introducing kitty to the pack.....

ok I have some questions..... I am on the waiting list for a ragdoll kitty.... and Hissy was nice enough to point me i nthe direction of a link on introductions....

that was kinda geared toward people wtih one dog and in it, it mentioned a wire cage.... not a dog crate and I have a couple questions.....

i am gonna number cause it helps me think.

1. Why not a dog crate.....???? I have lots of older metal dog crates..... with five retrievers, i am a member of crates anonymous.....

2. the article was geared toward introducing dog and kitty .... but I have five.... I am assuming I would introduce one at a time.... but can I "crate train" kitty as well so that when the dogs are all in the house kitty can be in his/her crate or is a quiet room upstairs with the door closed a better option for the baby...... (i think it would be better but I also have another kitty that hides upstairs and dogs are generally not allowed upstairs unattended) ..... i want to make sure I have all the contingencies covered.

3 what about introducing kitty to not only five retrievers but to other kitty..... i am probably going to need to add another litter box upstairs ..... hmmmmmm

what other insights can you all give me......

S

ummm....... perhaps when most of the dogs are ready to be calm, you can put them in their crates, then let kitten smell and look around? Kittens are very curious then when kitten is comfortable with dogs in crates, switch them and before you get your kitten, designate a crate and train your retrievers to not touch it, that way, when kitten is used to dogs in crates, you can put kitten in it's crate without closing the door and let dogs sniff.

I have also a firm member of the crate club. It protects the puppy, as well as helps with training, and gives the adult dog a safe den to call their own. I have 2 Old English Sheepdogs, and I am a moderator on a sheepdog forum that gives great advice.
After the kitten has been introduced to the uprights and home. I think you should have the dogs in the crate to let the kitten come and investigate, and hopefully with the dogs safely behind the crate, the kitten will feel more comfortable.
After the kitten has a chance to get comfortable with her surroundings, then let one dog at a time out. Let your most gentle dogs out first. We have an area called the "settle rug", that if the dogs get to excited or we have company we give the command "settle" and they have to go to their space on their rug and stay calm.
If your dogs are anything like mine, they will want to give the kitten a good wet tounge bath. Ours are used to it now.
I would have the kittens litter box and food upstairs since the dogs are not allowed up stairs. It will give the kitty a safe haven, but you want to make sure you are making the attempt everyday to socialize the dogs and kitten, so that it does feel comfortable, and doesn't make the upstairs its' permanent residence.
I have always let our kitties meet for the first time under the door, so they can get used to each others smells, and let introduction be slow. A lot of owners can't wait to see their pets bond and rush into it. We also put something like baby powder to make the cat/kittens smell the same. If that goes well, tuna juice rubbed on a little area of the cats to make them want to clean each other. If the kitten gets stressed during any of the introduction process, don't push it, just wait for another time when stress levels are down.
Does Ken have dogs? If so, I think that does help with the transition, but it isn't neccesary.
Good luck, I am sure there are many multiple pet households that will be able to help you with this.

he doesnt have dogs but I think I have figured it out..... we arent getting kitty until may as they are not due to be born until feb. so once spring hits (here in around june) the dogs spend alot more time outside than they do now, this will give kitty a chance to get used to the house while dogs are outside vs. now where it is so cold here that hte dogs are in alot of the time. then I can introduce kitty to the dogs one at a time and have them on leash..... so I think I have it figured out .... I am going to buy a big cat tree so that kitty can get up away from dogs as well...... petedge has them on sale for 60 bucks so I will get one of those for the kitties as well... I never had one beforebecause jim wasn't exactly agile.....

so it will work I am just a worry wart.
s