Why is the kitten fine with the dog one minute and not the next?

[chloe16]

When I first brought this kitten home over a week ago he would hiss, spit and swat at my dog. Now, my dog will walk by him and he will be totally fine then suddenly puff up at the dog. Sometimes they go nose to nose with no issues sometimes the kitten spits and swats at him for no reason for being nose to nose. Whats up with this does this mean he is adjusting? Is there anything I can do besides declawing to keep him from possibly hitting my dog in the eye with his nails? None of my other cats are declawed but they dont use their nails....this one does and I am worried about my dogs' eyes.

 

[fhicat]

 
Is there anything I can do besides declawing to keep him from possibly hitting my dog in the eye with his nails? 

I hope you're not serious.

 

[mani]

It makes absolute sense for a little kitten to swat dogs, claws or no claws.. It's their defense mechanism. Dogs normally learn to keep away from a swiping cat...  And these are very early days.  They'll sort themselves out over time.

It's usually a good idea to go through an introduction process: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

This article is more from a 'protecting the kitten' point of view, but it does indicate that a slow process is a good one.. It gives both cat and dog time to get used to each other.

It's important to note that this site is anti-declawing.  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/why-cats-should-not-be-declawed

Keeping your kitten's claws trimmed is a good idea, and the sooner the better.

Cats and dogs find their comfort zones.  They could well end up being mates!

 

 

[writingislove]

Like Mani said, dogs catch on to the whole "claws" thing and if Kitten keeps swatting, Dog is going to steer clear.  In the meantime, if you're super concerned you could try cat nail caps.  He'll still be able to use his claws, but they aren't going to do any damage.  You can get a 3-6 month supply at the pet store for about $15.

 

[chloe16]

Yes, I am being serious. I need to protect my dogs eyes and he was the first animal in this house. None of my other cats use their nails at all and never swat at him. I already know about declawing and I will try nail caps first. The kitten is fine one minute, not the next and I dont get why one minute they are nose to nose then the next hes hissing and swatting. Ive done the introduction process it was sped up a bit because I could not stand listening to the kitten screaming while being locked up in the bathroom during the night and was getting complaints from upstairs. Like I said, one minute the kitten is fine the next hes not. People delaw cats daily, do I agree with it? No...but sometimes it needs to be done

 

[MoochNNoodles]

It's still early in the process.  I would go with trimming the kittens claws and consider the nail caps.  Does the kitten have somewhere he can go to if he is scared?  Such as the top of the couch or a cat tree?  I wouldn't be overly concerned unless the kitten is latching onto your dog or something like that.  In which case I would say to take the introductions back a step to supervised only.  

As a reminder to everyone:

While TCS is anti-declawing and we will encourage everyone to seek more humane options; be polite.  It's in the rules.

 

[chloe16]

The kitten has tons of places to hide. 2 tall cat climbers, under the couch, on the fridge, behind the baby gate where the litter is, under my bed and in the little hut I made for them

 

[mani]

How old is he? He sounds like a pretty brave little guy.

Does he get in with your other cats?

 

[chloe16]

He is almost 12 weeks old. He gets along fine with the other cats though I notice he plays really rough with the other kitten. But sometimes the adults play rough to. He will occasionally run from the dog and hide

 

[mani]

Sounds like he's finding his way pretty well, if a little enthusiastically!

Normally if they do any damage it's the nose that cops it.  If you trim his claws he's unlikely to do much damage.  And those caps work really well.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.