I have two female dogs- a 4 year old female American Eskimo and a 2 year old Shephard/Beagle mix. We've had both dogs since they were 4-5 months old. Now, my son really wants a kitten for his birthday in June.
Backstory- we had a cat years ago, that my son LOVED, but we eventually had to rehome because my Husband was allergic to cats and the cat simply did not like him at all- would attack him... constantly. Now that my Husband left us, my son's thinking about cats again. And now my son wants a kitten. Not a cat, but a kitten. He really wants a little kitten to carry around.
We have two dogs. Princess, 22 pounds, 4 years old, is a little afraid of cats, a real "Mama's Girl", but basically, a wimp around strange animals. I don't really see her having a problem with me getting a kitten- she'll be nervous and stick close to me at first, but she'll go with the flow.
Tara, my 40 pound dog, 2 years old, has a bit of a prey drive, though. She wouldn't intentionally hurt a kitten- she chases squirrells and pidgeons in hope of catching them to play with- she caught a pidgeon once, and held it in her mouth, looking at me as if to ask "what am I supposed to do with it now?". But she might hurt the kitten, as in, playing too rough. I'm pretty sure, one scratch on the nose from the kitten would straighten her out, but I can't depend on the kitten being able to do that, know what I mean? How can I work around this? I can seperate them at first, with a babygate- the kitten can have my son's room, the bathroom (where the litterbox would be) and the connecting hallway, leaving the dogs with their favorite rooms- the kitchen, my bedroom and the livingroom. How else can I protect the kitten? Thoughts?
Backstory- we had a cat years ago, that my son LOVED, but we eventually had to rehome because my Husband was allergic to cats and the cat simply did not like him at all- would attack him... constantly. Now that my Husband left us, my son's thinking about cats again. And now my son wants a kitten. Not a cat, but a kitten. He really wants a little kitten to carry around.
We have two dogs. Princess, 22 pounds, 4 years old, is a little afraid of cats, a real "Mama's Girl", but basically, a wimp around strange animals. I don't really see her having a problem with me getting a kitten- she'll be nervous and stick close to me at first, but she'll go with the flow.
Tara, my 40 pound dog, 2 years old, has a bit of a prey drive, though. She wouldn't intentionally hurt a kitten- she chases squirrells and pidgeons in hope of catching them to play with- she caught a pidgeon once, and held it in her mouth, looking at me as if to ask "what am I supposed to do with it now?". But she might hurt the kitten, as in, playing too rough. I'm pretty sure, one scratch on the nose from the kitten would straighten her out, but I can't depend on the kitten being able to do that, know what I mean? How can I work around this? I can seperate them at first, with a babygate- the kitten can have my son's room, the bathroom (where the litterbox would be) and the connecting hallway, leaving the dogs with their favorite rooms- the kitchen, my bedroom and the livingroom. How else can I protect the kitten? Thoughts?
