Introducing my cat to BIG dogs

[angelkitty]

Hello everyone!!

I just got my little girl cat, Angel about a week ago from Cat's Haven Shelter- She is 6 months old. We've tried to introduce her slowly to the 2 dogs we have,, but it doesn't go well...

Kodi our puppy who is 16 weeks,, is too hyper so we don't even try it..
Sheba is 15 months old and we tried introducing them on Thursday night.. Me and Angel and my daughter who is 4 sat behind the baby gate with Angel.. And my husband sat on the other side holding Sheba back on a leash. Now Sheba is a Rottweiler, and almost 70 lbs. She's my sweetheart,, but she can be quite loud with her barking and agression,, especially since she doesn't know what Angel is..

Angel freaked out,, and sat their and hissed adn cried, and swatted at Sheba several times, as Sheba cried and barked at Angel.

I don't know what else to do.. Do I keep this up?? or am I doing this wrong?? Please help!!!!!!!! I love Sheba and Angel very much.. I just don't want Angel to get hurt,, or to hurt Sheba either... I want them to get along..

Thanks for you help!!
Heather

 

[angelkitty]

I wasn't sure if anyone had any ideas on this???

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Hey from another Heather! hehe

I've got Oliver and a Black Lab (Cuddles).... they're both "technically" mine, but I could never take the dog to school with me, so she lives with my parents (plus, she has a boyfriend dog next door that she plays with every day, so she'd be heartbroken if I pulled her away from that), and Oliver was a stray I picked up at school and he spends most of his time up there with me.... anyhow, Oliver comes home on my long breaks from classes (like Christmas) and in the beginning, he was kept in my room with the door shut and baby gate in front (my door doesnt align right so the dog can push it open without the baby gate), partly because of the dog and partly because my mom's kind of allergic to cats... well, we started off bringing Ollie downstairs on his harness for little play sessions while the dog was outside - this got his scent down into her territory so she got familiar with it... then we did it while she was in the house - well the biggest problem we have is jealousy issues: I'm Cuddles' big sister and Oliver's mama, so they both want my full attention.... in the beginning there was lots of barking, hissing, spitting, puffing up, etc - especially when my door was open, but baby gate up: Cuddles just appeared as this giant noisy black thing to Oliver so he'd head under the bed and growl at her while she barked... eventually, we started just letting Ollie roam the house for short periods (only while we were home to supervise) and see how they did - well, turns out my big dog is really a big chicken and would run and hide behind daddy when the cat came round and didn't want to be in the same room as him.... I've now been at my parents' since March with Oliver (due to illness that caused me to leave school for the semester, but I'm better now) and we're to the point where Oliver is only contained in my room at nite for bed.... they're by no means the best of friends, but they do tolerate each other and will occasionally sniff each other - Oliver likes to run by and bat her on the butt or snoot and run away and she looks at him like "what is your problem?!" And Cuddles is notorious for emptying Oliver's water dishes and trying to steal his wet food treats

Granted, Oliver is 4 and Cuddles is 12, but this has been my experience... basically, BE PATIENT! It will take time, but since all the animals are young, they should grow up to be friends together... try moving blankets and such that smell like each animal to the other so they can get used to the scents and keep up with the baby gate... it's hard with bouncy puppies cuz they're hard to control, but they'll settle and become curious instead of defensive and they'll want to explore the other... when you do take the baby gate down and allow for more of a free introduction, I'd suggest leashing the puppies, but allow your kitty room to escape if she feels frightened - dont let the dogs chase after her just yet (when they're friends, they'll chase to play and that'll be ok, haha)... anyway, good luck and just take your time with it - it's a handful to deal with, but you should be able to socialize them eventaully

 

[cearbhaill]

You need to have a firm grip on the dogs behavior by 15 months IMO. By now he should be well established in his obedience training so that you can put him in a 'down' for introductions.

It's the dog, after all, that you need to control, else you'll be using baby gates for years. My dogs are 70 lbs. by six months, and they know darn well not to aggravate a cat.

 

[larke]

My cat loves my Samoyeds, introduced himself and they're big babies together, BUT never, ever in my lifetime (or theirs) would I ever let my cats near a Rott (or P. bull). They're just too unpredictable, have too much testosterone (and I don't care if they're female) and have been bred to be vicious at the drop of a hat. Yours may be fine around you, but a cat may just be too much of a temptation .. one day, for no obvious reason, and it'll be much too late by the time you find out.

 

[lukin28]

Just be patient. Always be there to supervise. My dogs are 50 lbs and they can be a handful when a new cat comes. I just posted a couple days about my dogs catching my foster cat. I have to keep them separated because the cat just doesnt like them and he is constantly hissing and swatting and that causes my one dog to want to bite him! But they are totally cool with my other cat that doesnt swat.
So what you are doing is right, just make sure the dog knows that the cat is number one because you cant change the cats behavior. Like the other girl said, leave your cat to roam the house when the dog is away so her scent gets out. When you arent there, have a room for your cat to be where the dog cant get into. Thats what my cats do and they are perfectly happy not seeing the dogs
Good luck!!

