Dog Family Introduces Rescue Kitten to the Mix

We’re a dog family. I’m talking “dog hair, don’t care” family! Bring on the doggos!

If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that we currently have two German shorthaired pointers (GSPs) named Hogan and Calvin. Hogan is almost ten, and Calvin is almost five. We also have a little Scottish Terrier named Lenny. He’s just over one. We have a lot of furry family members to keep us busy.

We recently added a rescue kitten!  It was fate…

On Father’s day 2018 we decided to take out our MasterCraft wake boarding boat. We spent the entire day out on the water with dad. Music playing, the sun was shining, and we were having a blast. After every boating session, we clean up the boat. Our daughter, Annabella (16) came running into the house with a yellow towel and six tiny newborn kittens. She found the litter of kittens under the boat seat. That’s right; we took a littler of six young kittens out boating for the day. Mama may have been on board as well.

We did what every “dog family” would do. We kept the dogs away, especially the ‘bird dogs’ since they are a hunting breed. We put the kittens back where we found them hoping that mama would come back. The following morning one kitten was missing. Yikes! We decided to take the kittens to the local animal shelter. We did not want them freezing at night, and we certainly did not want the dogs to get them.

Our bird dogs were acting very strange near our backyard shed. Pointing and trying to get the door open. You guessed it; we found the missing kitten and mama in the shed. To make a long story short, mama moved the kitten back to the boat and then back to the shed again. We found the kitten at the bottom of the shed. He had a respiratory infection, he could not breathe very well, and his eyes were sealed shut, so we brought him inside our house and put him in a small box in my daughter’s room. We got him to the vet where he was given antibiotics and we were given a lot of instruction regarding bottle feeding, littler boxes, soft food, and introducing him slowly to the dogs.

The little guy was on the mend. We decided to name him “MasterCraft” after the boat he was born on, but did not promise our daughter what we could keep him unless the dogs adjusted.

Here’s how we introduced MC into our home:

• Step 1: We kept MasterCraft in Bella’s room in a small cozy crate and got him a litter box.
• Step 2: We slowly transitioned him to soft food and would bring him downstairs so the dogs could get used to him. He stayed in our arms at first.
• Step 3: We moved the small crate downstairs and got a larger one for upstairs. This allowed the dogs to smell him and get used to him being inside the house. When we bottle fed him, the dogs could come up and smell him.
• Step 4: MasterCraft or ‘MC’ moved out of the bedroom crate and started sleeping in Bella’s room (in her bed). Lenny took a liking to him and would often go up to him and try and play.
• Step 5: We slowly allowed MasterCraft to walk around the front room with Hogan and Calvin in the room. We reminded the dogs to be “easy” and were firm with letting them know that MC was staying.
• Step 6: Lenny and MC started playing often. Wrestling, playing with small balls, and snuggling. Within about four weeks, MC could run around the house with Hogan and Calvin. We put his food on the kitchen counter (dry food now) so that the dogs can’t get it.
• Step 7: Lenny and MC are best friends. Hogan and Calvin are 100% good with MC although they don’t “LOVE” him the way Lenny does. MC still sleeps with Bella, but runs around the house whenever he wants.
• Step 8: We’ve caught MC laying with Hogan multiple times! I never thought this would happen. Hogan is very CAT driven when running outside but he now knows that MC is part of our crew.
• Step 9: We purchased a top entry litter box. I highly recommend this! Our dogs were smart enough to try and eat the “goodies” in the regular litter box. The top entry littler box keeps them out.
• Step 10: MasterCraft, MC, Master Kitty is a big part of our @pointandwag Zoo Crew!

MasterCraft is a fun addition to our home and family. I honestly did not think a cat would be possible. Hogan, Calvin, and Lenny have all adjusted just fine and MasterCraft is safe and sound. Given that he was moved from the boat to the shed twice; we knew it was meant to be.

Lenny & MasterCraft (Hogan and Calvin, too) make our family laugh on a daily basis. Here are a few videos of their silly shenanigans!

1. MasterCraft “blessing” our coffee and food (very funny, daily ritual)
2. MasterCraft and Lenny versus the Roomba robot vacuum
3. True Love!  From the very beginning
4. MasterCraft ‘blessing’ the coffee
5. Lenny, Hogan and MasterCraft relaxing on their ‘community’ bed (wait for it)

See MORE videos of Lenny and Mastercraft and more photos of the entire crew on @pointandwag!

Have you introduced a kitty to a pup fam? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

Nikole Castro

Hi! I’m Nik (short for Nikole) from @pointandwag. I’m a mom of three humans and three furry family members. I have two GSPs, Hogan Sandwich and Calvin T-Bone. I love to run with my German Shorthaired Pointers! Hogan is now considered a ‘senior’ dog, so I’ve had to make some running adjustments. Calvin is 4 and could probably run 100 miles. I also have a Scottish Terrier, Lenny Spaghetti, who’s a just a pup. I’ve never had a little dog but must admit, everything they say about TERRIERS is true. He’s awesome! We’re the @pointandwag crew.

https://www.instagram.com/pointandwag/