new kitten and old dominant dog

Question
Hello,

I'm hoping you can give me some advice. My aunt's cat just had kittens.  When my 11 yo daughter went to see them, she fell in love, and my aunt said if it was ok w/me, she could have one when they're old enough to leave their mom.  Well, now my daughter is ecstatically happy and is convinced she is getting a kitten.  However, I have a MAJOR problem.  We have a 13 1/2 year old very dominant Chow.  Although, she doesn't move very quickly, if the kitten went right up to her, which I fear a baby would, one bite would do the poor kitten in!  My only alternative to keep them separated would be to lock the poor thing in my daughter's room, which to me, seems very cruel.  I've had several people tell me that the kitten would instinctively stay away from the dog, which I really don't believe.  I've had others say the cat would be fine in one room.  That one's really tough for me to buy, especially with an energetic young kitten.  My dog doesn't go upstairs, but the kitten would certainly come down, even with a baby gate.  Is this whole thing a really bad idea, or is there any way you know of to make it work?  Thank you very much!

Answer
Kelly,

I'm somewhat uncomfortable offering any reassurances about how things will go between the dog and a young kitten without knowing a few significant things about your Chow first. When some pet parents use the word dominant it's code for aggression in one form or another rather than simply being at the top of the hierarchy in any given situation. It's important to consider how your dog responds to smaller dogs, cats in the neighborhood and other small animals. I don't know if your dog is spayed/neutered, this often makes a big difference in terms of curbing undesirable aggression and territorial behavior. If your dog doesn't have a structured life with calm, assertive leadership there's a chance that having a kitten could end badly. One great thing about animals is that they live in the present - if you've had problems in the past it doesn't mean that the dog is automatically going to repeat her mistakes.

It sounds to me as though there is a significant amount of concern for the wellbeing of the kitten that could be joining your family fairly shortly. Since I've never met your dog and the details that you've provided are minimal I can't promise that your concern for this kitten's safety isn't warranted. I do think that it would be advisable to introduce this kitten to your household in a controlled environment, you may want to enlist the help of a dog trainer or animal behaviorist. In this situation I would say that checking out a television series called The Dog Whisperer or reading Cesar Millan's books would be helpful. Cesar is able to help rehabilitate dogs with horrific bite histories, aggression problems, obsessive behavior and a whole host of other serious problems and he does so by teaching pet parents to be calm, assertive pack leaders so that their dog can be a calm, submissive dog. You may also want to consider contacting a holistic veterinarian (a vet trained in conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies which can include homeopathy, acupuncture, or even massage) to see what types of holistic treatment will be most helpful to ensure that your dog is relaxed and the kitten is kept safe.

Many pet guardians tend to believe that mother cats require human assistance to wean their kittens and that the goal is to get all of the kittens into new homes as soon as they're capable of eating solid foods. I believe that this is the absolute wrong approach, it can create serious health and behavioral problems in the kittens as they grow into mature cats. Most mother cats will wean their kittens within the first 8-10 weeks of life, it sometimes takes longer, however it's most common for mom to start her babies on solid food and get them weaned before the age of 12 weeks. In terms of feline development kittens are still quite young when placed into new adoptive homes at 12 weeks of age. If queens had the option they'd continue caring for their offspring for several months beyond the traditional 6-8 weeks of age when shelters and many backyard breeders push to place kittens in new homes and even at 12 weeks of age a kitten is still fragile and has lots to learn about life and how to live in harmony with their human caregivers as well as any other animals within their new household. I normally recommend that kittens stay with their mother and siblings for a minimum of 10-12 weeks and unfortunately there seems to be a growing trend among shelters and pet guardians heading towards adopting out their kittens as young as possible. Unfortunately kittens learn very valuable skills, their social hierarchy within the litter and how to take direction from their mother, more dominant siblings and their human caregivers. Early socialization is extremely important for kittens, if they aren't properly socialized and allowed to grow, develop and learn the life skills to get them on track towards having the healthiest, most mentally stable lives possible there can be serious behavioral issues.

I see no reason why your daughter can't have a kitten provided that introductions happen gradually in an appropriate controlled environment by the adults. If you suspect that your dog may be inclined to hurt the kitten you can introduce the new member of your household while s/he's still in a hard sided cat crate to see what the dog's reaction is. Once the dog ignores the kitten's presence in a hard sided kennel you can move ahead to introducing the kitten to your while she's muzzled to prevent any serious problems. If your dog is comfortable with the kitten's presence while wearing a muzzle you should probably try having the two pets meet while the dog is leashed and under complete control so that if something goes wrong the kitten's kept safe. I would really be much more comfortable knowing more about your dog's personality traits and how balanced she is before making any concrete recommendations about your situation. I don't want to give you the wrong advice and it's important to me that your dog and possible new kitten are safe from each other's aggression.

Cats and kittens all have unique personality traits, some are more intelligent than others, some have a tendency towards being shy and reserved while other kittens will actually be bolder and more aggressive. Keeping in mind that most cats won't hesitate to defend themselves or climb out of reach when a dog gets out of hand you also want to ensure that your dog isn't injured by sharp claws and teeth. The object of introducing a new pet into a household is to ensure that everyone can live safely in harmony without incident or injuries, however a more confident kitten might be willing to let the dog know when she's stepped out of line with a scratch on her nose to make her point. I do think that if you're going to bring a kitten into the household she needs to have places that she can escape to quickly where the dog can't follow. A large sturdy cat tree, a kitty door leading into a specific room or a series of shelves that the dog can't reach are all good options to help ensure the safety of your new kitten.

If your daughter's heart is set on having a kitten it's possible for the new baby to stay in her room until the dog has grown more comfortable with her presence. There's a chance that your dog won't show any aggression or concern over having a new kitten in her house and that they could become the best of friends so I wouldn't rule the possibility out, but I would recommend approaching with caution, speaking to a behaviorist about how best to proceed and it's not a bad idea to have a holistic vet treat your dog with more natural remedies to ensure that she's calm, safe and not dangerously aggressive. I'm more than willing to offer support and tips where I can to help with this new kitten's introduction to the household, but I would urge you to think about whether the dog is truly just dominant or if there's something more sinister happening in terms of aggression that may lead to a tragic outcome.