Introducing a kitten to the resident dog

by Jenifer
(Tucson, AZ)

My husband and I are adopting a kitten Blue Bengal in a few short weeks. We currently have a 3 yr old mix breed dog (Athena). She's about 60lbs, totally lovable, friendly with people, kids, and other dogs. She's had 'some' experience with cats. One cat that absolutely hates dogs and has previously tried to attack her, and another that "tolerates" dogs and just does his best to avoid the dogs.
Athena is spoiled rotten and loved up on pretty much all the time - she's a total momma's girl and follows me around the house when I'm home. She's crate trained, and recently we have been working with her out of crate and she's been great!
We want to ensure that Athena and our new addition get off to a great start - what suggestions do you have to make this transition a pleasant one?
I've heard that picking up the kitten with a towel or blanket that has Athena's scent on it will help familiarize the kitten with her scent ... and then allowing Athena to sniff that towel as well ... what other ideas are there??
Thanks -

RESPONSE:

Introduce them with the kitten in the crate initially. Always be there to supervise any interactions. A big dog can easily hurt a tiny kitten even when they just want to play. Usually, once the dog understands that the kitten is part of the family, they aren't aggressive. But the dog does not know her own strength so supervision is an absolute must. Having the dog on a leash at first when the kitten is let out to explore is also a good idea. The dog and kitten should be able to see and sniff each other but the goal for you is to insure that the dog does not get too playful with the kitten. After a few weeks, or when you feel confident that the dog can control herself around the kitten, you can let them spend more time together while you just "keep an eye on them". We have always had dogs and cats together and never had a problem but our dogs were raised from puppies with the cats so they understood the difference between "their cats" and stranger cats. Just use common sense and keep a watchfull eye on them until the kitten is confident in the house, knows where to hide if necessary, doesn't act scared around the dog and the dog is calm around the kitten. Once older, the kitten will be able to let the dog know when she is being too rambunctious. Good Luck and enjoy your new baby!

Donna - House Full Cats Mom