# Introducing a new family member



## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

A couple months ago, I adopted a black cat we temporarily named Unlucky. Clever, I know. He did not work out. He was OK-ish with the dogs, but not good with Lucky, my current cat.

Lucky is dog-savvy, but she demands the dogs respect her space. As such, the dogs never approach her because she is uninteresting. And they don't like sharp claws in the face.

I was looking for another cat. Odin's passing left a big hole, he was very much perfect in every way. The way he got on with dogs was amazing. The older members here who have seen Ollie and Odin together remember the pictures and videos. I adored Odin for that. I am sure Odin and Ollie are playing up in heaven now, and I am happy for that.

I was not sure if I wanted to bring in another cat, because it would be a challenge. Kobe, when he came here, was cat aggressive. Priscilla has only known a cat like Lucky, who is a ball of fury. But I decided I should at least try, and see how the results go.

Which brings to 1-2 months ago. A cat had been living in my garage, an intact male cat. I had been trying to find him for a while, but he always seemed to be out whenever I looked for him. I started putting food in the garage, and eventually we were both there at the same time. This was about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I finally met him, picked him up, took him to the shelter.

He was obviously someone's pet at some point of his life. He had no microchip or collar, so there was no method to identify him. I left him in the shelter hoping someone picked him up, but requested to be notified when his time there was up for owner pick up.

His seven days was up, and he was free for adoption. I decided to take him home. He had been neutered and vetted.

He got here and I introduced him to Lucky. He had a bit of a resource guarding problem in that anytime Lucky ate, he would rush to the plate and eat. He did not attack Lucky, however. So I was OK with that. Over time, he got better and did not care if Lucky ate or drank anymore. So, he passed the cat test after I saw them cuddled together.

It was time to do the dog test. I worked on Kobe and Priscilla for a long time with Lucky, but Lucky is NOT the best training cat. It took many months to get Kobe to leave Lucky alone on his own, because he kept getting his butt kicked by Lucky every time he approached her.

The last week to week and half, I've been slowly accliminating them to each other. And well, I took pictures of the results.

So you tell me, did they do good together?


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)




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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

Thank you for looking!


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## readerchick87 (Oct 23, 2008)

yay! They are so sweet with that cat, good job, and you're so sneaky not mentioning it .


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## chul3l3ies1126 (Aug 13, 2007)

OOOOHHHH!!!! Love the new member!!! Too cute! and love how you have worked to get your dogs to love cats the way it should be!!! A truly happy family!
Nessa


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

Congratulations R, what a pretty kitty  Yes, I do remember the wonderful pictures of odin and Ollie. Good luck with your new family member!


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Such a cute tabby  And yes it looks like they are getting along famously...way to take things slow.

Welcome, kitty


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## cvcraven (Jun 20, 2007)

Awww! They look so sweet together!


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

Every time I see a husky/husky mix getting along with a cat, I breathe a sigh of relief.

I'm really a cat lover before I'm a dog lover, so any canine I have needs to get along with my kitties. Figures, my favorite breed of dog usually gets labeled as a cat-muncher.

Beautiful pictures!


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Awwwww. What a gorgeous cat.


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

JessRU09 said:


> Every time I see a husky/husky mix getting along with a cat, I breathe a sigh of relief.
> 
> I'm really a cat lover before I'm a dog lover, so any canine I have needs to get along with my kitties. Figures, my favorite breed of dog usually gets labeled as a cat-muncher.
> 
> Beautiful pictures!


It took me 8 months to get to this point, it was not an easy road. I've done it once before with Ollie, who was much easier than Kobe. The turning point is when Kobe stopped going for Lucky, but started doing play bows and was bouncy. It took a long time, but he came to associate cats with good things. So he started being playful.

However, the problem that followed was that Kobe is a BIG BIG dog. He is 60 pounds, but compare him to Priscilla. Priscilla is 55 pounds. It's an extraordinary difference. He would bounce, paw, play nip, and so on. But I never let him get within mouth range of Lucky. It took a long time to teach him to be calm and patient with cats, and to not use his mouth or paws.

Now that he's able to get this close to cats, the biggest hurdle is that he noses them too much. While not dangerous in itself, it's certainly not appreciated by Stubby. So he is still a work in progress. The dogs have never been, nor will ever be, around the cat unsupervised. 

So it was a long road, and not really worth it to most people. It's still unstable, and will take another 2 months to get them to live with the cat in the room.


