreciated! 2 people like this
7 responses
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Mar 10
I, too, have always owned cats. It may help though, the fact that you are acquiring more than one kitten...and they are related. In my opinion, this helps enormously. We have had cats in the past, 2 were sisters and the other one I brought home to Mum's after I left a bloke...and they kind of tolerated one another. Then Mum made the mistake of adopting a stray tortie that wanted to be Top Cat! Fur flying everywhere. Anyway, as far as the dog goes..not too sure but, like I said, due to the fact you will have more than one cat for the dog to contend with..er, expect fireworks! Haha! We want pics, we want pics!
I take it the kittens ARE related? I do hope so!
I think the Cat Tree idea is very sweet, I like that.
Anyway, as far as the dog goes..not too sure but, like I said, due to the fact you will have more than one cat for the dog to contend with..er, expect fireworks! Haha! We want pics, we want pics!
I take it the kittens ARE related? I do hope so!
I think the Cat Tree idea is very sweet, I like that.@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
10 Mar 10
Yep, the kittens are sisters and should be fine I think as they will have each other just as they have had for the previous 2 months of their lives. I think that will make the transition easier for them.
Our dog is very possessive and gets very jealous if other animals are here. She will whine and moan for ages if the kids play with the neighbours cat in the front yard and she sees it through the fence. She even carries on like that if my wife goes out into the front yard without her.
The hard part will be inside. Our dog is allowed in the house, but not onto the carpeted areas and she knows this, but it will be hard to keep her off these areas when the cats will be on there. We will not be able to keep the cats out of these parts of the house.
I will upload some pics for sure!
Our dog is very possessive and gets very jealous if other animals are here. She will whine and moan for ages if the kids play with the neighbours cat in the front yard and she sees it through the fence. She even carries on like that if my wife goes out into the front yard without her.
The hard part will be inside. Our dog is allowed in the house, but not onto the carpeted areas and she knows this, but it will be hard to keep her off these areas when the cats will be on there. We will not be able to keep the cats out of these parts of the house.
I will upload some pics for sure!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
10 Mar 10
Good luck with them! You have your work cut out but you knew that already didn't you my friend. Awww, your doggie sounds so cute, bless her!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Mar 10
She can be cute at times, but not half as cute as these kittens...LOL. I met them earlier for the first time when they arrived. They have settled in well so far and our dog Bella is getting along well with them.
They are named Mitsy and Patches, but this could be subject to change. The kids have taken one each as their own and named them! 
@patms1 (521)
• United States
11 Mar 10
You are in for the fun time of your life. There is nothing in this world as much fun as a kitten. I have to tell you please be very careful. Kittens can get into more trouble then you would think. Opening of any kind, dryers, draws, boxes, paper bags will attract them and they will go in. This is usually funny but it can also be dangerous. For the first few weeks maybe keep then in a cat box at night so they can't hurt them self climbing and jumping. If they are going to stay in one of the kids room make sure the door is kept closed. As for training just show them the litter box and maybe put them in the box and that should be all you have to do. Again, you are in for the time of your life. Don't forget the are going to use their claws because the don't know any better at this age and they will bite. Just tell them NO in a stern voice and they will soon learn. This also goes for furniture. When they scratch you are the furniture pick them up and say NO. Make sure you have a scratching board or a cat jungle Jim for them to play on. Cats are very smart and learn quickly. make sure your children understand they are babies and must be treated gently. Please be careful walking because they can get under foot very fast. Try not to make loud noises because they are babies and get scared and will hide and may not come out. Make sure they have toys and I promise you will have a ball.
@patms1 (521)
• United States
12 Mar 10
You did not mention you had a dog. Let her get to know them a little at a time. Chances are she will decide to be a mother to them. Make sure she is treated the same as before the kittens. If she is an old dog she may not have the patient to put up with them to long. Just make sure she understand that just because they are there she is still loved and make sure nobody tells her to get away from them. Hold her when she is near the just to be on the safe side and talk to her telling her how lucky the kittens are to know her. Sounds silly but she is probably feeling threatened by them.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Mar 10
If you read the start to my discussion again, you will see that I did mention our dog. 
She got lots of attention too last night and will get walked today just like always and I think that her going out with my wife and without the kittens, will reassure her that she is still loved.
She was very good with the kittens, just kept following them around and sniffing their little butts! 
She got lots of attention too last night and will get walked today just like always and I think that her going out with my wife and without the kittens, will reassure her that she is still loved.
She was very good with the kittens, just kept following them around and sniffing their little butts! @RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Mar 10
Thanks for your advice. We just got them home and our dog seemed to be settled with them so far. She is whining a little but wagging her tail at the same time!
They are exploring the house and yes we have a scratching pole, climbing structure that my wife made out of mostly second hand materials and things that we had around the house. She has bee n busy building it all week!
We have covered the couches in some old blankets that we got for free from Freecycle and we are planning on keeping them in the bathroom at night on a bed with their litter box next to them. The couches have been scratched in the past as we got them of a relative who had cats on them, but we do not want them getting worse.
We are also putting some old carpet or blankets around the bottom of some timber stair banisters that we have. Hopefully this will not have to be on there forever.
They are exploring the house and yes we have a scratching pole, climbing structure that my wife made out of mostly second hand materials and things that we had around the house. She has bee n busy building it all week!
We have covered the couches in some old blankets that we got for free from Freecycle and we are planning on keeping them in the bathroom at night on a bed with their litter box next to them. The couches have been scratched in the past as we got them of a relative who had cats on them, but we do not want them getting worse.
