Returned Oliver- Sad!

[Pucks104]

So Saturday a week and a half ago my husband and I adopted Oliver from our local AARF. He was 12-13 weeks old. The first week we kept him separated in the office with his litter box, scratching post, toys, water (a bowl on the opposite side of the room. He was able to get under a low desk when he felt unsure. Over the week he got very comfortable with us so the weekend we introduced him to the dogs slowly. He seemed fine with him. They were excited by him but none of them behaved aggressively-no barking, growling, hissing or scratching. He played with the youngest dog. He also met my daughter, granddaughter, sister and brother-in-law over that weekend as well. On that Saturday (one eeek after we got him he squatted and started to pee one of the dog beds. I said “No” and he jumped out. I took him back in the room with his litter box and waited until he used it then told him he was a very good boy. I petted and cuddled him. I put the dog bed outside so it wouldn’t tempt him again. I replaced it with a new one the next day. We left him loose in the house that night for the first time. The next morning he had peed on the rug by the back door. I threw it out and got a new one later that day. My bad - too much freedom too soon. So Monday he stayed in the office by himself until I got home. My husband was home and spent time with him during the day. When I got home I fed him in the office, took care of the dogs and ate my dinner. Then I let him out of the office. He sat with me awhile then wanted to get down. The dogs followed him into the other room. I heard Oliver go through the baby gate at the hallway. Then he was quiet. I thought he might have gone to his litter box but he wasn’t scratching in it so I went to check on him. He was finishing pooping on the big dog’s bed. I said “Oliver” and picked him up and put him in the office. Then I proceeded to clean up the poop and washed the cover of the dog bed. I texted the foster mom about what had occurred. I didn’t hear from her and didn’t sleep well but decided that Oliver would need to be returned. The next day the foster mom texted back and said I could return Oliver that evening. She didn’t really offer any ideas about what had happened. The other person at the AARF office said that once the foster mom felt like Oliver was ready he would be adopted in a home with no dogs.
What happened? Why did this occur? They said I could try another kitten but since I don’t understand why this happened I told her I was afraid to try again. It’s hard to get attached and have it not work. I would appreciate thoughts and suggestions. We have had cats and dogs live together in the past without issues. Thanks for the positive thoughts and constructive suggestions.

 

[neely]

I'm sorry your situation with Oliver was unsuccessful. You mentioned having dogs, plural - how many dogs do you have? A 12-13 week old kitten is still very young. Was he examined by your vet when you brought him home? Yes, I think he was given too much freedom too soon. I haven't had a kitten in awhile but when I did I remember keeping him in one room and only letting him explore when he was 100% supervised all of the time by my husband or myself then putting him back in the room but keeping him company, petting him, talking to him, playing with him, etc. I have had dogs with cats as well and it's entirely possible Oliver was introduced too soon especially since you mentioned more than one dog. Sometimes it's best to let a kitten explore when the dogs are not in the room or are in a crate so that the kitten feels safe.

There are some different Articles I could recommend for you to read but since Oliver is back with his foster mom it would probably be too late for that. However, you are always welcome to check out the Articles and other resources at your convenience. Once again, I'm sorry for both Oliver and you but hope he finds a new home soon.

 

[Caspers Human]

I think it was the dogs... Too much, too soon.

My first cat, "K.C.," had a similar story.

I kept K.C. in my apartment for a couple of years but I had to move to a place where cats weren't allowed so I sent him home to live with my family. He was a fairly strong willed cat so I had few worries about him adjusting to a new home.

We had a black Labrador Retriever named, "Reggie," but he lived in a kennel outdoors while K.C. had run of the house. Everything went well until my brother decided to bring Reggie inside to "play" with the cat. Reggie was a playful but gentle dog, as most labs are, and, after the two were introduced, they seemed to get along well.

It wasn't long after when K.C. started pooping and peeing all over the house.

I was concerned because K.C. had always been a fastidious litter box user. But for one or two "accidents" he never went outside the box. My mother was upset about it but my brother especially felt the brunt because K.C. started using his bedroom closet as his litter box!

It took me a while to figure out what was wrong because my brother lied and told me that he only brought the dog inside once just so the cat could "play" with him. He didn't tell me that Reggie was inside several times.

When I found out, I told my brother to keep the damn dog outside but he didn't listen. Every time he brought the dog inside, the cat would leave a deposit in my brother's bedroom for two or three days afterward. It wasn't until my mother put her foot down and made my brother clean up all the cat sh** that he stopped bringing the dog inside unless it was too cold outside but, then, the dog stayed in the basement the whole time.

Once we got the whole dog situation straightened out, K.C. stopped pooping where he shouldn't.

If I had been able to be at my family home and supervise the introductions and gradually ease them into it, I'm certain that K.C. and Reggie would have become good friends. K.C. was friends with other dogs, before, but I only let him mingle with them for five minutes at a time until they got used to each other. It probably took a couple of months before they could be together for long periods of time.

I'm pretty certain that your situation was similar to mine... except for my "idiot-brother."

 

[Pucks104]

Thanks for the replies. They make sense. We have 3 dogs - 1 Lab/Aussie mix and 2 Havanese. This is their home and there would definitely be no keeping them outside! I guess since we had had cats and dogs share our home successfully in the past I really didn’t think it would present an issue. I also thought that since Oliver was a young kitten he would more likely adapt to the dogs as long as they were not too pushy or didn’t show any aggression. They are all very soft temperament dogs. I made sure that his room was separated from areas that the dogs spend time so he would not feel like they would bother him when he used his litter box or when he just didn’t want to be bothered. They did all seem to get along. Oliver was also a very relaxed kitten- no hissing, would lay in my arms tummy up and snuggle and purr, let me trim his nails without a fuss. He had been thoroughly checked out by a vet prior to coming home. Oliver is so cute and cuddly that I don’t doubt that he will have a new home soon. He is back at his foster mom’s home not in a shelter. I am just sad that it didn’t work for him to live with us. I suppose it might have sorted itself out in time but if it hadn’t I wouldn’t have wanted cat pee and poo in the dog beds all the time. The dogs wouldn’t have wanted cat pee and poo on their beds and I was afraid they might decide that since Oliver was pottying on the beds they could as well.
We hadn’t had a cat since our last one died in 2009 at nearly 20 years old so it had been a really long time since we had had a kitten. We were both really looking forward to having a cat again as we both really like cats. However we will remain a dog only household as we are getting close to retirement age and and by the time our dogs have passed on we will be too elderly to take on a new pet especially a young one.

 

[ssssupernova]

I read that if you have other animals in the house, it's best to swap each others' beds back and forth for a few weeks before letting the new kitten meet them, and feed each of them at the same time on either side of the door that separates them. So that the kitten can get used to their scent and sounds. This way, when he meets the dogs, they seem less threatening. And the dogs are used to the kitten's scent so they don't follow him around bothering him as much.

Sounds like Oliver got overwhelmed with this suddenly huge new territory with all these big creatures and was trying in a panic to establish himself as the boss before he got eaten or chased out, by eliminating all over the others' scents.

Did you also only have one litterbox, in the office? If your home is quite big, there should always be a litterbox within easy reach to reduce accidents, one for every cat plus one, spread out around the house so your cat feels secure in his territory.

 

[Pucks104]

Our home isn’t large but we had 2 boxes available, one in the 2 rooms that the dogs don’t get access to. Since Oliver was only here for a short time and only out of the office some Saturday, Sunday and Monday after spending the first week in the office he hadn’t used the 2nd box.
We should probably have taken things much slower. I guess since no one was being fussy I thought it was all going well. Thanks again for your insights.

 

[Cjacob]

Sorry you had to return him if you do decide to get another kitten what we learned with ours is the litter box needs to be out in the open and even with it in the middle of the room ours would forget where it was we would have to remind him. They also sell a cat litter attractive to make them want to go in the litter box. I hope you decide to try again kittens (and cats) are awesome!

 

[rubysmama]

Sorry it didn't work out with Oliver. If you should decide you want to try getting another cat, perhaps adopt an adult cat that came from a home with dogs. Of course, you'd want to be sure the cat got along with the dogs, and not that he ended up in the shelter due to issues with the dogs.

 

[orange&white]

I hope you'll try again. I fostered two 7 month old kittens for two weeks many years ago. It was supposed to be one week, but my resident at the time kept scaring the kittens out of the litter boxes and they were using the bathtub. I asked to keep them a second week, and by the end of that time, all three cats were getting along and the kittens were using the litter boxes.

 

[Pucks104]

We were actually using Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract litter. The office is small so the litter box was against a wall but there wasn’t any obstruction. I really think we will just stick with dogs and not try to mix the two species again. Hard on the heart.

 

[di and bob]

Cats are very good at hiding their feelings. I'm sure Oliver was overwhelmed by the big dogs and was trying to assert himself and claim some turf. A week and a half is not nearly enough to have a new kitten get comfortable in a new environment, he was bewildered, scared and I'm sure thought where he was going looked like a litter box and was fine. Keeping him confined until he used the litter box and then putting him back in the box at regular intervals most likely would have solved the problem, as would getting him neutered as soon as possible, if he wan't. Not having a cat for so long most likely made you forget what having a baby was like. I'm sure your dogs weren't completely house broke in a a few days, or even a week. It takes time and understanding. There are so many desperate animals out there that need love and a home I hope you try again, you can provide everything in an animals life, especially love. Please check up on Oliver, I hope he isn't labeled a 'troubled' baby and doesn't get adopted. One more point, don't trust those dogs alone with a tiny baby, it only takes a moment to get a tragedy. A kitten needs to be in sight and protected at all times until they are big enough to protect themselves. I had my dog on a leash in the house for the first month because she was playing too rough. Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[Caspers Human]

Pucks104

Why don't you get an older cat that is more acclimated to dogs?

There are thousands of homeless adult cats out there but fewer people adopt them because they aren't "cute kittens."
Our cat, "Casper," was an adult cat when we adopted him. He is the sweetest, most well-behaved cat I have ever known! He NEVER goes outside his box and he doesn't tear up things in the house like younger cats often do.

I was a little bit hesitant when my girlfriend wanted to adopt an adult cat but, now that he's here, I am glad Casper is a part of my family.

You should think about getting an adult cat.

 

[Pucks104]

I considered an older cat but was afraid that my dogs wouldn’t accept an older cat. Oliver was the first cat that they had ever been around.

 

[Caspers Human]

Not to try to tell you what's what but, if that's the case, IMO, if you still want to have a cat an older cat that is experienced with dogs is the way to go.

In other words, the cat teaches the dogs how to behave instead of the other way around.

 

[jen]

Did the kitten get checked out by the vet to make sure nothing medical was going on? IMO that kitten needed less freedom, too much too soon, he was overwhelmed, suddenly he was the only cat with big scary dogs. I would not recommen leaving a new kitten loose in the home at all ever especially that soon. So if you get another kitten keep that in mind. Also I would search out an older cat who has been around dogs before. Expect hissing and growling at first but that is ok. GIVE IT TIME. Go slooooow. Don't let even an adult cat have free run of the house right away (IMO 1 week is right away) and be patient.

 

[Pucks104]

Oliver only had one night of having free run of the house and the dogs were back in the bedroom with us with the doors closed. He was never left unsupervised with the dogs. We have baby gates set up at most doors so as to manage the flow of dogs. The Havanese are 9 and 11 pounds and the Lab/Aussie is 47 pounds. They are all very soft natured dogs. Quiet and gentle. When they first met Oliver one at a time for a brief period, they were afraid of him. There was timid sniffing in his direction but no pushy behavior. Oliver was in my lap and the dog that was being introduced was at my side. Oliver was nuzzling the dog and very gently, no claws extended, patting their face. I did this a few times for 5 minutes or so before allowing Oliver to get down. It was one on one until he seemed comfortable then the two little dogs and finally the big dog. Oliver initiated play with the dogs and seemed to enjoy chasing and being chased by the youngest, Rexy, around the sofa. He would get in the dog bed and play with Rexy. It was really very cute. I would never have allowed him to play that way if at any time I felt it was unsafe. When he went down the hall I thought he was going to his litter box as he had done before. There is a gate at the hall and at his office room do there was no way for the dogs to follow and bother him. He just went on past the office to our room which is where the dog bed was that he peed and pooped on. This really wasn’t big scary dogs. Maybe it was scent marking to establish his place that neutering might have solved. He was under the care of a vet because he had had a respiratory infection. That had resolved and he was due to go back to the vet on Wednesday for shots. Once that was done we were going to get him neutered. He was just 12-13 weeks old so I thought we had a bit of time. I really didn’t know a practical way to address this behavior that I felt comfortable with. Our floors are hard and cold so I couldn’t take up the dog beds (Becca isn’t allowed on the furniture) and her dog bed he pottied on is only a couple months old. I didn’t want to keep Oliver shut up in a room by himself as that felt like we would miss this time when he was little and seemingly open to a relationship with the dogs. I didn’t want my dogs, who have excellent house manners, to start peeing where the kitten peed. I knew long term I wouldn’t be ok with a cat that didn’t use a litter box consistently. Oliver was using his litter box so it wasn’t as if he found it objectionable. He just also seemed to want to go where the dogs scent was heavy - the dog beds and the rug by the back door where they often rested. I threw out the little dog bed that he started to pee on and threw out the rug by the back door that he peed on. They were replaced with new and he would settle in the new dog bed but didn’t try to pee on it. I felt ill equipped to handle this and felt that while Oliver still had all his kitten cuteness he would have a better chance at being adopted. His foster mom is very fond of him so she will make sure he settles into a new home. He will be adopted into a him without dogs. I don’t think we will try with another cat, not even an older one. It’s just too upsetting for everyone.

 

[orange&white]

I don't think you need to defend your decision. The two foster kittens I had who were using the bathtub the first week would have gone back to the shelter after two weeks if all three cats hadn't settled in to where each of them could use the litter boxes in peace. Those two cats were supposed to be returned under the foster system, but I got too attached.

It would have taken me some time to "grieve" had I returned them before thinking about another cat. Perhaps in some time, you'll consider giving a home to another kitty. For now, you did what was best for your family, including the dogs.