 

[angelkitty]

Thank you all for you help!!!

We're going to slowly introduce the two. The dogs stay out in the sunroom,, so they won't be alone together ever.. Just better that way....

Sheba is a Rotti Mix,, we just got her in may,, so we are still working on training behavior.. She does really well with sit,, and kind of with stay. We also rescued her from a Humane Society.

Larke,, I do disagree, I think Rotti have been given a bad name becuase of bad owners. Their not breed or hardwired to hurt people. I'm not going to go through a whole debate,, but Sheba would never hurt a person, or a cat, or any animal including a bird. She is 10 times sweeter and most compassionate towards other people and animals then most dogs I've ever had. It's all about the way you respect, treat, and train your animals. It's just a pre-conceived notion that people have about a complete breed that just makes me sooo mad.. Sorry,, it's a hot spot for me.. But I do appreciate your opinion... I really do.

But I wanted to thank everyone for all your kind helps and words,, and thank you!!!

Heather

 

[eagleeye]

Angelkitty, I'm in a similar situation although my dog Stockey is 11. I found a stray kitten about 10 days ago but haven't let them meet yet.

The breed prejudice you encounter with Rottis is the same as with my dog's breed (an American Pit Bull Terrier). My dog is a Canine Good Citizen and registered therapy dog, admired and well-liked by my friends, neighbors, and vet for his stable and human-friendly temperament. He's bred true to type, so I expect him to have some level of aggression to strange animals, as many pit bulls do. He has NO human aggression whatsoever, but people often confuse the two.

A few pit bull households on another board that I frequent have successfully introduced an adult adopted/foster dog to the resident cat. It took them a lot of time and patience to desensitize the dog in the presence of the cat. Basically, they do the intro gradually in very small steps and reward the dog whenever it behaves calmly while seeing the cat. Maybe you should hold off on the intros for a week to let the kitten adjust and give yourself some time to get a plan of action. Also, when you do the intros, you might want to exercise the dogs really well beforehand so they're more relaxed, and do one dog at a time. The presence of your daughter behind the gate might be exciting the dogs, too. For safety's sake, why don't you hold the kitten and let your husband handle the dog on leash, or vice versa? Do your dogs know sit, stay, and watch me commands? It'd be a good idea for them both to know these commands.

I'd recommend that you visit a Rottweiler discussion forum or other dog forum to see if anyone has pointers. Good luck!

 

[cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by Larke

BUT never, ever in my lifetime (or theirs) would I ever let my cats near a Rott (or P. bull). They're just too unpredictable, have too much testosterone (and I don't care if they're female) and have been bred to be vicious at the drop of a hat.

Off topic, but I feel that this is patently untrue. One can never generalize about any behavior problems being breed specific, and "too much testosterone even if a female" is just ridiculous.

There are wonderfully stable and trustowrthy Rotti's and Pit's, and there are poor temperamented and wacko Poodles and Golden Retriever's.

 

[angelkitty]

Thank you very much for your response Eagle Eye. We decided to hold off a little longer, becuase she has a upper respiratory infections, and I'm bringing enough trauma to her by doing eye medicine and amoxicillan. So we're gonna take it easy until she clears up this cold she has.. Then we'll start on introductions again.. Thanks for the reply...

And thank you Cearbhail.. I agree whole heartly.. I don't care for breed prejudice, and feel it's unfair to lump them into a group.. It just like people. I am not prejudice becuase I hear one group is mean to others. It's not the way the world should work. Reality is that is how alot of people think, but it's not the way it should work. My Rottis are sweet, and loving.. and I'd never ever be afraid to let them around people or animals. I just take precautions with a small kitty, beucase a small dog could hurt her, just as much as a big dog. Plus I have a cockatiel who rides on my dogs back,, so they aren't mean animals..

 

[punky-fairy]

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Larke BUT never, ever in my lifetime (or theirs) would I ever let my cats near a Rott (or P. bull). They're just too unpredictable, have too much testosterone (and I don't care if they're female) and have been bred to be vicious at the drop of a hat.

Off topic, but I feel that this is patently untrue. One can never generalize about any behavior problems being breed specific, and "too much testosterone even if a female" is just ridiculous.

There are wonderfully stable and trustowrthy Rotti's and Pit's, and there are poor temperamented and wacko Poodles and Golden Retriever's.

thank you. i was gonna say the same thing. we had a red nosed pit when i was little (7 or 8) and we found him as a stray. he had been trained as a fighting dog before that. my mom used to run a daycare at that time and our pit (also he was an uneutered male) did wonderful with all the children and was best friends with our cat. the dog i have now is a lab pit mix and all she wants is to make friends with cats since she grew up with our five cats and once we moved we got another cat and she grew up with him too. Oh and that little bit about them being bred to be vicious? TOTAL MALARKEY. they were actually known as nursemaid dogs, and would stay in the nursery and watch the children, (Think nana from Disney's peter pan even tho Nana was a st Bernard.)