Introducing a new kitten to the dog?

[Marne]

We have a very friendly Staff bitch, we have had her 3 years. We have decided to get get a kitten (as a friend has a kitten needing a home), the kitten is very very friendly and the reason the owner wants to get rid is because it is anoying the other cats as its continuesly rubbing against them and following them around.

We can only have this kitten if the dog is ok with it, the dog is fine with other dogs but has hardly come into contact with cats. How do i introduce them? chances are the dog will lick it to death but i'm worried that she will want to play with it (like she would another dog) and hurt it.

Any tips on making this work?

Give the dog something of the kittens he can smell first, but keep them seperate while he gets used to the smell.

After a while crate the kitten and let the dog in. Monitor and go from there. Once the dog is ignoring the crated kitten let the kitten out but keep a very close eye on things.

The introduction should take days, rather than a few minutes.

Thanks Dooin, i think we are getting the kitten on thursday, was planning on getting it whilst the dd's are at school then if the dog shows any signs of aggresion towards it then i can take it back , i will let the dog sniff something of the kittens first (blanket/towel) and then introduce them whilst the cat is in the crate/box. I'm expecting the dog to be very excited (wanting to lick and play) but if she growls at it then i will have to rethink things. I havn't told the dd's that we are getting it as i don't want them to be upset if we can't keep it. Fingers crossed they will be the best of friends, the dog is female so i was hoping she might mother the kitten and not eat it .

assuming she wants to play with the kitten in my experience it usually goes

dog bounds over and tries to play

Kitten goes OMG WTF is that? Does classic halloween pose and snake hissing impression

dog backs off very confused at the small spikey noisy thing

lol

kitten gradually gets used to dog attempting to play and either joins in or ignores it aloofly till it's doing something it approves of more

I hope the cat does stand up to the dog, just hoping it doesn't run or the dog will chase.

well we introduced two cats (at seperate times) to my dog and that was pretty much how it went

he chased cats outside, but more in a - come back and play with meeeeee way, lol

I took him to a neighbour's house who had fairly easy going cats before finally deciding to get the first cat - anybody got a cat that you could visit?

She caught sight of the neighbours cat last week when i opened the front door, she couldn't get at it as there was a stair gate between them, she got very excited (wagging her tail and whimpering) but no growlling, i think she just wanted to play, she's the same with other dogs, she will run up to them (tail wagging) but then stop a foot away and just stair (sniffing the air), she then waits for the other dog to respond.

Oicked the ketten up this morning (2 hours ago), took the cat box into the dog (kept kitten in box), the dog got excited (but not too bad), cat hissed and did the halloween pose whilst trying to claw the dog , kitten is now upstairs and the dog is in the sitting room behind the stair gate, dog wants to see kitten but kitten is refussing to say hello.

Do i just leave it for a while and hope the kitten gets brave and comes down to see the dog?

Whats the dog doing? I wouldn't force the kitten to come down, but if she is still up there after a few days, try and encourage her to come down.

TBH most new kittens hide for a while. Dog or no dog. You will need to keep a very close eye on the pair of them for the foreseeable future even if the dog appears friendly.

I ahve had Devil Dog for a year now and he has always been fine with Fat Cat, but there was quite a nasty scuffle a few weeks ago between them. Things seem fine again for now, but I'm keeping them seperate when I am not here, just to be sure.

The dogs just whining a little and a little unsettled (keeps looking through the gate for the cat).