We are also putting some old carpet or blankets around the bottom of some timber stair banisters that we have. Hopefully this will not have to be on there forever. 
@khaezi (1001)
• Philippines
16 Mar 10
You need to potty train them as young as possible, you should have a litter box for that. We both have dogs and cats in the house and fortunately they get along with each other. There will be adjustments for the dog-how long and hard?-well i think it depends on dog's exposure with cats before. But eventually expect that they will get used to each one in the future. Goodluck to your new pet and enjoy =)
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
16 Mar 10
Thank you Khaezi. The transition of the cats into the house has gone reasonably well. They have only had two toilet mistakes outside of their litter box in the 4 days they have been here.
The dog is getting along OK with them. I think she has realised that they are staying now and has even shared her bed with one of them. She has not earned the trust of the other one yet. The two kittens seem to have very different personalities!
The dog is getting along OK with them. I think she has realised that they are staying now and has even shared her bed with one of them. She has not earned the trust of the other one yet. The two kittens seem to have very different personalities! 
We always had cats/kittens when I was a kid but not at the same time as a dog. My husband is allergic to cats and i am mildly asthmatic if I spend much time with dogs.... we have a dog 
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
10 Mar 10
We have lots of newspaper already...LOL
Apparently they are quite good at using their kitty litter tray already, which is good.
Our friends that we stayed with at Xmas time had two kittens. The wife bought them for her husband for his birthday even though he is allergic to cats!
Apparently they are quite good at using their kitty litter tray already, which is good.
Our friends that we stayed with at Xmas time had two kittens. The wife bought them for her husband for his birthday even though he is allergic to cats! 
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
11 Mar 10
I am a cat lover, I adore them and I have two. One was a stray we adopted six years ago and she’s a beautiful natured cat although a little timid; we suspect she may have been abused before she came here but she sure is pampered now! Our other cat is a six month old kitten we bought in November after losing our 13 year old boy cat to cancer. I keep my cats strictly indoors and although we have a dog they don’t seem to mind her. The female used to sleep in the kennel with the dog which was amazing and the little one is still a little too playful for the dog but they are used to each other. The idea is to introduce them a little at the time and not straight away because the kittens have to adjust to new surroundings first. We have trained our kitten to walk on a lead and come out in the car with us; in fact we have taken him on picnics and fishing. He doesn’t always walk on the lead but he doesn’t mind wearing it. Got to start early with that one, we have no hope with our older one because she was already an adult when she came here. I bathe my cats too. I’m sure they think they are people (LOL)! Here is the link to an article I wrote a while ago about caring for cats. NOT A REFERRAL LINK:
http://reflectionsunderthebodhitree.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-make-sure-your-beloved-puss.html
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
12 Mar 10
My cat doesn't always walk because as we all know felines have a mind of their own but the lead is handy when we take him out, yes I do take the cat out, odd as it sounds, it is a good ice breaker, either that or people think I'm strange but I don't care! When my family and I lived in Italy we had a siamese that we took to France and Switzerland with us as we could drive over the border from where we lived, it was more common to see people out and about with their cats over there because a lot of folks live in apartments so the cats don't often get to go outside. Some cats do like to walk on the lead though, my siamese did! Enjoy your new furbabies!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
11 Mar 10
Wow, thanks for the great article Paula.
We are planning to keep the cats indoors as much as possible but we will probably take them outdoors on little supervised excursions into the backyard every now and then. I never wanted cats in the past as I do not like what they can do to native bird life and small marsupials. I have never heard of taking cats for walks on leads before. (Except for when I saw a tiger being led around at Dreamworld...LOL)
I will definitely look into the lead thing, we can walk the dog and the cats at the same time. That will be interesting!
We are planning to keep the cats indoors as much as possible but we will probably take them outdoors on little supervised excursions into the backyard every now and then. I never wanted cats in the past as I do not like what they can do to native bird life and small marsupials. I have never heard of taking cats for walks on leads before. (Except for when I saw a tiger being led around at Dreamworld...LOL)
I will definitely look into the lead thing, we can walk the dog and the cats at the same time. That will be interesting! 1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Mar 10
Thanks Paula, they arrived here an hour ago and seem to be settling in pretty well so far. They have been showed around the whole house by the kids and have been given a pretty good greeting by our dog. She seems more curious with them than upset that they are here!
We will see how it goes!
and have been given a pretty good greeting by our dog. She seems more curious with them than upset that they are here!
We will see how it goes! 1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
12 Mar 10
I have introduced a cat in but it largely depends on your dog. There are dogs that just will not accept a cat but I think if you handle it right, it will be ok. I would hold the cat while the dog has the chance to smell it. Be careful though..even kittens are scared of dogs.I would also watch them for a while.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Mar 10
Hi Jen, thanks for the advice. Luckily the cats were born into a house with a dog so they are used to them. They were a little cautious during their first evening with the dog last night, but they did not seem frightened by her.
They seem to be settling in well so far. Our dog just has to learn to stay away from the kitty litter tray. She kept sniffing around in it last night. She would not leave it alone.
They seem to be settling in well so far. Our dog just has to learn to stay away from the kitty litter tray. She kept sniffing around in it last night. She would not leave it alone. 
@rebelann (112877)
• El Paso, Texas
18 Sep 19
It all depends on the temperament of your dog, some will be very open to kittens some won't, I hope your's will enjoy the playful little furballs.
