Can we integrate a kitten into our household of 2 dogs and a rabbit?

[queennadine]

DH and I are thinking about taking in a kitten. It's about 4-5 weeks old at this point and staying with his sister along with the other kitties.

We're planning on getting them all fixed (there are 4) and maybe keeping the one, which we think is the runt of the litter.

We have two Italian Greyhounds and 1 rabbit. The dogs and the rabbit get along fine. How difficult or easy would it be to integrate a cat into the household?

One of our dogs goes on puppy pads, so we're thinking she might go in the litterbox once we get one for the cat. But do dogs eat cat poop?

Then we're thinking about other things: how do we keep them seperated until they're all used to each other and getting along? I don't want to confine the kitten to a crate all day.

Here are a couple of pics. The black and white one is the one we're thinking about keeping. Any advice would be super helpful! DH and I have never had cats before, so we're kinda lost. We're just trying to figure out logistics.

TIA!

 

[gsmom]

I don't know if the doggie will use the litter box, but I do know some of them like the poop. For that, we got a kiddie-proof gate/door thing that only cats can go through into the bathroom where the litter boxes are.

You are going to wait till the little kitty is 8 weeks to bring him into the mix? Are your dogs gentle with the rabbit?

I may be in the minority, but I don't believe in forcefully separating. Just keep a watchful eye in the beginning and let them do their things with eachother.

 

[buzzytoes]

I don't know if the doggie will use the litter box, but I do know some of them like the poop. For that, we got a kiddie-proof gate/door thing that only cats can go through into the bathroom where the litter boxes are.

You are going to wait till the little kitty is 8 weeks to bring him into the mix? Are your dogs gentle with the rabbit?

I may be in the minority, but I don't believe in forcefully separating. Just keep a watchful eye in the beginning and let them do their things with eachother.

This is what we have done, with a hole cut in the gate that is big enough for the cats to fit through but too big for the dogs.

The only thing I would really worry about is with your dogs being Italian Greyhounds that they might chase the kitten since they are sight prey dogs and are bred with that instinct to chase things. Does the bunny live outside of a cage or does he stay locked up??

I have only ever introduced older cats to younger dogs (and cats to cats) but I have never done anything to seperate them. I've just kept a close eye on them and made a loud noise if they seemed to be having any prolonged roughness with each other. There never seems to be as much "arguing" when you are introducing different species because they each do their own thing.

They are both such cute kittens! Good luck!

 

[queennadine]

Our rabbit is in a cage during the day in a different part of the house and then she's loose once we get home. The dogs don't bother her or chase her. One of them tries to play with her and nuzzles into her fur with her nose, but that's about it.

We do have a half-bath downstairs that we could put a litterbox in, and then 'close' it off with a baby gate.