Adopting a kitten when already have a dog - advice please.

snollup

Hi all,

Our neighbor is moving out and has asked if we could adopt his six month kitten. We have an 18 month old collie x. The two are used to see each other and at times come within a few feet of each other. That said they are somewhat nervios and the kitten is on its guard. Archie (our collie) is fairly relaxed though. So really I am looking for some advice on if it would be ok to take the kitten on. Our neighbor is not moving for a month or so so we could gradually introduce the kitten (Jasper) to our place. He has often wandered into our house so I guess it wont be totally new to him. Would really love to give him a nice home but not at the expense of causing to much stress to either of them.

Thanks for reading.
S.

offroadannie

We adopted a stray kitten (CoCo) 4 years ago and our lab-x (Cindy) was about 3 at the time. After a couple of days of Cindy being a bit miffed that she wasn't getting all the attention, they settled in. And they absolutely love each other. They roll around the floor playing all the time and are great pals.

From the sounds of things, they are already used to each other so I think you are right; spend the next month bringing Jasper in to your house and let Archie get used to it. I think they will be fine.

They are the coolest names!

brrabus

Hi Snollup, by the sound of it, the dog and cat are already used to each other, I would guess that you will have no problem whatsoever becoming house mates however I don't really know much about collies. Cats are very independent and your dog will soon know who is boss. Some cats and dogs become such good friends that they start sleeping together, quite cute really. I have two cats but babysit some dogs regularly. Two dogs that I mind are a Yorkie and a Jack Russell (together). the dogs stay in my house with the cats and somenights I cannot move as I am surrounded by animals all fighting for my attention. The boy cat is a bit wary but always has been but he still sits next to the dogs. If the Jack Russell was younger I think that I might have problems as they love to chase but he is too old for that now.

Some info on this here.
http://www.bcrescue.org/cats.html

snollup

Thanks guys for your (really) quick replies & thanks for the link. Plan on doing a bit of reading up before we make a decision so this is a great place to start.

Pumpkinseeds

My parents had a collie x who would've been about 5 years old when a little kitten started appearing on top of the shed. It kept showing up and they wanted to keep it but were unsure about what the dogs reaction would be. One day the kitten just made a dash in the kitchen door passed the dog and stayed. Puss and dog were the best of buddies, cuddling up in front of the fire and puss used to go for the late night walk with my brother and the dog. I would say just go for it. They should work it out amongst themselves and shelters and rescues have cats and kittens coming out of their ears at the moment so rehoming the kitten might not be easy.

Tipperary animal lover

If your collie is relaxed around the kitten, he'll be fine, we had two German sheppards and a fluffy( mongrel) when puspus(kitten) turned up, the kitten was more nervous of the dogs( who didn't give a s**t) once see was used to them all was fine, puspus used to sleep in between fluffies legs at night. Fair play to you for taken him on....

Tipperary animal lover

If your collie is relaxed around the kitten, he'll be fine, we had two German sheppards and a fluffy( mongrel) when puspus(kitten) turned up, the kitten was more nervous of the dogs( who didn't give a s**t) once see was used to them all was fine, puspus used to sleep in between fluffies legs at night and succkle for of her,Fair play to you for taken him on....

mymo

If you are going to do this (I see no reason not too) I would start now.
Get some of the cats food and start feeding it one of its daily meals in your house. Make sure its away from the dog, and start making a fuss of this cat.
Build up to more time in your house and both (or more if he has more) meals are at your house.
This needs to be done before neighbours leave, otherwise too much of a shock to the poor cat. I'd keep him in as much as you can at first and make him comfy (should be hard with the cold weather coming on).
It doesn't take much for a cat to move in, hopefully the dog will be happy about it once he gets plenty of attention and walks to wear him out. Tired dog is a happy/quiet dog;)

brrabus

Been following this thread, can you please let us know how the kitty and collie are getting on. I am sure they will be best of pals before long but really interested as to how this progresses.

Markcheese

Ok sorry to say this but... You're not adopting .. You're thinking of getting a cat..

brrabus

Markcheese wrote: »

Ok sorry to say this but... You're not adopting .. You're thinking of getting a cat..

He is not even thinking of getting a cat, he is thinking of being a life long servant to the higher species.

snollup

First off, thanks so much for all your replays..

I hope to have jasper in the house for a short while tomorrow. We are going to leave Archie into day care (DTI for those who might know it), so hopefully Jasper can have a good nose about the place. As I've said, he's been in the house a good few times so reckon he'll be ok. Great idea about feeding him here though, haven't thought of that.

Will keep ye posted on how we are all getting on. Am really quite excited about it all now!

brrabus

BTW snollup, Jasper is the name of my first cat, had him for years and he was a right dote. Also Jasper is the name of the little Yorkie that I mind, I would rob him if his owner would allow it, he is so cute absolutely adore him.

Looking forward to hearing the next episode.

Markcheese

brrabus wrote: »

He is not even thinking of getting a cat, he is thinking of being a life long servant to the higher species.

Yeeaahhh ookkaay .....

snollup

Hey all,

Quick update...

Jasper arrived a little sooner then expected today. Far from ideal but no alternative. Anyway, brought Archie out for a long run while my wife got Jasper settled.

Went a shattered Archie arrived home Jasper was curled up on the window sil. They are obviously somewhat nervous of each other but aside from that so far so good! Making sure that we are giving Archie lots of attention but the way things are going they'll be best of pals before we know it! Will try to post some pics tomorrow.

Again, thank you all so much for you advice.

S.

brrabus

Ahh, so glad it is working out so far. Looking forward to seeing the pics. Congrats on the new addition to your family.