Should we wait for a kitten?

Kash

My beloved cat, Loki, died a few weeks ago, aged 14.

I miss him a lot, and while I don't want a replacement cat, I am considering getting a kitten (or two!) at some point in the near future.

The last time I got a kitten, I was a student, which had its own set of challenges.

However, now I am a mum of two kids (aged 5 and 3) and the owner of two hounds, a relatively calm and cat-friendly 10 year old mixed breed, and a rambunctious year old puppy (I've just realised it's her birthday tomorrow!!).

It's the pup i'm most concerned about. I don't think she would deliberately hurt a kitten. She had been fine, if a little over eager, with my older cat. She can be trusted (as much as you trust any pup) with the kids and the chickens. But she's 35kg of muscle and has no concept of her surroundings. She tends to barrel through things. She's basically a juggernaut with a tail. I am concerned that she would simply squash a kitten!

She's not fully grown yet - we expect her to be 45kg, and as a giant breed, we've held off on neutering her until she's a bit more mature.

So my question, which I promise I'm getting to, is this: Would you bring a kitten into this environment? Or would you want until the pup is a bit more mature? Or for any other reason?

VonVix

In your situation, I'd wait til the puppy is fully mature and fully grown, 2 years of age at least.

I didn't have any kittens when my German Shepherd was a puppy, only five mature dog-savvy cats. I definitely would never have gotten a tiny kitten when he was a looney puppy, even as a teenage dog. He's nearly 3 and I'd only consider a kitten now, even then barely as he still had his wild puppy-like moments where he can be unintentionally heavy pawed through over excitement.

I wouldn't risk it, plus you're still raising a large breed puppy, never mind dealing with other baby animals and their own bad habits. Do you know what your existing cat is like with other cats? Sometimes bringing a kitten into the home can really upset a cat, as they aren't typically the most social of animals with others of their own kind.

My 2 other dogs both were raised along side a kitten when they were puppies, only difference was they weren't far off in size from one another, so that worked out great, simply for the size factor. But the cat is completely broken now, thinks he's a dog. :P

Plus keep in mind, it's a bad time of year to get a kitten, if you were to get one, wait till summer/when it's warmer.

Kash

My other cat died. I wouldn't have brought another cat into his world as he would have been very annoyed. He dealt with the introduction of a husband, dogs and kids quite well and had them well trained quite quickly

VonVix

Kash wrote: »

My other cat died. I wouldn't have brought another cat into his world as he would have been very annoyed. He dealt with the introduction of a husband, dogs and kids quite well and had them well trained quite quickly

My apologies for your loss, I need to stop using the internet when I'm tired!

twomonkeys

I agree with VonVix, I would wait until puppy is more mature before getting a kitten. Your beloved older cat was well able to look after himself when dogs were introduced, as he was older and more savvy than a kitten.
Your other option is to maybe get a slightly older cat? A year or two old? Plenty of those in shelters.