Picking up a kitten from the breeder in a couple of weeks.....has anyone had experience of introducing 12 week old kitten to a houseful of dogs????
My biggest worry is the deerhound which lives indoors permanently..........the others tend to either be in the lodges or in the "dogroom" (and no self respecting kitten would want to go in there!!)
I thought putting kitten ina crate in the sitting room & supervising her with deerhound would be a good start, but anyone's ideas would be welcomed. We have lots of ferral cats here on the farm which you occassionally get glimpses of, but the hounds never really meet them. I did have a big old house cat 4 years ago so the older girls will understand "cat" to a certain degree.

I think a cage would be sensible Sam. It is slightly harder introducing a kitten to a house full of 'hunting' dogs We used a big cage for our then 6 week old kitten and this allowed the dogs to see and smell the baby without actually pointing and then pegging him! We used a big cage for two reasons. The first so that the kitten had plenty of room to move around and the dogs could get used to something tiny darting around.Secondly because we use small cages for 'pointing' practice, and we didn't want them to think that the cat was 'game'. I also discouraged the dogs from pointing him. The kitten was never left unsupervised with the dogs out of the cage, until he was big enough to look after himself. I found that in the house Alf is safe with all of my dogs (bar one). Indoors they are scared of him, but outside he is fair game, so we still have to be careful.
What are you getting?

Leigh

Thanks Leigh, yes it was the same with my old cat a few years ago:indoors he would get on the furniture & give the hounds a thwak on the nose, they respected him & all was ok, until they spotted him outdoors......then he would run for his 9 lives!!!!!!!!!
I am getting an oriental (cinnammon) which is a breed I always yearned for but somehow ended up with 2 burmese last time! She is bred by a friend with a whwt, and the whwt lies on her back & lets the litter of kittens jump about on her tummy!!!!!!!!! i can't see that happening with the hounds somehow!!!

You lucky thing!! I can understand that type of 'yearning' :D I had a seal point siamese and he was the most amazing creature that I have ever met. He ruled the dogs with stealth. I would dearly love another. When you get some photo's, I would be very interested to have a look.

Leigh

We recently got a 12 week bengal kitten and had the pleasure! of introducing her to my serial cat chasing staffordshire bull terrier. We introduced them very slowly, with the cat in her box to start with, just so the dog could have a good sniff, and then we would separate them, so the dog didn't get too stressed. You have to be sure to pet each in turn to transfer smells from one to the other so they associate it, instead of thinking a stranger has come into the house! After a day or two of this, we put the dog on the lead and let the kitten wander around - this was a bit hairy as she kept walking straight up to cleo, who i have to admit, did go for her on one occassion. This took a good while, but we found we could relax the leash and cleo would ignore the kitten. After a couple of weeks everything was fine, except the kitten (kuga) thought it very funny to attack anything that moved, and cleo was petrified of her, she didn't want to be in the same room alone!!
Now everything is fine, they play at chasing each other around the house and garden, and when they're done they sleep curled up together - very christmas cardy!
It helps that the cat is a bengal, who think they're dogs anyway.
Good luck, and if you have any advice on how to stop our cat digging up worms and bringing them into the house to play with, it would be greatly appreciated!

well so far so good.....its been 10 days now & its still alive!!!:D

Kitten took on the deerhound who lives indoors and won! Deerhound went all broody & carries said kitten about gently in her mouth, yet will aptly kill a rabbit/fox/hare with one swift bite.....funny things deerhounds.

She met the BT who took no notice whatsoever, then today started to meet the 'outside' hounds, who all seem terrified of her! She also met the parrot by climbing on top of his aviary & trying to swat him. He promptly bit her paws & she spent the afternoon on the window ledge giving hin the evil oriental eye!!!
Ho hum, hope she survives another 10 days. Any one got any hints for kitten trying to pee behind the TV?

10 days .....you are doing well :D My cats always use the litter tray so can't help I'm afraid. Don't forget my picture, I'm dying to see her. What did you call her?

