Question about little stray

sweetrain1215

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Hi guys, I posted a bit about this kitty in another thread but figured this would be a good place to ask a few more questions. While feeding my neighbors very pregnant cat about a month ago (they don't take very good care of her and we are still feeding her plenty now that she is nursing the babies) another little stray showed up. This cat was VERY skittish, but after sitting very patiently with her for hours and days on end we can now pet her and she just loves it..my husband can even place her in his lap now and she'll stay for a couple of minutes. Here's the thing, we've decided to bring her into our home to be part of the family. We have three dogs..all medium to large, a male cat and a ferret...a house FULL! I know we'll have to get her to the vet before brining her inside to be checked and all of that...my question is..

What's the best way to gently integrate her into the house with all of the other pets. She's skittish enough as is. Our rescues here are filled and some don't even take cats and others put them down in like 5 days. She's already bonded with us and I just can't see having her put in some cage where she may never recover from the experience. I already love this little girl and so do my husband and children. The husband took some time to feel this way but now that he does we are all relieved!

We live in a pretty small home and I'm really concerned about the little stray being afraid when she comes into all the...well the chaos of five other pets.

Any advice would be great!
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by SweetRain1215

Hi guys, I posted a bit about this kitty in another thread but figured this would be a good place to ask a few more questions. While feeding my neighbors very pregnant cat about a month ago (they don't take very good care of her and we are still feeding her plenty now that she is nursing the babies) another little stray showed up. This cat was VERY skittish, but after sitting very patiently with her for hours and days on end we can now pet her and she just loves it..my husband can even place her in his lap now and she'll stay for a couple of minutes. Here's the thing, we've decided to bring her into our home to be part of the family. We have three dogs..all medium to large, a male cat and a ferret...a house FULL! I know we'll have to get her to the vet before brining her inside to be checked and all of that...my question is..

What's the best way to gently integrate her into the house with all of the other pets. She's skittish enough as is. Our rescues here are filled and some don't even take cats and others put them down in like 5 days. She's already bonded with us and I just can't see having her put in some cage where she may never recover from the experience. I already love this little girl and so do my husband and children. The husband took some time to feel this way but now that he does we are all relieved!

We live in a pretty small home and I'm really concerned about the little stray being afraid when she comes into all the...well the chaos of five other pets.

Any advice would be great!
Before you consider integrating her with your other animals...you need to have her vet checked and if not already, she needs to be spayed. Diseases such as FELV and FIV (although rare) are things that you need to have her checked for ahead of time.

As to your neighbor....please talk to her about getting her cat fixed. During this time, there are so many kittens that are seeking homes and every fixed cat means more from the shelter can find homes. She is also subject to pyometra (which can be fatal to cats) and cancers the longer that she goes unspayed.

Katie
 
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sweetrain1215

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Thank you for your response. As I said in my post..I understand that we have to get her to the vet to have her checked out..for her well being as well as the well being of the animals inside of our home.

What I'm wondering is..what's the best way to start introducing her to our household? I'm not too worried about my two oldest dogs..but our lab/mix is only about a year and he's overly interested in cats as is...high prey drive in this dog. He was raised with my cat and has never tried to harm him, however when he sees the strays on the porch he pounces on the door trying to get to them..not in an aggressive way, but he's VERY excited about them and I worry that he'll scare the stray female out of her wits. We've taught the lab the "leave it" command...but I'm just worried she won't respond well.
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by SweetRain1215

Thank you for your response. As I said in my post..I understand that we have to get her to the vet to have her checked out..for her well being as well as the well being of the animals inside of our home.

What I'm wondering is..what's the best way to start introducing her to our household? I'm not too worried about my two oldest dogs..but our lab/mix is only about a year and he's overly interested in cats as is...high prey drive in this dog. He was raised with my cat and has never tried to harm him, however when he sees the strays on the porch he pounces on the door trying to get to them..not in an aggressive way, but he's VERY excited about them and I worry that he'll scare the stray female out of her wits. We've taught the lab the "leave it" command...but I'm just worried she won't respond well.
Best thing is for the first week or so, give her her own room...that way, your dogs can smell her and she can smell them...but they can't get to her and she is protected from them. If you want to allow her to explore your place....make sure all the doors are closed. The first time she "explores"...take all the dogs outside. Let her explore without any dogs around. Next day, let her explore..then bring 1 dog in on a leash. See her response to that dog....it may take a few days of being shown to the one dog before you then want to again, introduce her to the next dog. I would really recommend saving the Lab for last. Hold the leash at the collar so he cannot get excited and chase after her...again, the point is to familiarize her with your dogs..not the other way around.

