Introducing kittens (but not mom) to cat

zookeeper

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For those that may not have seen my other thread, I brought home a cat that I found out is 7 months old, and right now is about 1.5 weeks away from having 2-3 kittens. I already have a 9 month old puppy (small Bichon about 10 lbs) and a small 9-10 week old kitten. They both get along great, and our puppy loves cats.

I have been reading a lot about how to introduce different pets, and yet, even feeding our puppy outside the bathroom door gets the pregnant cat very angry and upset. My girlfriend and I have decided that, rather than trying to get her to a point where she can tolerate our puppy, we want to keep one of her kittens instead so that it will be more used to dogs when it's born and will not try attacking our puppy. We want to try and have another cat that can be good buddies with our dog, like our current kitten, rather than have one that just avoids him and tolerates him (which seems like the best scenario with this cat we could hope for).
What is the best way, if there is any good way, to socialize the kittens with our kitten and puppy without the mom being around?
Is there a certain age where it becomes okay to take them from the mother and try putting them with our puppy?
Is there a chance that if we take the kittens from the mother occasionally and try holding them around our other pets and introducing them to each other that the mother could then reject them based on them having a slight scent of our other pets on them?
Is it more common to wait until the kittens can be apart from the mother permanently to introduce to other pets?

I have read everything about how to socialize pets but I've seen nothing on how to try to socialize kittens with another kitten and puppy without the mother being there (since this cat wants nothing to do with our puppy who is the most friendly dog I've ever seen around other animals, cats or dogs).
 

penthilisea

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What exactly are you planning to do to mama since she doesn't get along with your puppy?

I have some concerns based on your post. In regards to cats and dogs living in peace, it depends on the cat and the dog. SOme cats will NEVER tolerate dogs, others (like my feline aggresive canine adoring fat cat) will befriend them at any stage of life.

Some tips to facilitate cat-dog love:
Make sure everyone has their own space and food and water. Don't make them compete for attention. Don't encourage your puppy if they get too rambunctious in the house- simply bring them outside to play. Don't force a puppy and a kitten (or dog and cat) near to each other. A cat can scratch a dog's eye and blind it, and a dog can EASILY kill a cat or kitten if they bite the skull (Sadly happened to me with an older dog who had dementia. Had been around cats and kittens since birth).

Best of luck!
 
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zookeeper

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Originally Posted by penthilisea

What exactly are you planning to do to mama since she doesn't get along with your puppy?

I have some concerns based on your post. In regards to cats and dogs living in peace, it depends on the cat and the dog. SOme cats will NEVER tolerate dogs, others (like my feline aggresive canine adoring fat cat) will befriend them at any stage of life.

Some tips to facilitate cat-dog love:
Make sure everyone has their own space and food and water. Don't make them compete for attention. Don't encourage your puppy if they get too rambunctious in the house- simply bring them outside to play. Don't force a puppy and a kitten (or dog and cat) near to each other. A cat can scratch a dog's eye and blind it, and a dog can EASILY kill a cat or kitten if they bite the skull (Sadly happened to me with an older dog who had dementia. Had been around cats and kittens since birth).

Best of luck!
When I took this new cat to the vet, it was so friendly that everyone there said they'd have no problem finding a home for it if we couldn't keep it or the kittens. It really loves people, but it is extremely upset when our puppy is on the other side of the door near her. So we will be finding a good home for the mother and the kittens, but we may keep one kitten.
I feel bad that we can't keep them all, but I feel like I still did a good thing by bringing the pregnant cat home, and taking it to the vet to make sure it is healthy, and I'll obviously be taking good care of it until I can find it a home after the kittens are old enough to be away from her.

I'm not sure what part of my post made you concerned. I know some cats will never tolerate dogs, but I am very confident that if these kittens are born in our home, they will like our dog after some time. If not, that's fine, as long as they don't try attacking him like this cat is trying to do. But we'll just find a new home for every kitten if that's the case. I'm just looking for suggestions on how/when to try introducing them to each other once they are born.
I've read so much conflicting information, some saying that until cats are done growing, they shouldn't be allowed near a dog because the dog could hurt it. But our dog us 10 lbs, and loves our cat. She is almost 2 lbs and she holds her own against him and chases him around when they play, and she actually plays more rough than he does. So I don't think that advice works for our situation, since our dog is so small and so well-behaved and loving of other animals. He was very well socialized at the breeder's house he came from, and grew up around about 10 other dogs, plus 6 cats.

I guess our situation is unique and most people probably have never tried socializing a young kitten with their dog, but our dog is so small and has been around cats since he was born, he really isn't a threat to them (although we do always supervise things when he is out of his crate and playing with our kitten).
Is there a way to safely take the kittens from her mother when they are getting close to the age where they can permanently be away from her, without worrying about the mother rejecting them if the scent of our puppy or kitten get on these new kittens? That is my main concern.
 

brennok

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One thing that sometimes happens is the cat completely calms down after birthing the kittens. My mom had a stray that wasn't found of her dogs that ended up being pregnant when the cat adopted my mom. After birthing three kittens she loved the dogs so much so the dogs would get tired of her rubbing on them, and they would have to get up to walk away only to have the cat follow.

This obviously doesn't always happen, but things may settle down once the cat delivers.

It may not have been the correct way but we always brought the dogs in the room with the kittens when the mother wasn't in there. One of the three now chases and pounces on my brother's dog every time he brings it home to my mother's house when he is in town.
 

beckiboo

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I foster, and I keep my foster Mom's in a separate room away from my other cats and dog until the kittens are 6 weeks and can have their first shots. At that age, they are still young enough to learn to get along with the dog just fine.

Be careful of the Mom cat...she may attack your dog due to fear for her kittens. Just be sure to keep them separate. I had one foster go off on my dog, but at 70-ish pounds, no damage was done. Just do your best to let Momma have her space, and train puppy to stay away from that room.

I think the babies will tame to the other animals in the house easily once they are old enough to separate from Mom. Plus, a kitten will take its cues from the older cats in the home. If they think the dog is fine, so will the kitten.
 
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