Kitten with Maltese Puppy

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Archived Message

Kitten with Maltese Puppy
by Kelly Weber
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Kitten with Maltese Puppy We have a 14-month-old male Maltese, Max and are considering adding a kitten to the household (we have no children). We're looking at the Ragdoll breed, known for its extremely docile, tolerant temperament. Our first concern, of course, is how Max will adjust. Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation? We'd love for the cat to become a companion, particularly since my husband and I both work during the day. Are we being overly optimistic? In Max's eyes, does having another pet around when he's alone outweigh the fact that he'll have to start sharing our affection? He's gotten quite accustomed to being the only love of our lives, but he's also an extremely sociable dog who absolutely loves being with other dogs and people. We want to make the right decision. Thanks for any insight.

DISCUSSION:

Lucky you! Lucky Max! Cats and dogs get along far better than comdeians and such would have us believe. I have a three and a half year old Maine Coon cat and five and a half month old Phoebe, now the cat has finally decided that this pup is fun and they do play, but the pup is CRAZY about the cat! Hubby and I raised and showed Persians for years, had a houseful, and I had a Yorkie who was the light of my life - he paid no attention to the cats - nor they him, but I rescued a Maine Coon cat and she absolutely devoted her seventeen pounds of gentleness to my Yorkie! He adored her! My next cat will be a Ragdoll, for the same reasons you want one. The biggest advice I can give you regarding having a cat and dog together is to keep the cats claws trimmed and then sit back and watch the fun! The cat quickly learns to get out of the way if the dog gets too rambunctious and the dog learns how to really 'push the cats button'. The personalities of dogs and cats are so very different and for some reason they tend to accentuate the differences and bring out the similarities at the same time. It doesn't take long for them to adjust to one another and truly I would GO FOR IT! Keep us posted...
Leslie R

I'm speaking from a 2 cat/2 dog family. Our sweet, little, lovey-dovey, honey-pie, innocent looking, baby furballs TERRORIZE the cats. One cat has even ended up at the vet's with a bald spot the size of two half-dollars on her neck due to stress since the new puppy arrived (and he's not the worse one). Our 2-yr-old, Baxter, is the terror. Rudy (5 mos.) is learning, though. Outside of this, they are extremely well behaved. The terms "bad dog" & "what did you do?" go straight to Baxter's heart like a knife and he is so remorseful when we say them. But within an hour, he forgets and the old instincts kick in. I'm not sure if the order they were brought home in counts, but we had both cats (for about 6-7 years) before we got the dogs. Long story short - it all depends on the animals and how can you know till you try? Have you thought about another Maltese - now THERE's great company!
Marie

Many of us "MO" folks are cat lovers, too. You don't have a thing to worry about. Our American Shorthair, Tiger, is bigger than our Maltese but they are great buddies and are so much fun to watch when they play together.
April B.

When our Maltese Sassie was 11 months old we got a new kitten. The kitten and the rest of her litter had been left at the front door at ours vets office. I am not sure if they know that they are different animals. They have both picked up traits from the other. Sassie can bat at a cat toy quicker than the kitten. The kitten loves to gnaw on dog chews. Sassie has learned to pounce better than some cats. The first thing every morning Sassie goes looking for Smokie to play. (Smokie is not yet able to go the night without chasing moving feet, so she is shut out of the bedrooms at night) Sassie knows how to let the kitten know when she gets to rough or when is is tired of playing and needs a nap. Smokie seems to know when Sassie wants to play and when to let her be. Smokie never bothers Sassie while she is napping. The two are just a perfect match. Hope this helps.
ChrisL

MY MALTESE ELLIE MAE WAS 2 YRS. & 10 MONTHS WHEN I RECEIVED A 2 WEEK OLD KITTEN LAST AUGUST. THE 1ST WEEK I KEPT THE KITTEN IN A SPARE BEDROOM & ELLIE WAS ALWAYS AT THE DOOR WANTING THE KITTEN. AFTER 1 WEEK, I WOULD SUPERVISE THE 2 OF THEM TOGETHER A LITTLE AT A TIME. AFTER ABOUT 2 WEEKS THEY WERE INSEPERALBE. ELLIE THINKS SHE IS THE MAMA. SHE CLEANS THE CAT ALL THE TIME AND PLAY ALL THE TIME. THEY SIT IN THE WINDOW LEDGE TOGETHER AND LOOK OUTSIDE. GETTING THE CAT WAS THE BEST THING I DID FOR ELLIE SINCE I WORK DURING THE DAY. I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING A CAT, BECAUSE OF THE MALTESE SWEET NATURE.
DONNA

Kelly,After my lab died, I was not ready for another dog. My 2 1/2 year old Maltese was in mourning, so we were talked into getting him a kitty to keep him company (even though my husband and I were NOT cat people, we would do just about anything for our Maltese). We ended up getting a female Siamese named Kimmi-lee! At first Dudley barked incessantly at the kitten, but it only took me 12 hours before I had him kissing her. I just kept telling him this was HIS kitty and he had to take care of it! (I always assume he knows everything I am saying!) He was fascinated by her, and because of her fiesty nature, she was not afraid of him, ever. I waited about three or four days before I left them alone together, and they have been best friends ever since. She is good company for him, but unfortunetly nothing takes the place of mom and dad when we are gone. The guilts when we leave will ALWAYS be there, no matter what. By the way, Dudley is very spoiled and used to our undivided attention, too. You should see the looks I get when Kimmi-lee sits in my lap!
Teri