Katie
 
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sweetrain1215

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Okay...sounds like a plan. Thank you for the advice! All of the dogs have seen her several times through the glass doors and they all come over and sniff my hands like mad when I come in from petting her, so they are getting her scent a bit. I understand that it will be a totally different story actually having her inside.

Here's hoping all goes well!
 

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I do second Katies great advices.
One more point. When you let them meet face to face first time, let the dog lie down. Most important with the eager Lab. Command him to lie down!
If necessary, you can exercise it with him with the help of your homecats.
You do have some time, as you will begin the acquitance-process with the benign old dogs.

Also, The key is often to let the dog be lowest in the ladder... So, be nice to him so he wont need be jelaous, but he should know she is above him.


EDIT.
PS. If the new cat seems to be very anxious or unsure, you can always try with a Feliway diffuser. Cant hurt but may be the difference.
It shouldnt be necessary, but good to know there is an extra line of defence if need be!
 

linda_of_pgff

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Originally Posted by StefanZ

PS. If the new cat seems to be very anxious or unsure, you can always try with a Feliway diffuser. Cant hurt but may be the difference.
It shouldnt be necessary, but good to know there is an extra line of defence if need be!
Stefan, Katie,

It occurred to me that maybe the dogs might benefit too, from the canine version of Feliway -- it's also called ComfortZone, I forget if it has another name as Feliway does? I was thinking, calming the dogs down AND calming the cats down, might be a good option in this case too.

One point I would emphasize is, with the Lab, because he is very excitable about cats, DO NOT leave him alone with the new cat until you are VERY certain that they can handle themselves and survive (and be aware that this might mean, never leave them alone together). I think you could safely crate the Lab, for periods, to give the new cat time to relax. You should also consider obedience training with your Lab if you haven't ever done that. Obedience training is great fun for you and for your dog, and I think generally that Labs really NEED some structure and work to do as part of the family! (At least, that's what my granddogs tell me! <G>).

Cats usually are more attuned to danger from other animals, than we are. So if the cat isn't relaxing around the dog, I think you should take that seriously. And work out some way that they can be part of your family, but in separate spaces.

Best,
Linda
 

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Don't be surprised if your new girl is terribly shy once you bring her inside. She may hide under the bed for a long while and if she choses to do that, just let her be. She may not be feral, but she's been a stray enough to be cautious of humans. And even though you have bonded with her outside, the new scents, sites and sounds of the indoors are going to throw her off base for a while.

When you are with her, get down on her level. Try to never tower over her as it will scare her. When you catch her eye, slowly blink at her - this is a greeting with cats and a way to let her know that she is an accepted member of the family. And let her acclimate to the house at her own pace, even if that takes weeks or months.

For your year old lab, reinforce basic obedience with him and let him know that you, as alpha, have adopted a new member of the family that needs to be accepted into the pack. With 3 dogs you are bordering on a pack and you can extend that pack to cats in your household.
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by linda_of_pgff

It occurred to me that maybe the dogs might benefit too, from the canine version of Feliway -- it's also called ComfortZone, I forget if it has another name as Feliway does?
The dog-feromone is called DAP - in any case in Sweden.
It is a derivative from dog-mother-hormones.


I agree also with Lindas and Momsofmany´s advices.
 

lsulover

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Originally Posted by SweetRain1215

Hi guys, I posted a bit about this kitty in another thread but figured this would be a good place to ask a few more questions. While feeding my neighbors very pregnant cat about a month ago (they don't take very good care of her and we are still feeding her plenty now that she is nursing the babies) another little stray showed up. This cat was VERY skittish, but after sitting very patiently with her for hours and days on end we can now pet her and she just loves it..my husband can even place her in his lap now and she'll stay for a couple of minutes. Here's the thing, we've decided to bring her into our home to be part of the family. We have three dogs..all medium to large, a male cat and a ferret...a house FULL! I know we'll have to get her to the vet before brining her inside to be checked and all of that...my question is..

What's the best way to gently integrate her into the house with all of the other pets. She's skittish enough as is. Our rescues here are filled and some don't even take cats and others put them down in like 5 days. She's already bonded with us and I just can't see having her put in some cage where she may never recover from the experience. I already love this little girl and so do my husband and children. The husband took some time to feel this way but now that he does we are all relieved!

We live in a pretty small home and I'm really concerned about the little stray being afraid when she comes into all the...well the chaos of five other pets.

Any advice would be great!
You are such a good person for taking care of this kitty, you have been givien some great advice.

I would take the kitty to the vet to make sure everything is all right.

Please let us know how things are doing for you and this little kitty.
 
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