Cat adjusting to indoor life & tiny dogs

[NJResident]

Hello, cat behavior experts!

I already posted about my newly acquired cat in the Caring for Strays and Ferals forum so I apologize if the background is repetitive. 6 days ago, before a major snowstorm, I took in a young cat whom I'm calling Kitty for now (thought to be anywhere from 6 months to a year old) who was living outdoors and visiting a neighbor's house every day. Kitty was thought to have been part of a local cat colony and rejected. She befriended the neighbor's son and the family tried to integrate her into their cat family but it wasn't workable because one of her cats redirected his aggression towards the other cat, who only has 1 kidney so it's important that stress be kept to a minimum. The family also has an outdoor cat that lives on their property. This cat is really tough (former feral kitty) and tried to drive Kitty away but she was persistent with her visits and enjoyed sitting on the son's lap. I am hoping Kitty will be going to the vet next week (waiting to hear if we can be squeezed in) for a health check and to schedule a spay surgery. Kitty has made a lot of progress in a short amount of time after not eating, drinking or going potty for almost 3 days. I was unable to give Kitty a room with a closed door due to insulation issues in my upstairs bedrooms so she is staying under a table with a long tablecloth in my small living room. The room is next to the kitchen and it is gated so my dogs cannot go in there. Marley and Ezra, my tiny Chihuahua mixes, (11 pounds, 7 pounds) are well behaved around their pet sitter's kitten and are aware that there is a cat in the house and they are very interested in her food (of course) but they are being kept separate from Kitty in the kitchen (adjacent to the living room) and in the lower level family room. They are active seniors but they still sleep quite a bit during the day and they occasionally bark. Kitty hides during the day but comes out at night when the dogs are snoozing upstairs; she has been super friendly the past 2 nights (sniffs me, rubs against me a lot, rolls around on the floor, etc.) She is also VERY vocal so it's possible she's in heat (I pray she isn't pregnant). I believe she would come out and explore more if my dogs weren't around. My question is, would it be a good idea to send my dogs to the pet sitter's for a few days so Kitty can feel safer about exploring her new home and for us to get acquainted? Is it a bad idea because the dogs will be coming back anyway? I have experience with introducing a puppy to 3 cats but not a young cat to dogs and I've read articles on this site about how to introduce dogs and cats. I am just trying to make Kitty's adjustment to indoor life as easy as possible and feel like she may be better prepared when it's time to see the dogs in a controlled scenario (using a gate/leashes, etc) if my house were more familiar to her. Any thoughts, suggestions, will be greatly appreciated!

 

[SpaceLamb]

While I'm definitely not an expert, I have taken in multiple strays and introduced them to our dogs. I think everything you're doing sounds good. You're giving her a space that's just for her and where she can feel safe away from the dogs. From what you wrote it also seems like she's warming up to you and to the space. I don't think boarding the dogs would speed up the process any just because she's most likely to explore at night when everything is quiet anyways, regardless of whether the dogs are there or not. It probably wouldn't hurt anything but she'll acclimate with time. It's also just a process of desensitizing both her and the dogs. They'll become less interested in her and her food the longer she's there.

If it were me I'd give her time to settle in and when she seems comfortable with both you and her surroundings then introduce the dogs on a leash. Having them on the other side of a gate is a great way for her to see and smell them without actually being in contact with them. I think you're doing great and someone else with more experience might have some more advice but I would say just keep doing what you're doing and she'll adjust in her own time. My mom tells a story about a foster she had that she didn't see for three months because he would hide during the day and only come out to eat and use the litter box once they were asleep. He ended up being my mom's absolute baby, a total lap cat who stuck to her like Velcro. It just takes patience.

Good luck with everything and hopefully she's not pregnant

 

[NJResident]

While I'm definitely not an expert, I have taken in multiple strays and introduced them to our dogs. I think everything you're doing sounds good. You're giving her a space that's just for her and where she can feel safe away from the dogs. From what you wrote it also seems like she's warming up to you and to the space. I don't think boarding the dogs would speed up the process any just because she's most likely to explore at night when everything is quiet anyways, regardless of whether the dogs are there or not. It probably wouldn't hurt anything but she'll acclimate with time. It's also just a process of desensitizing both her and the dogs. They'll become less interested in her and her food the longer she's there.

