[552mom]

What was I so worried about?! LOL...THank you to everyone for reassuring me I was handling it properly. We are now completely off leash and Oscar and Nero (new kitten) are buddies already!! They play and have a great old time together! I still don't let Oscar chase though, I just don't want that to be a habit. But their favorite game is Nero gets up on the back of the couch and hits Oscar in the face and Oscar 'talks' to Nero the whole time. It's great entertainment.  :lol: But my resident cat still thinks we are all idiots.  :roll: But we love him anyway!  :wink:






Am I doing the right thing? We adopted a 3 mo old kitten 2 days ago. I have a 3 yr old boxer named Oscar, Oscar has grown up with our 'resident' cat Wolverine, who was our first furry. But I know that he needs to be trained to accept and understand that kitten is part of the pack now too. SO last night I let new kitty roam free and check the place out (he has a designated room in the basement when I'm not home for now) and I kept Oscar on his prong collar and short lead with me for about an hour and a half and everytime he sat while new kitty was scampering etc....he got rewarded with heavy praise. Is this the right idea to start getting him used to seeing little kitty running and jumping and playing, etc....without thinking he's a 'toy'? Thanks!

 

[552mom]

Re: Boxer vs. Kitten

Just a quick update. I had new kitty (Nero) out last night again for about 2 hours with Oscar on his leash though. They sniffed noses and Nero swatted at Oscar's nose but without his claws out. Oscar just seems to get 'over stimulated' when Nero scampers through a room, I just worry he will pounce if he catches him. But this morning I brought Oscar in from going potty and they sniffed noses a little bit...Nero still arches his back and puffs his little kitten tail but Oscar just reached toward him with his nose, not his usual giant paw 'hey come here' tactic! lol....So fingers crossed! We are trying without leash over the weekend. Thanks all!

 

[552mom]

Re: Boxer vs. Kitten (UPDATE 11.12.07)

Well we went off leash all weekend and he did pretty good. As mentioned above by boxerlove the biggest issue is when Nero runs through the room Oscar gives chase.  8O But we are working on it.  If Osccar startles Nero he will hiss and spit but otherwise he holds his own. Which is good I didn't want a kitten thet Oscar could intimidate. I think we're going to be just fine in a couple more weeks or so. They still will never be left alone but things will balance out in the weeks to come. My resident cat, Wolverine just watches all these goings on with a look that says he thinks we are all absolutely NUTS!  :lol: