New Kitten

[Shadrack]

Me and my partner recently got ourselves a lovely kitten that's 8 weeks old, wormed and vaccinated. We did think it through because of having 2 dogs already. Both which already get along with my nans cat and always have. We slowly begun introducing them on neutral ground and the female jack Russell X chihuahua gets along fine with the kitten, however my purebred jack Russell, during his meeting with the kitten, my mother made it a negative experience by freaking out when ace (dog) got a little playful and jumped at the kitten to play bow in front of it, an action he does to the other cat even though she has no interest.

But basically after my mums freak out, grabbing ace and smacking him (which we had quite a fight about, I don't smack my pets) now whenever ace sees the kitten he goes into attack mode. A muzzle just made him angrier, he's never muzzled because we don't have issues with aggression he's well socialised. I put him with the other cat and he was still fine, still plays with the rabbit through the cage, only showing aggression to the new kitten.

Right now we are introducing them with the cat in a carrier and ace on a leash as we don't want to risk the kittens safety on chance. (Ace has a mighty powerful lunge, has broken several collars)

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions how to help ace accept the new kitty in the house and realise that it's not bad, I would love for both dogs and kitten to get along the way they do with the other cat. (My mum is no longer involved at all in the process haha still angry at her.)

Sorry it's so long just wanted to provide detail for accurate answers.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

You have a terrier and a little kitten which really probably looks a bit like a rat, add to that your Mum screaming and reacting at the first meeting and chances are your dog now potentially thinks the kitten is prey. Or may be scared of it so is behaving in a way to make it go away. That might give you some thoughts on things that need to be undone. An adult cat and a kitten look and behave quite differently, so don't assume because the dogs get along well with an adult cat that they will be fine with a kitten.

Anyway, I would be training for calm around the kitten. And also for the dog to ignore the kitten. Create a positive association for the kitten being around. So there might need to be quite a bit of distance between the dog and the kitten at first which you can slowly decrease. Or you may have a dog that doesn't want to live with that kitten.

Good luck with it!

[Roova]

Do you have a crate? Alternate time in the crate with dog on lead when it's kittens turn out can really help. Keep plenty of great treats handy so you can create a positive association and praise good behaviour. It could take days or weeks until the kitten is accepted as part of your 'pack'. Until the kitten is much older I wouldn't allow any chasing games to happen and the kitten should have plenty of escape routes.

Good luck, is worth going as slow and slow and steady as you have to, to ensure years of stress free time together.

[Shadrack]

Thanks for the responses, and ace has met kittens before, he's a gentle dog hell chase birds and things in the yard, but until the meeting got ruined by mother we haven't had a single problem, I've always kept him socialised and he always accepts new pets, and was showing his first signs of acceptance.

Yea we've been putting the kitten in a cat crate and ace on a lead to sniff the crate and such, as well as letting him see how the other dog interacts with kitty. I was just looking around for more options.

[Roova]

I meant a dog crate so both get alternate time in and out of it though, not a small crate only the kitten was in.

I had to do this with my Frenchie who was very intense toward our new kitten and that was after keeping the kitten in a spare room so she would get accustomed to its smell first. With the crate I could see when Maggie started to ignore the kitten and that's when things started to improve.

[Shadrack]

It's a large crate, the dogs will often get inside and use it as a bed if I leave it open, so putting ace in it wouldn't be hard.

I'll need to take a break introducing them though since kitty has a bit of a tummy bug, I'm not keen to spread it between pets. But when he's better I'm also going to put things with kitty's scent with ace

[persephone]

Yes- a crate for Ace :) A largeish one , where he can relax, chew a toy/bone/whatever . let the kitten wander ......so Ace begins to se it as part of the furniture, so to speak . When Ace is free - kitten is locked away securely , with arrangements so she can get in a tunnel/bed, out of sight .

[sheena]

I would be trying the Look At That Game...see this link Link to my webpage where I explain all about it & how to teach it. Basically it is a counter-conditioning game.....have a read :)