Kitten survival!

[FleurNancy]

Last time we had kittens we were 20 years younger and both child and dog free! Our last old boy passed away on Sunday and we have a pair of kittens lined up for early June.

Does anyone have any top tips for separating kittens and dogs (esp during feeding time as one dog is mega greedy). Our house is quite an open plan design so hard to close off a room for the kittens. Thinking of a closed litter tray (greedy dog liked to snack on cat poo from our old boy's tray...). Wondering about a tall cat tower/scratching post thing so kittens can climb up from dogs if necessary?

Any other advice? Feel like such a newbie!

What kind of dog is it?

You do realise it's compulsory to post kitten pictures on here don't you?

What kind of dog do you have? I know somebody who uses a mini stair gate type thing to separate their cat stuff area from the dogs, but they are quite a small breed, a knee high fence won't do much against great big lab An actual stair gate could work with a bigger dog if you have jumpy kittens, perhaps with a chair or stool on the other side to the dog to act as a half way landing spot?

Could also consider a cat flap into the bathroom? I'm not sure cats are fans of covered trays because they feel trapped. I think you're supposed to position them so they can see if there's a threat coming (eg another car or dog) and have 2 escape routes. The cover would also need to be high enough for them to stand upright to poo as they'll go elsewhere if they don't feel comfortable.

An unused desk or table could be converted into some sort of den with some creative DIY if you have one. I built a cat tower made of platforms (could have saved myself a lot of time and effort starting with an old desk...) and all our cat bowls are up there at waist height, litter tray underneath (could be adapted with some net to keep dogs out), and scratching poles bolted in. Pop into an independent carpet shop and ask if they have any small offcuts if you go DIY, we got some scraps for free that we're destined to be recycled and managed to get a cat tower and 2 built in wardrobes out of one piece.

Cats gave me an idea, do you have space above your kitchen cabinets? Mine have a scratch post up there now they've found a way up. Some of those floating cat shelf thingys could provide kittens a route up there as a space away from the dog perhaps with a scratch post and a comfy bed.

I am dog free and also getting ready for new cats in the summer. I am spending far too long looking at pages and pages of IKEA hacks.

• floating shelves
• cat trees made out of floor to ceiling wardrobe poles
• litter trays stuffed in Stuva benches etc

We used to have an old fashioned wooden stairgate to keep DD out of the kitchen that was easy for us to open and close, but cats could easily squeeze through - would that idea give them some space from the dog?
Not ideal, but could you borrow a playpen for their bowls for a few months until the kittens get bolshy?

We had a massive fireguard/cage too and I can see that working if you were able to leave a narrow gap between it and tether it to a wall (or ideally you would have a big hearth).

How tall/big is the dog?

Good luck and looking forward to some photos .

I posted some pics on a thread a couple of weeks ago, going to see them again in a few days so will post more then.

I've ordered a cat tower with different levels and hidey holes. Our house is tricky to separate with stair gates, too open plan. Dogs are medium sized. No space above kitchen cabinets either. Playpen is a good idea actually, I had thought we might need to feed the poor cats in the dog crate we used for travelling but a playpen would be much better as kittens could come and come. One of the dogs is a very persistent beagle though so might need to bolt it to the floor (the playpen, not the dog...)!!