Puppy & Kitten Trying To Kill Each Other!

[JulesP]

Hello, I am having a bit of trouble with my puppy & kitten. Kitten came first and is now 3 months old. Puppy is 11 weeks old and has been here about a month. Puppy and kitten will not leave each other alone. They are constantly 'play fighting'. The problem is that they are getting too rough for my liking. Over the weekend puppy ended up with a bleeding ear and kitten a sore leg.

Puppy isn't growling and is wagging his tail during the 'play'. Kitten is growling. Kitten for some reason will not get herself out of the way. She could easily escape but stays put. She could also give puppy a good swipe and put him in his place (as the other cat did).

I have been keeping out of it and hoping that they will sort it out themselves but I don't want either of them getting hurt.

Anyone had this problem before?? Don't know why kitten doesn't run up a damn tree and escape!!!

[Muttaburra]

It might look a bit alarming, but from what you say I see no need for concern: with the following Proviso:

Make sure that the cat is never alone with the pup unless it has an escape route, out a door, up on a shelf etc.

The two animals are playing, both kittens and pups will playfight, so they do understand each other on that level. The pup will soon learn that needle sharp teeth and claws extract pain and blood. The kitten will soon learn speed and agility to avoid the pups weight and larger jaws.

You might still want to separate them when you go out and keep an eye on them when you are home for a while. At this point I see no need to interfere.

If they are bothering you, you could just try clapping you hands loudly and calling "settle" loudly, without singling one of them out for attention.

[JulesP]

Thanks for your reply. They are still being very rough with each other. Well Puppy is being rough. He is now grapping her by the scruff of her neck and dragging her around. Kitty still isn't getting out of the way though or really putting him in his place.

[Aramiss]

We have a spare room set up for Slink (our new kitten), he comes out when the dogs are outside (which is a lot during the day), and also at night after everyone has had dinner, and are more relaxed and sleepy. That way we can control the dogs, to make sure they are not hurting the kitten, and to make sure they are not scaring him, and ruining his socialisation. We do really want the dogs and the kitten to be friends one day.

I think it also helps that Slink has his own space to relax and recoup. Today for the first time I have let the kitten out with the dogs inside, with out my interference, everything is going pretty well, Kettle is getting over excited, but I find that putting her in her place is a good thing to do, ie. telling her to be careful, and being ready to seperate her from Slink if she gets too rough, to teach her boundaries.

Its a little different here though, our pup is the older one, and kitten is quite young.

I would advise giving each animal a place of its own to withdraw too for when the playing gets to rough, and they want some space (like a crate, or a spare room, that kind of thing). Always supervise, and stop the play when it does get too rough.

[Muttaburra]

Hi again Jules P.

Just to check, is the kittens leg alright now, is it walking normally etc. Provided that the dog is not shaking the kitten, it should be alright to be carried that way, it's what their mother's do.

Fitz's suggestions sound excellent and a good way to go for a while at least until the kitten is a bit bigger. Also consider spending a bit of one-on-one time with the kitten so that it bonds closely with you too.

[JulesP]

Hello, yep Kitty's leg is OK. She never usually has a mark on her, just lots of saliva! I was looking for Kitty yesterday and she has found a nice, warm safe place away from pup (on top of my horse rugs) so that is good. She has also been sleeping with my older border collie.

I had kitty for a couple of months before I got puppy so she is well bonded to me. I also have them in the house at seperate times as it is too hard to train pup to stay in his bed with kitty wandering around.

Not something I would recommend doing having a puppy & kitten at the same time but unfortunately I lost my old border collie not long after getting kitten and my other border was really fretting so I got puppy.

It is chaos here!

[Ci]

I have a kitten at the moment who loves to get rough with my two adults Staffies!!!!

They throw themselves at each other! I watch amazed sometimes!

All I do is separate them when it gets too much and make them have time out. I don't put them in separate rooms but I stop them playing and tell them "Enough".

They are starting to learn where the line!

Edited May 23, 2006 by Ci

[pigpup]

hehe, glad my nutters arnt the only nutters. dozer and littlepuss( i know,not a very creative name for a cat) are both babies who do the whole fighting, biting, wrestling trying to kill eachother thing. sometimes putting the hose on them works. littlepuss attacks dozer while he is asleep and thinks she is funny, dozer sits on littlepuss and pretends he isnt, they chase eachother around the yard and generally carry on like twits. I believe they do grow out of it, as my other cat middy, and my old dog sam used to fight like that for years and it became a game. the kittens do learn to get away and i just taught my dog that when i told her to get out of it, she would. having said that sam did think it was funny to carry the cat around by the head or whatever until puss decided to be nice.

goodluck with your feral babies. you just gotta love them!!

[krankypuss]

Our staffy pup and kitten have a ball together. It is gorgeous to watch.. but yet our foxy x JR has no chance with her.. the cat loathes her.. ;)