new kitten+our 2 dogs dont get on. any advice

deemy

Hi there. today we got a kitten. A neighbour found it on thursday on the road. Asked everyone around but nobody seems to have seen any new litters around with 4/5months. We think he/she is around 4/6weeks. It was prob abandoned we think. So nobody wanted her so the neighbour was going to take her to home where she might have been put down so we said we would take her. We had talked about getting a cat but had decided on 2 (from the same litter)as they would have been kept more so outside rather that the total house pets the 2 dogs we have are. She is way 2 small 2 be left on her own especially in the shed.
Anyhow problem is that dogs and kitten are not getting on. I know its early days but if anyone has been in the same situation a bit of advice would be very greatfull.
Its the older of our 2 dogs that seems to have the biggest problem(she is a stray herself) There have been a few scraps thruout the day and shes a dog who normally sleeps most of the day but has sat staring at her when not exchanging spits and paws. Our younger dog would have prob been fine only now everytime he walks by the kitten she spits and hisses at him.
So if anyone has any info that hepled their felines and canines bond I would be eternaly grateful.
thanks
ps any info on feeding ect would be great too.
plus think she may have flees. but have to wait till morning till i get to vet shop. please tell me they dont transfer to humans

Sharpshooter

First of all you're kitten should not be left in the shed.
Bring it indoors where there is plenty of heat as it will be missing the heat from the rest of the litter not to mention
the regular feed from her mother.Buy some kitten milk
from your local supermarket and if you have to buy a little feeding bottle if the kitten is not lapping yet.
Most of all keep it safe and warm and fed, and maybe
give your vet a call and take it from there.
Good on you for taking the little bundle into your care.:)
Also,do you have a box from a recent purchase ,you know big enough to keep the kitten away from the dog's? they do need time to get to know each other before they can ever live along side each other.
lt will all come together for you , good luck and again Well Done You.

BlackCat2008

If your dogs have a special teddy or toy they curl up with (not chew or fling around) start to call the kittie by the same name as you would refer to the toy as and see if they take to kittie that way.Don't let them see you give kittie anything they would precieve as a treat ie. ham from the fridge or their toys. Show the dogs that they are still getting the same attention they always did and don't leave kittie alone with them until you are sure she is big enough to fend them of if they go to bite her.If she'll let you give her a bath and let her dry off, then take your dogs blanks(unwashed) from their beds and rub her down in them maybe even leave her to sleep on it for a few nights some times it can be the sent of an outsider that sets the dogs of not the Kittie it's self.

I would suggest your first port of call be to the vet and have kittie checked out. They usually sell formula for hand rearing and won't do her any harm to be put on it even if she doesn't need to be hand reared. Some tuna or fish (nothing with bones) three times a week will help her joints and coat but no more than that as some canned fish can contain alot of salt. You can try her on whiskers milk or lactose free or soya milk. You can get samples of food from the most vets to try her on aswell. But try to get her to drink cool boiled water. Keep an eye out even after she has seen the vet for temperatures as young animals are alway susceptible to infection and might not show up until after she has seen the vet.

The flea's might bite you but will move on as they don't like human blood, front line spray is the only flea spray I am aware of that can be used on young animals and don't forget to spray the dogs as well.

Hope this has helped good luck and I'm sure with time tell get on fine.

MsFifers

For a kitten that small, I think you should just keep it seperated from the dogs in different rooms for now. Get is a little bed (like a box with a towel or old cushion inside) and place it somewhere raised from the ground. The kitten will need to feel it has a safe place to sleep where it won't be at risk from the dogs.

The kitten should be brought to a vet and treated for worms, fleas and other parasites asap. Some parasites can be transfered to humans and to your other pets, and if she has fleas you may need to de-flea your house.

Also - I'd go and get some good quality kitten food from the vet or a pet shop. I gave mine Hill Science Plan kitten food and it gave them a great shine to their coats. The kitten is probably a bit traumatised and stressed so any extra nutrients it can get the better. Otherwise you may end up paying more in vet fees if it gets sick.

