I am SO sad... update on the itty bitty kitty situation

[demtenjeep]

I have so greatly wanted a new kitty for the longest time.

Today I went to the Kansas Humane Society and adopted cute little tabby male Rascal. He was 3 months old and had just been neutered yesterday.


I brought him home and for the longest time he just sat on my lap and purred and loved me. The boxer Angus was outside. When it was time for Angus to come in, I put Rascal in the bathroom and shut the door.

My plan to integrate them slowly took a turn for the worse. Angus heard the kitty and got the door open. I scooped up Rascal into my arms but the cat went bezerk did many flips in the air, took chunks out of my arm and hopped on the dog. Angus didn't even try to do anything but get away but the cat just went crazy.

In my mind, I could see one of them getting hurt like the boxer losing an eye or something so... the Humane society has a 24 hour bring back policy and with tears in my eyes, I took all the paperwork and the box he came in and returned Rascal.

They let me play and hold him for 30 more minutes to say goodbye and he just crawled up on my neck and went to sleep purring.



I guess it is just too early to have an itty bitty kitty with a boxer.

sigh...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I'm so sorry, my dear demtenjeep...

Boxers are often very active, strenuous dogs. I don't know how well they do around kittens.

Maybe when Angus is older...

:hug:

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I am so sorry it didn't work out, and it sounds like it was a real sweetie.

You should talk to the people at the humane society about trying again. They should have cats that they know will get along with dogs. Sounds like a few mistakes too. The door should not have been able to be opened by the dog. That had to scare the kitty to begin with. The kitten was in an unfamiliar place, where the dog has always ruled.

Don't give up. Keep the animals separated longer. Have a towel or blanket with the scent of the other one close to each animal so they can get used to it before they meet face to face. I am sure that the humane society can help you.

[david13]

3. I wouldn't give up if I were you. Maybe you just got the wrong cat.

Many of these agencies for adoption test the cat with dogs and kids, so they can recommend one that has no problem with a dog. And seeing that, they dog may have no problem with the cat.
So I say don't give up. I think it will happen. I have seen far too many houses with both cat and dog to believe that it can't be done.
dc

[grasswire]

4. keep an eye on your wounds

Cat inflicted wounds become infected more often than not, and can make you quite sick. Bites are more dangerous than claw marks.

Keep a very close eye. If there's any sign of infection or swelling or if the area becomes reddened, go get medical care.

[Withywindle]

5. "More often than not?" No, not really.

My violent little BDSM kitty has been drawing blood from me regularly for three years (including quite a few skin-breaking bites) and I've never had an infection yet. My immune system's pretty good but it's not superpowered.

Tea tree oil is a very good disinfectant, I've found.

[grasswire]

7. source

"Dog bites often do more outright damage, but only 3 to 18 percent become infected. In contrast, cat bites may appear more trivial, but up to 80 percent of cat bites may become infected if proper care is not taken."

Louisiana State University Veterinary Medicine School

http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/animal_bites.htm

[Withywindle]

8. I'm sure the source is good, but my experience doesn't match it.

I've had LOTS of cat bites over the last 30 years I've lived with various beasties (mine, my roommates', some feral colonies), and only had one infection. It was about 22 years ago and it was pretty mild. Didn't even go to a doctor, just kept putting disinfectant on it and it went away within a week.

[grasswire]

11. your experience seems to be atypical

My family experience consists of just one biting incident of several punctures ending up with several days of IV antibiotics and a lot of pain. Scars still there after twelve years.

We were told then by the clinic then that most cat bites result in infection and are taken seriously.

[hamsterjill]

12. No, that experience is not atypical

I work in cat rescue and get nips all the time. I've NEVER had an infection.

Your words of wisdom should be well-heeded. If the OP has any issues, medical care should be sought; however, there should not be any real concern unless the wound does not heal.

It is your YOUR family's experience that is atypical.

[grasswire]

16. note the difference between a personal anecdote and a scientific study

Gee. What a fuss over my simple caution substantiated by an authoritative source that cites a scientific study.

Your anecdotal "evidence" is as useful as the other poster's, and both are as useful as mine -- only ONE voice. I'm sure you can see the difference between one voice of experience and the data of a structured study.

Actually, the LSU study is at variance with some other studies. EMedicine magazine cites a study showing 30-50% infection rate for a cat bite.

