Cat/Kitten experts please help

[Namechangeemergency]

Hello.
I want to get a cat after the Christmas period is safely over.
I would really like a kitten rather than an older cat.

The reason for this is that I have three small dogs and three kids still at home.
This means we are a busy, fairly noisy household albeit one that is experienced with animals.

I of course want a rescue kitten.

The first rescue I approached were very nice but are clearly not dog people and referred to my dogs as 'a pack' and expressed concern that an inexperienced kitten wouldn't cope.

My dogs are not a pack at all. They do not work in a group and are not best mates.
I am listening to the rescue. I don't want to put a kitten in danger but I have always had kittens and dogs and have never encountered an issue before.

They suggested an older cat (an adolescent) who had lived with dogs.

My biggest concern is that an older cat, once sizing up the household might just vote with their paws and bugger off before they have settled in.
A kitten is much easier to contain and introduce very slowly to different parts of the house and different residents. I would also be keeping a kitten in for a longer period. Something an older cat might find distressing.

I think my dogs would be more threatened by a large cat than they would be by a kitten. They are very small dogs, about the size of a med-large cat.

What do you lot think?

I have never had a dog injure a cat before. I find cats are much more able to size situations up and get out the way but the rescue was clearly concerned and I don't want to dismiss that

Oh Name He is gorgeous!!! Look at his ickle paws!!

Great choice of name, and what a handsome boy! He's got a lovely expression - innocent yet somehow saying 'look at me!'

Ooh, I'd love a kitten - not practical for me at the moment, but thanks for posting your lovely picture to drool over .

He came out for a little while. He wasn't tempted by the chicken I made him but by the stroking and fuss
He made a bee line for my two youngest DCs. He loves little boys.

The dogs are in the room next door. They can smell and hear through the dividing doors so they will be getting used to the idea of another creature being in the house. ZS has heard the dogs and doesn't seem worried yet.

He is back under the sofa and we are leaving him be for a little while.

As someOne who has had around 7 cats from kitten to oldies I would agree with the rescue people. We took a nine week old kitten recently with two older cats, he was timid and it has been trying, but we are experienced. Bringing him into a house with dogs would have finished him off.

An adolescent would only be six months old and better able to stand his own whilst still being perceived as a young cat.

All sounds good so far. Over the next few days, Ziggy will start to take on the dogs' smell and vice versa - apparently animals in the same house all develop a common 'house scent' in addition to their individual scents, and that will make the introductions easier when the time comes for them to see one another face-to-face.

plumbs
The rescue have just placed a kitten with me

I hope so Trusty
Because the rooms are not completely cut off its handy that they can get a whiff of each other long before they meet.

Dogs are not very interested at the moment although they must be able to tell he is in there.

Indifference at this stage is a good sign! It sounds as though you have a good balance between separating them and not isolating them in a 'sterile' way - the key is to take it very slowly and gradually, let them assimilate each other's presence in the form of noise and smell without any sudden increase in contact.

One thing you could do is exchange some of their blankets/bedding at intervals to help them get used to one anothers' scents before they meet face to face. When I first got my dog, I took some of the cats' bedding to his breeder, and brought a blanket from the pups' bed home about a week before my dog came here, and then I kept changing the bedding around while they were separated at home and meeting under supervision.

He's going to be trouble! He's adorable and I love the name (huge Bowie fan).

I wish the best for Ziggy. I thought you said in your PPs that you wouldn't consider re-homing a kitten/cat during the Christmas holidays?

I wish your baby Ginger Lord many years of happiness and care.

Not really sure why my post giving advice on 24/26 at 18:14 was deleted though? Maybe MN shall give me an explanation, to help me to understand why?

I shall quietly back away. And not get above myself, around obtaining cute kittens as presents.

24/16 @ 18:14

I thought you said in your PPs that you wouldn't consider re-homing a kitten/cat during the Christmas holidays?

