Finn and intro to a kitten.. suggestions?

[AllieMackie]

Here's the short story:

Finn has met two cats, and was good with them. They were full-grown and dog-savvy.

Matt (the BF) has just rescued a 3-month old kitten. As Finn likes the cats he's met, and the kitten is new to dogs, I feel that if introduced properly, all will be well, and they'll at least be tolerant of one another.

My only issue is Finn's impulsive behaviour. Matt held the kitten tonight, and the kitten showed curiousness in Finn... until Finn leaped at Matt's legs trying to get to the kitten, tail wagging away. The kitten hissed and tried to clamber up Matt's shoulder. We made a mistake in "introducing" them that way, I'm sure, and I wanted some advice.

Since Finn is so over-impulsive and the kitten -is- curious about Finn, and I don't want her to be frightened of him, what do you folks feel is a good way to introduce them? The kitten is staying in our bedroom for the time being until she recieves her next booster next week, so keeping them apart for now is no problem.

Thanks!

[JessLough]

So I don't have a cat... but my cousin recently got a dog whom she had to introduce to a cat (who attacks anything that moves) and I had to walk her through that.

While the cat is staying in your room.. close your bedroom door and bring Finn just outside your bedroom. This way he can smell the kitten from beneath the door and vice versa. After a few days, while Finn is in his crate bring the cat down and let them sniff at each other through the crate. This way they can see each other, and they can get out any "frustrations" per say with each other. After about a week or so, when you feel like Finn has calmed down to the kitty, let him out to roam and smell the cat (maybe even have him on leash so you can pull him back if need be).

It's a slow, long process, but it'll stop the new kitten from getting even more stressed!

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Izzy does the same thing with our Jade.... We let Jade get bigger before we let them play too much and they still have to be monitored since Izzy wants to play with her like another dog.

[AllieMackie]

Yeah. Finn is crate trained and June Bug ha the run of our bedroom, so confinement and "crate and rotate" is really no big deal for awhile. I figure we may even have to wait a month or three before formally introducing them with Finn on a lead, or something similar.

I only get nervous because Finn will want to play with her. And he plays a lot with his paws. And could hurt her REALLY easily. So I'm nervous.

[GreenFireflyGirl]

Hey, you and me both! I'm going to be getting a "rescue" kitty in about three weeks if all goes well. A friend found some kittens that she is bottle feeding, and if they are healthy, I will be taking one off her hands soon, and my dog is one of those super happy to play types and I worry about a little kitten. I've been throwing fuzzy toys around a lot lately, saying "leave it" when she gets close, so hoping that the "leave it" is 100% when the kitten comes home.

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by AllieMackie

Yeah. Finn is crate trained and June Bug ha the run of our bedroom, so confinement and "crate and rotate" is really no big deal for awhile. I figure we may even have to wait a month or three before formally introducing them with Finn on a lead, or something similar.

I only get nervous because Finn will want to play with her. And he plays a lot with his paws. And could hurt her REALLY easily. So I'm nervous.

Very true, he also goes straight for the face so may try that with her as well...

Either way, just let me know what's the verdict with that (crate and rotate or whatev) when ya see me before leaving me watching Finn :P Probably be a good thing to know lol

[AllieMackie]

Originally Posted by JessLough

Very true, he also goes straight for the face so may try that with her as well...

Either way, just let me know what's the verdict with that (crate and rotate or whatev) when ya see me before leaving me watching Finn :P Probably be a good thing to know lol

It's no biggie, simply when one's out, the other isn't. Matt will be around which will help, and kitten CAN stay in the bedroom all day if needed, unlike Finn.

[Zoom]

Can you let them get to know each other through a babygate? That was they can really see each other and smell and sort of touch through the mesh but there is still a barrier there to thwart Finn's impulsiveness.

[Maxy24]

I agree with doing the crate and sniff for a few sessions but I also agree with Zoom about the baby gate. By having the kitten in his room and Finn on the outside of the gate Finn gets to watch the kitties movements (which could entice him to chase) but will get used to the fact that he cannot chase the kitty because of the gate. After a while the movements of the cat will become less foreign and therefore less chase enticing (assuming your dog is not hugely prey driven).

With Max I also took him into the kitty room and put him into a down and petted his head while the kitty checked out his back end. I made sure he couldn't go and try to shove his face into the cat and stayed lying down as to not scare the cat off. Use treats if you need to to keep him lying nicely.

Before they have an actual interactive meet give kitties nails a clipping in case he takes a few whacks at Finn's face.

[AllieMackie]

Okay, so we've had a few sessions of intros, and we do have a small batch of problems.

Finn -likes- the cat, and does not have intent to harm her, which is awesome. However, and this is also a characteristic of his breed... he obsesses over her. When he is out loose with her, he chases her down wherever she goes. If she moves, so does he. His face is always in her face and he glares at her and no distractions can get him away from her.

I've tried having him on leash, offering his best treats, coaxing him away THEN offering a treat... it doesn't seem to work. He's far too focused on her. I've tried it when he's absolutely exhausted from the dogpark, and his intenseness with her doesn't change at all.

He hasn't hurt her, but he corners her and doesn't let her move an inch without him being RIGHT THERE which obviously causes her stress.

They've only met for about 20 minutes at a time. The past two evenings we've allowed her free roam around him while he's crated, and he just obsesses over where she is from in the crate, barking and whining whenever she's close/running past. He is so intense that he's tensing every muscle, and grabbing at his blankets.

When we roomed her and took Finn out to pee, he was frantic and acting VERY strangely. Coming inside from his pee, he tore down to where his crate is and knocked some stuff over in a full-out spazout. He was really stressed from having her around him while confined.

I'm frustrated. I think if I can somehow get a grip on Finn's obsessiveness, they would be fine. He LIKES her, he just likes her to the point of obsession.

Any thoughts?