Another puppy-kitten conundrum

Seeing all the responses advising to stop the pup from shaking the kitten makes sense, however, how much "play" interaction btw kittens and puppies is reasonable? Our newly arrived lab-mix pup (8 wks) has two 16 wk old kittens to interact with. The big male kitty engages the pup all the time, typically lying on his back as the two of them chew on each other. We do not let the pup chase at the kittens and never see him growl while playing, however, there is some concern that the pup may hurt them (14 lbs vs. 6 lbs) just because he can bite hard. The cats are definitely way ahead mentally and agility wise, one would think they won't let the pup hurt them.
We are seperating the critters frequently, but the kittens just keep coming back for more! (The smaller female kitten does not interact w/ the pup so much.) How far should we let this "play" go?

As long as the play is supervised by an adult and it is just play it's okay. It is ideal for puppies and kittens to be raised together so they are not fearful of one another when they get older. However, that being said, the kittens should always have an escape route. And by all means, make sure the puppy cannot get near the litter box. Dogs think cat poop is a gourmet treat.

Originally Posted by Neely

Dogs think cat poop is a gourmet treat.

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My Jello definitely disagrees!

I'd not allow unsupervised play between them. Labs just don't realize how big they are.

But I understand your delimna too - our lab (she'll be 4 yrs old) and Ling (1 yr) play all the time. But its also 60 lbs vs. 7 lbs - Ling still teases the dog and gets her to play.

We keep an eye on them and usually tell Keno to stop the chasing in the house.

Originally Posted by scout234

Seeing all the responses advising to stop the pup from shaking the kitten makes sense, however, how much "play" interaction btw kittens and puppies is reasonable? Our newly arrived lab-mix pup (8 wks) has two 16 wk old kittens to interact with. The big male kitty engages the pup all the time, typically lying on his back as the two of them chew on each other. We do not let the pup chase at the kittens and never see him growl while playing, however, there is some concern that the pup may hurt them (14 lbs vs. 6 lbs) just because he can bite hard. The cats are definitely way ahead mentally and agility wise, one would think they won't let the pup hurt them.
We are seperating the critters frequently, but the kittens just keep coming back for more! (The smaller female kitten does not interact w/ the pup so much.) How far should we let this "play" go?

Click to expand...

All I have to say is please be careful. Kitten and my puppy Jada are best friends. They sleep together and grew up together. But when Kitten was 4 months old Kitten got hurt bad from playing with Jada. After she was hurt I taught Jada gentle and if Jada didnt calm down Jada had to go into the kitchen for time out. Now what happend. I was right there with them watching them playing. They were just laying there mouthing at each other. Kitten jumped onto Jada's head. Jada jumped up and threw her head backwards. Kitten went flying up into air and landed on her head. She was unconcious 4 hours at the vet's. After that they were able to wake her up but she kept trying to go back to sleep. So they just woke her up every 30 minutes. It took them 4 or 5 minutes each time to wake her up. She was in the hospital for a week before they let me take her home. I was so scared Kitten was going to die and swore that they would never be allowed to play together ever again. Well the second I got her home. She walks up to Jada rubbing and sniffing. They still play alot but Jada has learned that she cant be rough with the cats like she is with Buddy (other dog). After Kitten got hurt she was really clumsy and stumbling her eyes were kinda crossed for about a month. Now she still doesnt have very good coridination. But she's happy and healthy. I just wanted to let everyone know please be careful. Jada and Kitten were just being there respective animals. Kitten was acting like a typical kitten and Jada was accting like a typical puppy. You just have to keep in mind they are different in size for the most part as babies. Jada is still bigger then Kitten but Kitten can take care of herself now.

Originally Posted by Neely

As long as the play is supervised by an adult and it is just play it's okay. It is ideal for puppies and kittens to be raised together so they are not fearful of one another when they get older. However, that being said, the kittens should always have an escape route. And by all means, make sure the puppy cannot get near the litter box. Dogs think cat poop is a gourmet treat.

Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth!! Years and years ago we had a dog and a cat and the dog just LOVED the litter box! EWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Our Berner keeps trying to lay(he calls it cuddling) on our 7 weeks old kitten, 84 lbs to 1.7lbs...we have to keep reminding him to be gentile. He had to learn that with our other cat too......he is getting better with her, we just keep reminding him and if we are not home the kitten is in her room....