If it were me I'd give her time to settle in and when she seems comfortable with both you and her surroundings then introduce the dogs on a leash. Having them on the other side of a gate is a great way for her to see and smell them without actually being in contact with them. I think you're doing great and someone else with more experience might have some more advice but I would say just keep doing what you're doing and she'll adjust in her own time. My mom tells a story about a foster she had that she didn't see for three months because he would hide during the day and only come out to eat and use the litter box once they were asleep. He ended up being my mom's absolute baby, a total lap cat who stuck to her like Velcro. It just takes patience.

Good luck with everything and hopefully she's not pregnant

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. I don't think she is exploring at night (there's no action detected on my cameras). Maybe she doesn't feel confident yet. I've been up with her in the middle of the night almost every night and it starts with her waking me up with loud meows. I go downstairs and sit on the kitchen floor and talk to her quietly while she sits under the table. Usually in 15 or 20 minutes she'll come out of her hiding spot and walk a few feet into the kitchen in front of me. Depending on how tired I am, I'll spend anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours with her. My house is only 1300 sq ft and the dogs are only 6 stairs away in the bedroom and she knows it (I'll see her react at the sound of the dog tags). I've been working from home because of the snow and I also have scheduled work from home days, which means the dogs are around all day. Tomorrow I will go in to work and the dogs will be at daycare. Last Saturday I worked and the dogs were at daycare and she remained behind the couch the entire day (again, no action on the cameras). Maybe tomorrow there will be more progress but I think having the dogs around is slowing the exploration progress. Maybe that is ok...

 

[SpaceLamb]

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. I don't think she is exploring at night (there's no action detected on my cameras). Maybe she doesn't feel confident yet. I've been up with her in the middle of the night almost every night and it starts with her waking me up with loud meows. I go downstairs and sit on the kitchen floor and talk to her quietly while she sits under the table. Usually in 15 or 20 minutes she'll come out of her hiding spot and walk a few feet into the kitchen in front of me. Depending on how tired I am, I'll spend anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours with her. My house is only 1300 sq ft and the dogs are only 6 stairs away in the bedroom and she knows it (I'll see her react at the sound of the dog tags). I've been working from home because of the snow and I also have scheduled work from home days, which means the dogs are around all day. Tomorrow I will go in to work and the dogs will be at daycare. Last Saturday I worked and the dogs were at daycare and she remained behind the couch the entire day (again, no action on the cameras). Maybe tomorrow there will be more progress but I think having the dogs around is slowing the exploration progress. Maybe that is ok...

I misunderstood I thought she was exploring on her own at night but just the fact that she'll come out at all, especially when you're there, is a great start. She's also started eating and going to the bathroom after not for a few days (if I understood your first post right) which is a huge accomplishment and proof that she's already becoming more comfortable. You also mentioned you'd only had her for six days and if she's spent her whole life outside then it's a big adjustment for her to be inside. If you feel having the dogs out of the house for a few days will help her definitely give it a try, it for sure won't hurt anything.

Just know that you're doing an amazing job and the fact that you'll get up in the middle of the night to spend time with her shows your patience. As time goes on she'll come to realize that hearing the dog tags in the other room doesn't lead to anything bad and she'll stop reacting.

Keep with it and she'll come around!

 

[NJResident]

I misunderstood I thought she was exploring on her own at night but just the fact that she'll come out at all, especially when you're there, is a great start. She's also started eating and going to the bathroom after not for a few days (if I understood your first post right) which is a huge accomplishment and proof that she's already becoming more comfortable. You also mentioned you'd only had her for six days and if she's spent her whole life outside then it's a big adjustment for her to be inside. If you feel having the dogs out of the house for a few days will help her definitely give it a try, it for sure won't hurt anything.

Just know that you're doing an amazing job and the fact that you'll get up in the middle of the night to spend time with her shows your patience. As time goes on she'll come to realize that hearing the dog tags in the other room doesn't lead to anything bad and she'll stop reacting.

Keep with it and she'll come around!

Thanks, I am trying. I think she's not exploring for fear the dogs may show up at any time but when she sees me alone and there's no barking, she realizes it's okay but she is still tentative. You're right about her finally eating and going potty (I was really worried). Yes, big adjustment and from what the neighbor said, she was outside for all of that time but she really didn't want to be, hence all of the visits to their house so I hope she'll decide she likes it here, even with the dogs. I contacted my pet sitter and she is available so the dogs get to have fun with her and her dogs and kitten while I focus on connecting with Kitty and making her more comfortable. This morning I finally was able to get a picture of her.