Introducing new kittens

My cat of 14 years died recently and I brought home a new female kitten. My 5 year old Nalu female cav misses her cat companion. She has been good at brief introductions/guarded exposure to the new kitty... until she runs or moves quickly. I've always had difficulty calming Nalu when she see's an animal on TV or in the yard. What would she do if she ever caught up to the kitty? How can I know if she will be gentle? I've read the training links but need step by step. Jealousy is also a concern. I'm considering getting a male kitten so the female won't feel so isolated and to avoid jealousy with Nalu. I have the kitten in a safe area but she gets lonely since I can't always be there with her. Thanks so much for your help.

I have four cats, two kittens recently introduced, and had cats before I had cavaliers. One reason I initially was attracted to the breed was because they were said to be good with cats!

I'd first off whole heartedly recommend a companion for your kitten, whether male or female. Kittens are generally best homed in pairs -- they get along well generally and become very close if they know each other from kittenhood onwards. Sibling pairs are especially close. They needn't be an opposite sex pair (and keep in mind the need to neuter in a timely way if you have two of opposite sex -- they can be sexually mature at 4-6 months! Thus it can be much safer to take two of the same sex). As you guess, they also will have companionship and a playfriend for life. This can take a lot of pressure off the humans and a dog in the home. And I love how two affectionate cats interact -- grooming each other and sleeping and playing together. When I did cat rescue we always explained that kittens and the eventual adults cats are much easier to care for when in pairs. People always assumed we were trying to home them faster but unlike puppies, which generally benefit far more from being homed as singletons, they truly are so much easier in pairs.

On the training -- the key thing is restraint and care, and going slow. This most likely means restraint for the dog, not the kitten. I have had dogs that were initially reactive to cats eventually just adapt and the best way to do this is initial short exposure, gradually building up to longer periods. The cat becomes boring when it is around all the time and no longer a novelty! I also give a firm 'no' or finger wag and stern look to barkers or chasers. I have an xpen that I will pop a chaser in for a time out as well. If the dog is getting overexcited, in it goes. I've three rescue cavaliers sitting on the sofa near cats right now that initially barked and chased the cats and could hardly be in the same room... sometimes I would put them in the pen and let the cats in. Gradually the excitability extinguished. Two of them will still sometimes give a half-hearted little chase but the cats now view it as part of the playfulness of the dogs and don't really care or even do much in response.

For dog safety, I would trim kitten/cat nails regularly to make sure they don't have really long sharp ends.

If Nalu is used to a cat in the home I doubt you will have any problems. All my cavaliers that grew up around cats are pretty ho-hum about the three new ones we have added as the oldies passed on. They seem to differentiate between 'their' cats and other cats -- ie cats in the house are 'their' cats. Each new addition is a new situation of course, and should be handled with caution, but almost always things should go fine.

Hope that helps!

Make sure the kitten has ample hiding spots (climbing post, or something to get up away from the dog). Do not restrain the cat. Do not attempt to restrain the cat. Don't get between the cat and the escape option.

Ok, now bring the dog in on a leash (tired is the best state, so maybe after a good jog or a park trip and given time to calm down afterwards). The cat will likely hiss, fluff up, and run away to a hiding spot. The dog may or may not get excited. Don't allow chasing (the dog is on a leash, remember). If the dog is excited, you sit down, talk calmly to one or both animals (or yourself/imaginary friend), and just have everyone occupy the same space for a while with no forced contact. Kittens can warm up to gentle dogs pretty quickly, but don't force it. The more time you can give the cat to watch the dog safely from a distance the better things will go. The calmer your dog is the more the cat will like the dog. Never, ever force a meeting (unless you really want to bleed, and consider your eyes expendable).

Give it time, keep repeating this process until the animals are getting along. Don't leave the animals unattended together.

Don't feed the animals in the same area.

My family used to have a cat who enjoyed baiting the dogs by walking away from his food bowl, then running over and scratching their noses when they went to steal his food. These were dogs from 65-95 pounds (the cat did weigh around 20 pounds himself though). They all (3) learned to fear him, and never steal cat food.

I did get a male kitten on Sunday and after a couple of brief hissy-fits the female dove into intense kitty playing. The male stood up to the dog and wouldn't let her chase the kitten. By this morning they were all on the couch. The kittens were inseparable until today; something happened to cause the male to not want to play. He's keeping to himself, so he probably got hurt by her (she's a 2 lb maniac) or too tired, or he could be sick (sneezing now and then). They were all kept separate at night until last night; the kittens weren't separated. And today all of them had a few hours together. Tonight they will all be separated again (and maybe tomorrow) to give them time to rest and adjust. Kittens can bring home all sorts of illnesses; I hope they're OK. He's going in on Thursday. Thanks for the advise.

I have not had experience introducing dogs and kittens. I do know that my cav spent time with cats when he was a pup, as the breeder had cats.

When I bring him to the place he boards (when I go on vacation), he immediately befriends her cats. Must have had a good relationship in his younger days and remembers cats as friends.

Good luck with everything. I know I had problems introducing Bosco as a puppy, to my two Japanese Chin. Took about two months of monitoring to get to a state of household peace. They all love each other now.

I haven't figured out how to keep the cat food out of reach but I haven't caught Nalu stealing any yet. Only one week and the kitten chases my string and the dog chases the kitten without hurting her. Cavaliers rock!