No. I said I wouldn't rehome a kitten in the run up to Christmas. Christmas is over now. I am off work and able to settle the kitten and keep and eye on the dogs.
That wouldn't be possible if I was running around shopping and trying to watch over excited children. Lots of food around is a wind up for a lot of rescue dogs too.

All that is out of the way now.

Booboostwo "My dogs do not behave as a pack, dominance theory is outdated and my terrier who is a natural ratter knows the difference between rats and the cats which are members of our family."

Thanks for writing my post for me

My 6 year old JRT is great with our two cats (one of which is 3 years old and one is still a kitten - just turned 18 weeks) but heaven help any squirrels, mice or voles that he finds while he's outside!

trusty I have put two towels in his crate so I can take one out and put in in the other rooms for the dogs to smell pee on

I don't think ZS is going to want to stay in the front room for very long. He is a curious cat and quite big already. He is very sociable though so enjoys human company. That should keep him occupied for a while.

Thanks Pink it suits him. He is a lithe, handsome redhead after all

for the dogs to smell pee on

Plenty of human company sounds great - the 'house scent' includes the humans too (though I flatter myself my gentle fragrance pales before the dog and cats, I fear they may see it differently).

He is so friendly. He really loves a cuddle.
I was expecting him to be much more stand offish for a while.
He has been purring and face rubbing. Sooo sweet.

I think he is going to be quite a big cat. He is already longer than average.

Did you tell the rescue you had a cat but lost them? Didn't trouble to find them even though they turned out to be living quite close by for a year before you learnt what had happened?

I wouldn't place a cat with you.

And don't rely on a stairgate to keep your kitten safe. It will keep the dogs on one side but any cat worth its salt can clear a stairgate.

Congrats on the new arrival Namechange

We got our last kitten at ~10 weeks old. He was utterly terrified of the dogs on first sight, and yet now, 2 months later, having kept the introductions slow and controlled, he is fine (but wary) around them and they are basically not very interested in him. The Jack Russell is more interactive with him than our older dog (collie-x), but only to the extent of trying to sniff his bum occasionally, as the kitten wanders past, and getting a swipe across the snout (with no retaliation on his part) for his impudence

I still wouldn't leave them all with free roam of the house and go off out somewhere, but it's no longer necessary to watch them constantly.

He sounds absolutely adorable! If he's large for his age, it's likely he was the largest, or at least one of the largest, of his litter, which (assuming no bad experiences intervene) usually leads to a confident, outgoing personality as an adult - a great match for a lively, busy household.

I think you can be assured that the rescue knew what they were doing in matching you - a cat that seeks attention and stimulation can easily become bored in a quiet household and resort to destructive behaviour such as excessive scratching. It sounds like he'll be as big a 'character' as his namesake!

The Jack Russell is more interactive with him than our older dog (collie-x), but only to the extent of trying to sniff his bum occasionally

My Cavalier sometimes follows one of my cats (the more docile one) round, nose-to-tail, after the cat has been on the litter tray - the cat doesn't even seem to notice his temporary greatest fan!

Totally agree NL, but I expect this post will get deleted for no apparent reason.

Animals are NOT to be confused with cute toys until they become bothersome. Who then wander off because they're not looked after properly, or neutered, and owner cba to search for them because, well, they can get a replacement for free! Yay! Vaccines/insurance need to be factored into the equation and budgeted for way in advance of obtaining a being that one is responsible for. IMO of course.

RubbishMantra Are you seriously implying that the OP (an ex-vet-nurse) won't bother with vaccinations, or consider the importance of pet insurance...?

And how do you claim to know that she didn't look extensively for her (responsibly microchipped) stolen cat??

Here are my three on the sofa together.

Have you seen Op's qualifications, lazy?

My cats have been through some tough times with me. They have stayed with me. I don't understand why a person who chipped their cat (free or a tenner) cba looking for them, especially as their cat was abiding in the same street.

Anyway, I'm out because my fellow Litter-Mates are usually kind people, who put their cats' welfare above their own wants and needs. And I don't recognise any of the GFs that seem to be wafting about.