Since late last fall, our youngest daughter has been lobbying hard for a cat. She did a school project on one, she drew endless pictures of them, she wrote stories about them, she slept with her stuffed animal cat every night and my favorite was the note she wrote Scott listing all their fine attributes.
We waited it out awhile, trying to see if it was merely a passing phase or if it would stick. We figured if come July when her birthday rolls around, she’s still stuck on cats, then we’d most likely allow her to have one. (we never told her that of course)
July came. She turned six and she was still crazy for cats.
We decided we wanted a kitten so that we could hopefully train the cat to like being held and snuggled (rather than say hiding under the bed all day). I found some kittens that had been rescued by a lady who’s neighbor had moved away and left her pregnant cat behind. This kind woman, took the cat in (even though she is allergic) and raised the kittens till they were old enough to leave their Momma. When we went to meet them, my youngest was instantly smitten. (My two youngest children are my animal lovers). My little guy had a blast picking up and holding one kitten after another. When one would sneak away, he’d just reach down and grab another. If it would dig his or her claws into him, he’d giggle and say, “It scratched me, but that’s ok. It likes me.” Meanwhile my daughter was happy to hold just one.
Tonight we welcomed Cartwheel into the Circus Family.
We are hoping that by getting both a puppy and a kitten close together neither would feel like the dominate animal and maybe they’d get along.
It’s a bit soon to say how that is working out… she’d been home a whole 2 hours. There was some hissing, some barking and some hair standing on end. Scott’s not very optimistic but I am hopeful they will work things out and become friends. Or at least they’ll get along.
On July 14th we welcomed our pup Wendy to the circus fam and 11 days later we welcomed our kitten Cartwheel to the crew as well. Go ahead and say it, we admit it, we are a bit crazy!
You might want to try using a blanket with the kitten's scent and place it near your puppy when she eats and vice versa to really increase positive feelings. Also it could help if there are some higher ground spots the kitten could get to when she needs a break. Ooh also, sometimes using a baby gate where pets can see each other but not harm each other helps foster security. Good luck! They're both adorable
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