[MelissaEpiphany]

I work at the OSPCA (Just started a month ago, and I work in the office) I LOVE my job. Anyway, yesterday I was asked to foster 4 kittens. 3 are about 5 weeks old, the 4th is about 3 months old.

I have a JRT. He is an AWESOME dog, great with people and other dogs, and just very well behaved.

But when it comes to cats-he is HORRIBLE. He can't concentrate on anything else but to get to the cat and.. (I don't know what he wants to do with it, but I don't want to find out)

The girls at the shelter told me I could bring the kittens back if it doesn't go well. They are thankful I am trying. So last night I brought them in while my husband walked the dog. As soon as he came in though, he ran right to the outside of the door they are staying in and went crazy sniffing. At one point, I opened the door (trying to keep the dog out) so I could go in and feed/medicate the kittens, and he ran in and pinned the littlest one down to the ground. Luckily no one was hurt and I got him off the kitten right away. He stayed up all night sitting and whining outside their door. Today is a LITTLE better. He is sitting quietly outside the door, but I haven't been in recently to see the kittens and when I do, he jumps at the door.

I am supposed to keep them for a couple weeks. Do you have ANY suggestions? Would it be a good idea for him to meet the kittens (Me holding my dog or course and not letting go) So he gets used to the idea of what's in there and eventually doesn't care? Or do you think I should take the kittens back to the shelter? Do you think this is too much stress on my dog and the kittens? The kittens seem fine-every time I go in they are just cuddled together napping. But so far today, my dog does not care about eating or drinking his water. Am I horrible if I need to take them back?

Sorry for the long story.. but any suggestions would be great!

 

[Willowy]

Most dogs will obsess over kittens the first time there are some in the house. But most dogs will get over it after a day or two. I wouldn't let him interact with the kitties, but he should eventually be able to stop obsessing over them. If he proves to be particularly focused, you might have to concede that your house isn't the best place for foster kittens. But give him time to get used to the idea!

 

[MelissaEpiphany]

Thank you! It's not been 24 hours yet.. I want to give him a day or two. He is just going crazy and driving me nuts sitting outside their door whining. I wanted to at least try and give the kittens a chance outside of the shelter environment. But I will still give it a day or so and hopefully he will give up and stop caring. He is about 9 yrs old but we have only had him for about 3 years (got him from the shelter as well) So we don't know much about his past, but we do know when he sees a cat outside when we are walking he cannot focus on ANY thing else. I am just worried about leaving the house with him here alone, Im afraid he will bark and jump at the door when I am out!

 

[Amaryllis]

Buy a baby gate and put it in front of the door so he can't jump on it and open it.

JRTs were bred for hunting and killing small game. A lot of people still use them for that today. Kittens are indeed small game, so your home may never be a particularly good environment for foster kittens. You could give it a day or two more, though.

 

[Elliebell]

More than a baby gate, I'd recommend a piece of plywood or other board in front of the door. This will stop him from being able to stick his nose under the door and sniff, or from him seeing the shadows of the kittens running around. It'll also stop them from darting out the door when you open it. It can be short enough to easily step over- the one we use is about 2 feet tall. It stops our dogs from obsessing over our foster kittens too much. Of course, they don't get very worked up anymore after the 10th or 20th litter

I would not recommend letting him meet them if he can not be calm. When they are older (we wait until 7 or 8 weeks) you can let them meet if you feel up to it and he can be reasonably calm. We do this to expose the kittens to dogs to see how they react so we can advise on whether particular kittens should be placed in homes with dogs or not. Some kittens really flip out even when they see SiSi (who is very calm), some are just fine even with our standard poodle, who's a little more pushy.