Still nothing to fool with.

[hamsterjill]

19. Absolutely nothing to fool with, but nothing to panic over either.

As with all things - keep an eye on the affected area and act if necessary. Otherwise, let the body heal itself like it usually does.

"One voice" with over 30 years experience in these matters is pretty good "evidence" as far as I'm concerned.

Peace.

[Gormy Cuss]

21. "Up to 80%" was one of the qualifiers

That means it could be considerably less.
The other qualifier is that infection occurs when proper care isn't implemented.

That's one reason a study can have seemingly very different results than the others.


That said, cat bites ARE nothing to fool around with.

[mopinko]

13. they are almost 100% fatal in birds.

people often think the bird is fine, then are shocked a few days later when they drop dead.

[Kali]

6. I think you gave up too fast.

It has taken 4 months for old Mamakitty to get used to having a dog in this part of the house, but she will even sleep on the bed with Lupe now. Not to say they are buddies in any way. She will rake the poor dog if she gets too close but they have reached a truce. Freddy the cat plays with the dog now, rubs on her and everything. Both cats had been attacked by dogs in the past to the point of serious injury. They came around by just having a safe space away from the dog and lots of time.

[Withywindle]

9. Yeah, it does take a lot of time.

Even introducing new critters of the same size and species can take days or weeks to do right.

[ellenrr]

10. takes at least a couple of weeks

poor kitty

[mopinko]

14. oh. i am sorry.

boxers are supposed to be tolerant of other pets. the one i have now, however, is right there with the terriers when there is something good to chase.
the last one i had would let birds sit on her head and not blink. that is how they should be. i think they are getting very popular now, tho, and the temperament is not given its props in the decisions of which dogs to breed.
i bet angus can get there. some of them take a little more work than others.



ps- the dog whisperer knows everything.

[Arugula Latte]

15. I'm sorry. We have a no-kill shelter nearby that characterizes kitties

on many levels, like "should be only cat," or "used to dogs" and the like. Maybe you can find a kitty that has been screened for dog-tolerance.

Good luck, and I'm so sorry it didn't work out.

[DainBramaged]

17. Do not give up, when we used to adopt new kittehs, we'd bring our googlies with us

and the ones that were indifferent or friendly were the ones who came home. When we adopted Miss Coco 14 years ago this October, she snuggled up to my biggest and they were friends till the day he died......

[one_voice]

18. Awww...I'm sorry it didn't work out....

when my kitty found me he was a little older than three months..around 9 and the vet said it looked like he'd lived on the street most of those 9 months, he was friendly with me, but wanted nothing to do with the dogs, he was terrified.

Like you I did the introduction slowly (as you know I have two boxers)and for a while I didn't think it would work out. One of my dogs insisted on chasing and terrorizing the poor kitty (the other one joined in too). The cat was so afraid he wouldn't walk past the dogs crate to get to his litter pan. The kitty would run in the living room and hide under the table, coming out occasionally for affection. Then one day, he walked right past the dogs (while I made them sit in the stay position) started using his litter pan, and now the three of them sleep in the same sofa. I corrected both dogs when needed, and they worked it out.

It will happen for you. Maybe a cat that's a little older would be better, 6-9 months, maybe one that's been around dogs and won't be so afraid.

I understand worrying about an eye injury. My Sugar/Lu-Lu has a corneal abrasion that we've been trying to heal since Feb. It's gotten better, but she still has problems. Apparently Boxers have a hard time healing eye injuries. It wasn't from the cat though. My dogs have epic blanket wars. Sug will lay on the floor and Izzie will use her mouth to get the blankets to cover Sug, and the "fight/wrestle" through the blanket. And I guess Sug got caught in the eye. They play like that all the time, and when they get tired they just plop in the same blankets and cuddle. Needless to say, no more blanket wars.

Good luck in your search for you kitty, don't lose hope. Most times these things work out.

[mnhtnbb]

20. Don't give up.

Getting the right personalities together is a trick and introductions should be made with the dog
controlled on a leash.

It can be done. Our 15 yo Simba gets along fine with our rescue dog, Snowy, who came to live with
us 18 months ago. Simba and his brother Mouse, came as kittens to live with our shelter dog, Tanya.


Tanya and Mouse--no longer with us--I like to think they reunited at the Rainbow Bridge



Simba and Snowy--not long after Snowy came to live with us