cairns and kittens?

[lish82]

I thinkin about gettin a kitten for my daughter but tryin to figure out if its a good idea....Any one wit advice please feel free to comment..

[Angieh]

I think it could work, depending on the dog; however, my experience has been that it probably would not work. I rescued a kitten from a ditch a few years ago when my cairn was still young (a little under a year) and he was obsessed with trying to get the kitten. I had to supervise them until I found a place for the kitten to go. The kitten would swipe at my dog, but really was too small to protect itself. I think (hope) my dog just wanted to play, but cairns are hunters of small animals, so his instincts may have been to hunt. All cairns are different, so your cairn may do well with a kitten, but I would never leave a cairn and a kitten alone together. A grown cat can protect itself, but a kitten is no match for a cairn (even if they are just playing).

[Nikki]

Every time my two saw cats/kittens the cats usually would run and my two would chase them. When we found some abandoned kittens about 6 months ago or so give or take under my MIL shed she decided to keep them. They were about 3 weeks old. both kittens are very shy. but my two accepted them tried to play with them scotty gave one of them a big lick . Which I was really surprised b/c scotty doesn't like most dogs but cats are okay go figure! Now every time angel sees a cat she tries to play with them and Scotty doesn't really pay attention to cats outside but he does try to play with my MIL cats. Though if they run scotty will chase but he doesn't hurt them or anything. Angel is now 3yrs and Scotty will be 3 in July and I never socialized mine with cats at all. So I think it could work. I know when I take the dogs over to my MIL they really like cat food and the litter box so beware if you get a cat!

[Marty & Sherry]

Our Cairns and our Westie have alwayd LOVED kittens but they were all exposed to them when very young. When they are out in the yard the older cats love them & want to rub up against them. Emmy grew up with one & they would lie side by side on the floor while the cat cleaned her. The dogs always want to play with the kittens & vice-versa (usaually) but tend to start ignoring them somewhat when the cats get older (except for a good butt sniffing).

[Shazza]

When we got both Miya and Max we had a full grown cat, they have NEVER gotten along.

The dogs want to chase her and she wants nothing to do with them.

I guess it all depends on the animals and how they are introduced to each other.

[aubreyea]

We have 2 Cairns that are 4-years-old. We adopted a kitten about 6 months ago and they get along wonderfully. The dogs have been around cats since they were little but this is the first one that they have had to coexist with one on a permanent basis.

I would say that it wouldn't be bad to try, but have a back up plan for if they don't get along. And have them meet in neutral territory.

[Emmadilemma]

well, this is what ours does:

[avlsarah]

Those are the cutest pictures!

I have an adult cat (who has always lived with dogs), and she and Maxwell get along fairly well. There are moments of insanity; Maxwell likes to climb on her, chew her ears, chase her, bark at her, steal her food / toys / anything, etc. She's able to take care of herself and, in some instances, starts the rough housing. I keep a close eye on them to make sure nobody gets too exuberant, but its all in fun and, at the end of the day, they snuggle up together on the bed with me. Plus its really great for me that she keeps Maxwell occupied, otherwise his boundless energy would just tire me out!

I would be a little concerned with Maxwell if our cat weren't used to dogs or were too young to fend for herself. As others have said about their Cairns, Maxwell really likes chasing and playing rough which is sometimes even a little too much for the cat.

[sheila and Misty]

Id guess depends on the personalities of the cairn and the kitten . and what kind of supervision they have while adapting to each other. If I can get a cairn to be nice to a hamster-I think you have a good shot at it-if you have the perserverance and the patience. good luck