Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is the addition of a kitten likely to change a dog's personality the way adding a new dog or puppy would? My understanding is that dogs and cats don't have to work out dominance the way two dogs would, right? I'm asking because we are hoping to get a kitten but we had a visiting dog this week who established himself as dominant to my dog, and it made a huge difference in my dog's personality (luckily, all is back to normal now that the dog isn't here). As much as I'd like to have a kitten, I don't want to such dramatic changes in our dog (in short, he was less cuddly with us, less likely to greet us, hesitant to come sit on the sofa with us as he normally would).

Thanks for any advice -- everything I can find to read talks about keeping the kitten safe from an over-friendly dog, so I'm hopeful that my concern is a nonissue!

I think my biggest concern would be jealousy.. I don't think that dogs and cats have real dominance issues, but it doesn't take long for most cats (particularly if the cat if female) to show the dog the way she wants things to be.. It's not so much a dominance thing as a "You will leave me alone, and that's that" thing.. However since you're getting the cat as a kitten, they may be buddies.. It's hard to tell, it depends on the individual animals..

Just be careful to show your dog that he's still just as important. Don't play with the kitten much while your dog is around, you don't want the dog feeling like he's been replaced..

I don't think the dogs personality would change because of dominance problems over a kitten as it might over another dog.

You'd just have to be careful introducing a kitten to an older dog as you don't know how the dog will react. Do you know if the dog likes cats, or is it going to go after it? If your dog is a puppy, they will probably grow up just fine. I think it would be best if you don't know already how your dog would react to a kitten, that maybe you have a friend with a cat who you could introduce to your dog and see how they react? Hopefully, it will be a cat already used to dogs.

What kind of dog do you have? Name? Got any photos?

We're really snoopy around here.
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Melody/PHFasDog
Email me at PHFasDog

My furkids:
Shadow, Jadzia and Lyta.
Kira waiting at the bridge.

Dogs come into our lives, and too quickly go leaving pawprints on our hearts, and we will never be quite the same again.

Charlie (the dog) has been around cats and a kitten before -- he spent a little less than week with the kitten, and they were so cute together. Took turns following each other around, and when we went to bed the kitten would come paw at our door to get to Charlie. (We were on vacation in a beach house -- the kitten belonged to a friend.) Older cats tend to not move, so Charlie doesn't even notice them. He wants to play when he does see them, but he doesn't try to get at them if they back away from him or hiss or whatever. He does bark, though, when they won't play.

He's a Lhasa Apso, three years old. I have pics on Charlie's Dogster page (ID#130169) -- not yet sure how to post them here!