When the pets have all got used to the scent of each other in the house, you can re-introduce them to each other slowly and under supervision. They'll probably learn to tolerate each other in time.

BTW- I wouldn't recommend washing your kitten unless it is dirty. It'll just make it really cold and stress it out more! Also - it'll hate you forever! :-)

deemy

Thanks for all the advice guys. I like the idea of rubbing her with the dogs bed if that would work. we had a little basket so put an old towel in it and she slept in the downstairs loo with door shut as the dogs sleep in utilty next to it. there was no drama last night and she was in flying form this morning. As for drink we left some water but she has not drunk a lot. just back from town and forgot the cat milk but we have soya so ill try that. I bought the whiskers kitten pouches. She had 1 last nite and horsed it down. I also bought some of the kitten nuts but tbh I think they are way too hard for her. I even soaked some in water and I couldn't break them with my fingers. Maybe in another few weeks.
As for the flees. Didnt get to se the vet and prob wont till weekend but the shop adjacent gave me some stronghold for the flees and they said that should do trick. im just worried about dogs picking up anything.
So thanks for all advice. Hopefully they will all get on eventually.
by the way anyone have any ideas for a name. Read the previous thread about names but she not suited to any of them. Shes more a scrapy. Very feisty and almost all black with white socks and a white stripearound her whiskers and running down under her chin

Lauragoesmad

Hi deemy,
I found a 4 week old kitten about 2 and a half years ago and had two dogs of my own who hated cats!
One thing I will say is don't try and make the cat smell like the dogs. This will just confuse them all.
I got my dogs to accept the cat by feeding them treats while the kitten sat on my lap. This makes the dogs ascociate the kitten with good things happening. Now don't get disheartened if this doesn't work straight away. It took about three weeks in total as one of my dogs was so stubborn about it. Any sign of aggression towards the kitten has to be corrected straight away. Also make sure you feed the dogs before the kitten. This reinforced the idea in my dogs heads that they were more important and kept their noses a little less out of joint. Make sure the dogs see the kitten getting her food after them.
Your kitten might be a little too young to start this with though it is much better to start asap.
If you walk into a room, always acknowledge the dogs first. (They love this!:D)
It takes a lot of time with dogs who are not used to cats but they are brilliant at adapting and I'm so glad we got our cat now as we lost one of our dogs this year and I think having the cat here has helped our dog to move on loads! She even wags her tail when the cat comes into the room now and the odd time they might even have a nap together! Its like the twilight zone compared to when we got her first!!
I have a photo of them asleep together that was taken a couple of months ago. I'll try and put it up.

Alfasudcrazy

My dobies have an uneasy relationship with my cats too but things have improved a lot in the last year.

The older cat finally got the message that's its the chase they love so she just sits there now staring at the dogs and they get bored waiting for her to run and they just walk away. Now they don't bother her at all unless they feel jealous she is grabbing too much attention from me or might compete with them for treats etc.

My younger cat still runs from them so I suppose its going to take her some time to learn that that is the wrong thing to do.

No simple solution im afraid - its just may take some time for them to get used to each other. In my case that means almost a year.

As regards fleas - a simple flea collar is the answer. I was nervous of putting a collar of the cat but it was the only way to get rid of them. All other flea treatments failed but I have not seen one flea on her since I got the flea collar. They usually last about three or four months and then have to be replaced.

deemy

hi all. just an update. Last night the older of our dogs (who would have been the stray and most likely to chase) went nose to nose with kitten and then walked away but still stared all night at her from a distance. progress i'd say. our other dog is half afraid of her i think. he's a big wooss anyhow :eek:
have been feeding her separatly without dogs seeing and the dogs have been getting extra attention and i think this wil do the trick.
As for flees I think stonghold worked as she hasn't scratched once today. And shes using the litter tray yeppie
No name yet
Thanks for all advice.