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## Dakota Spirit (Jul 31, 2007)

Definitely a handsome cat. I'm such a fan of tabbies. 
He looks to be getting on great with the pups, too. Good job, R 

Look forward to seeing more pictures in the future


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## Mdawn (Mar 3, 2007)

Congratulations! He really is a beautiful cat. 

I need you to come and teach Eddie and Uallis how to get along with cats....lol
They are a menace to mine...


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

The newness has worn off. I've never kept Stubby here for more than 30-45 minutes at a time. It's been about 6 hours now, I think. Not keeping track.

They are not so interested in the cat anymore. If Stubby moves, they suddenly get interested. But, that's to be expected. It's a long way to go still, to let Stubby walk around freely here. But here's the pictures as of a few minutes ago.



















Priscilla mostly lost interest and is sleeping on my foot again.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

awwwww how sweet R.  Looks like things are working out well. 

Congratulations on your newest addition. Stubby is a cutie.


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## jcd (Nov 20, 2007)

wow they are awesome photos! gorgeous cat and the dogs look really nice too. they look like they have been together for years!! good job!


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## LuvmyRotti (Oct 26, 2007)

That is very sweet. Just shows how good natured your dogs are.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

By the way - is this your new camera lens? The low light quality looks much nicer, so either your camera skills are getting much better or that lens is great...or both


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## Sugar Daddy Otis (Jan 9, 2008)

Great R--I am so glad this one worked out for you all--looks like they'll be just fine together  Love the name--I figured he has a stubby tail...but then I saw it's all there--so...why the name Stubby?


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

LuvmyRotti said:


> That is very sweet. Just shows how good natured your dogs are.


Define good natured  he he



Shaina said:


> By the way - is this your new camera lens? The low light quality looks much nicer, so either your camera skills are getting much better or that lens is great...or both


I used the 18-200 for these pictures. For once, I can say the pictures improved due to my skill! I learned a lot of things the last few days about indoor photography!



Sugar Daddy Otis said:


> Great R--I am so glad this one worked out for you all--looks like they'll be just fine together  Love the name--I figured he has a stubby tail...but then I saw it's all there--so...why the name Stubby?


Look at the picture of him standing, he has REALLY short legs.


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## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

Now those pictures just had me laughing, the three of them are just hanging out having a good time!


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## Ender (Sep 16, 2008)

Stubby is adorable. What is it with huge tabby male toms being strays? I rescued one who looked almost exactly like Stubby a while ago. I named him Heathcliff. He absolutely hated the dogs though, we kept them apart for the dog's safety. 

In general though, I've seemed to notice that male cats (with no bad dog experience) take to dogs a lot easier than female cats.


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## Dakota Spirit (Jul 31, 2007)

His legs ARE short. I dunno though, if possible that might just make him cuter  
I also just noticed how bright his eyes are...so yellow! Your camera definitely does a nice job of capturing all the details.


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## MyCharlie (Nov 4, 2007)

Stubby is beautiful R!  I looooove his colors. Can't wait to see more pics of the happy family!


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## chul3l3ies1126 (Aug 13, 2007)

Ahh the short legs! Didnt notice them! Soo cute!
Nessa


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Soooooo, you have a Dachskitty???


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

ChrissyBz said:


> Soooooo, you have a Dachskitty???


Hot Cats? Doesn't work quite as well as hot dogs, but I'm not picky.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Wienercat.


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## heidiann (Feb 3, 2008)

Beautiful new boy! Love his little legs!! He has gorgeous markings.

And kudos to you for introducing him properly!!


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## Woofy<3 (Jan 12, 2008)

Adorable! All your family are beautiful!


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## Bailey08 (Aug 12, 2008)

What a handsome new family member!

(If you ever decide to do home consultations, by the way, let me know!!)


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

Bailey08 said:


> What a handsome new family member!
> 
> (If you ever decide to do home consultations, by the way, let me know!!)


I hope by home consultations you don't mean decorating advice....


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## Patt (Feb 12, 2008)

Awesome pics and gorgeous cat! 

If your kitty has short legs, maybe he is or part Munchkin.


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## Mac'N'Roe (Feb 15, 2008)

Great pictures RBArk. It gives me hope that if I work hard with Mac'n'Roe, perhaps they could be okay (SUPERVISED) with the cat. I do know it will be a lot of work, but perhaps I'll start that journey now.


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