9 times out of 10 she uses the tray but I think sometimes its too far to run back into the kitchen!!!
The little oriental angel (I jest!!!) is called "Henna" as she is a rich red brown, technically known as Havanna!
By the way, she caught her 1st mouse yesterday...only 14 weeks old, not bad going!

Hi Sam,

I've just seen this thread, and am hoping you can point me in the right direction. I've been hunting everywhere for a Havana kitten, and ringing The Havana & Oriental Lilac Cat Club kitten registrar every couple of months, but so far no joy. I've got a Korat kitten booked, and if all goes well it will be born at the beginning of April. Ideally I'd like to get the (so far non-exsistant) havana around the same time as the korat. Your friend doesn't happen to be expecting another litter ..............?

I have to get some cats soon because the dogs are still in mourning for the old moggies that passed away 18 and 6 months ago. Jed used to sleep on top of Piranha deerhound, Mel under Megan wolfhound's chin. The older hounds seem to feel deprived without their purring hot water bottles and when Lewis arrived the first thing he did was to search all the kitchen units, because his breeders' cat lives in a deluxe cupboard complete with cat-flap. Poor Lewis looked most disappointed when he only found saucepans!

Sharon

Wow, can there really be someone else out there stupid enough to try & mix small fragile kittens with a deerhound family!!!!!?????
Henna was the only havanna in the litter & I know Julie isn't planning any more kittens as she is due to whelp herself in the summer!!!
However, I will ask her if she knows of any as she has her finger on the pulse in the world of havanna's. Why not have a look in OUR CATS? They are often advertised in there, or breeders listed at least. Good luck!

Hi Sam,

Sorry to be so long in replying. I somehow missed the notification e-mail.

Yes, I'm that daft

Thanks for asking Julie if she knows of any kittens. Living out in the sticks, Our Cats isn't something you find in the newsagent, but I'll put it on order. I hadn't done it earlier because I'm scared that I'll get hooked on traipsing around the country with small furry things as well as with great big hairy things - but I found myself ordering a book on showing & breeding cats last week, so its probably too late.

PS I hope Julie isn't really going to whelp herself - it sounds painful :D

I'd say just be thankful she's not peeing *on* the telly <G>

Fran

The kitten saga still continues! All my hounds & terriers have great respect, & kiten totally ignores them.no interest atall. Today, Ma visited with her border terrier boy, and the kitten turned into a lethal weapon.....there was no escape, wherever bt went, kitten pounced on him from chairs, sofas, cupbvoards, he ended up a shivering wreck on Ma's lap, with the kitten stalking him. When he tried to run away, the kitten chased him & bit him!!!! Highly amusing except bt is coming here for a weeks holiday next month & he will end up a nervous wreck!

I had exactly the same problem with my bengal kitten, she harassed my dog for weeks cos she worked out the dog was afraid of her. Actually had to encourage the dog to play/chase her to stop it! Actually anything was fair game to kuga, she used to bite feet, heads, hands, have angst attacks on jumpers, sofa - well everything really. It was a kittten possessed. Had to tell her off very badly (had tried no, and time outs,etc) put her on her back and waited till she was still, and has been fine since. Can't resist jumping on the dogs back every now and then though. However, my dog is now pregnant, so i think kuga will be getting a shock soon enough, oh and we are keeping one, so its going to be fun and games at my house!!
Sorry, doesn't help you overlly, just thought i'd share!!!

My cat has a litter of 10 day old kittens. At the moment they are safely tucked away in a wardrobe in the spare room. A couple of days ago, the puppy poked her nose into the wardrobe and the cat was out like a flash to whack her on the nose. Poor puppy ran off yelping! I must say I 'm a bit worried though, as they will soon be mobile, and seeing the way the puppy 'kills' her toys I'm a little concerned that she might view the kittens as fair game once they are out and about.

Sharon