Cats, Dogs and Humans - Living Together in Peace

[MineralMan]

N.B.: This is about more than that.

Some DUers may remember that my wife and I adopted a 5 week old kitten a couple of weeks ago. We helped a woman whose cat had a litter by taking a cute little gray tabby female kitten from the litter. Too young, really, to be adopted, but I have experience with underage kittens. Anyhow, the little girl was eating kibble and using the litter box already, so it would be fine. We began by naming her Butch, but that didn't take. Now, she's Bobby.

She came home with us to a house that already contained one 6 year old overweight and grumpy Maine Coon cat and two dogs, a 4-year-old lab rescue beagle and a 6 or 7 year old shelter rescue beagle/basset mix. The dogs had already made their peace with the adult cat, primarily by mutual ignoring one another. Ignoring many things that cause stress is often the best path, both in the four-footed world and in many other situations adults mammals encounter.

My philosophy for introducing a new pet into the household is somewhat at variance with common recommendations. So, we brought the little kitty into the house and put her on the floor near the little litter box we had prepared for her. She used it right away. A promising sign. I took her into the living room and put her on the floor. My wife and I stayed in the room with her, to supervise her first contacts with our other critters. Here's how it all went:

Dude, our beagle basset, took one look at the kitten and walked over to her and sniffed her butt. Tail wagging furiously, he looked at us happily, as if to say, "You brought me a baby kitty! I can't believe you got me a kitten!" Then he laid down on the floor and let the kitten do as it wished. It wished to run up and play "attack the dog." Dude played along, very gently and with furiously wagging tail.

Sam, the lab rescue beagle from the Beagle Freedom Project, reacted more warily. He walked up gingerly, sniffed the kitten, and then just walked away. Interested, but rarely playful, he seemed to say, "Oh, yeah, OK. Well, it's awfully small and annoying. I think I will simply ignore this one for the time being."

Beasley, the enormously rotund Maine Coon, finally deigned to make an appearance. It approached the kitten, sniffed it, and then hissed loudly and stalked off. "Hmph!" But that's her nature with every other living thing, including those who feed her. Occasionally, she will appear on a lap for some rubbing, but keeps her own counsel most of the time.

We two humans, of course, were enjoying watching kitty's antics and focused on making sure that Dude was playing with the cat in a different way than he does with his dog toys. His normal response to toys is to dismantle them completely as quickly as possible. We saw that he knew the difference and was being completely gentle, ignoring the little cat's sharp claws and teeth and merely nosing kitty around and gently playing with her, tail always in motion.

And that was that. All of the critters met Bobby, the feisty new kitten. All decided that she meant no harm. Each expressed its own personality in interacting with her. Two weeks on, the pattern is slowly changing. Dude continues the play behavior, but Sam is beginning to think Bobby is sort of cute, and is content when Bobby sleeps curled up against his belly. Beasley is finally showing some curiosity about the new cat in the house. Bobby? She's busy growing, playing, sleeping and being a kitty.

All of the players in this dramatic comedy are different. Each has a unique point of view. Each member of our household, including the humans, approaches this new member in his or her own way. We're all growing accustomed to each other. Some ignore each other when convenient to do so. Some think Bobby is the cutest thing in the world, and a couple are indifferent. And yet, we all get along just fine and the relationships are evolving.

I think it's a good model to follow in general. It seems to work just fine and nobody gets hurt, regardless of opinions. It might just work in society as well. I don't know. Humans are more complicated than dogs and cats, but we all do have to live together. Peace is good, even when we disagree.

[shenmue]

1. Awwwwww

[MineralMan]

3. Oh, thanks!

[Polly Hennessey]

2. Three cats and two dogs

I agree with you. Whenever I have introduced a newbie cat or dog into the house I put them on the floor and let everyone figure it out for themselves. It has always worked....sometimes it takes longer as was the case with my rescue Golden. I have three cats-- all different personalities. All the cats are rescues. I do have one rule in the house -- dogs cannot chase cats, no way, no how. Once we establish that things tend to settle down, eventually. Caleigh, my Golden, was a cat chaser (the rescue group forgot to tell me that). It took about two weeks and now all the cats adore Caleigh -- they sleep with her, they kiss her, they nuzzle her, they annoy her. Caleigh just closes her eyes and I know she thinking --"oh, no, not more cat spit on my forehead." I have had success with cats and German Shepherds (Katie), Cocker Spaniels (Sam), Ellie Mae (Springer Spaniel), etc. I have great respect for animals and there is little doubt in my mind that they will figure it out. It is as though they realize that tolerance works wonders and its OK if the cats are tiresome, besides they sleep most of the time and cat spit isn't so bad.

[MineralMan]

4. All of the guides have this complex process for introducing

new animals into a household, but if you know the temperament of your own pets, you can figure out whether they need all that complexity. I've just never done it. New critter goes on the floor and the rest come and have a look and make their own decisions. As long as there are no fireworks, it's all good.

Most animals seem to recognize a puppy or kitten and know they have to be careful. Adult animals sort it out, too, among themselves. Owners should be present during the introduction to scold or encourage, of course.

[Left coast liberal]

5. Sweet post, thanks MineralMan :-)

[MineralMan]

6. Thanks. We're enjoying it all.