# Bringing home a kitten with a 2 yr old V?



## CPS624 (Jul 5, 2013)

We found a female kitten be hind our house, I'm interested in keeping it. My husband says our dog will kill it. She is a VERY sweet girl but has proven her hunting abilities (birds, ducks, squirrels & 1 raccoon). 

My question is: If I do everything slowly & properly, should I bring this kitten inside? Has anyone had success with this or similar experiences?

I know cats are different than people & dogs know it, but she has been an angel with our now 11 month old son. 

TIA Everyone!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Don't do this.

Cats and dogs can live together, if they're introduced to each other as babies. Sure, there are those who will say otherwise and there are utterly adorably YouTube vids of V's playing happily with cats, but the stories you hear and the vids are so precious b/c they're truly the exception. Besides, a kitten out back is feral. You really don't want to mix a feral kitten with an adult V, it's not a fair fight.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

For another opinion, vizslas are highly intelligent and with training and supervision, one with hunting experience can certainly learn to distinguish between a fellow house pet and prey. My breeder even trains her dogs to retrieve feral cats in Hungary, but they still get along with other cats just fine. 

I've always had cats and dogs together so I have never had to introduce an adult dog to cats for the first time, but I have successfully introduced my bird hunting pup to domestic birds, chickens, and to various other farm animals. They are more than capable of making the distinction, but be proactive in setting boundaries.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

we always had cats and dogs (along with a menagerie of other pets) when we were growing up, the dogs however were kennelled outside and the cats would always curl up on a lap in the evening....can anybody guess where this is going? haha


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I had a cat and 2 guinea pigs and a budgie to start with. Then my boyfriend(now husband) moved in. He brought his cat into the house. The budgie died. in 2013 we got a Hungarian Vizsla puppy. The dog doesn't do anything to the guinea pigs. The one cat deals perfectly fine with the Vizsla, but still sometimes gets harmlessly attacked by her. The first cat still is very wary of the dog and there is still 2 years later no contact and very little trust between the 2. It is doable but I think they both need to be young and they both need their own space.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

A lot is going to depends on the dog, and how much work your willing to put into to something that might never workout. Some dogs wont go after a cat that they grew up with, but other cats will be seen as fair game. You might be able to get her to leave the cat alone when your present, but I wouldn't trust her alone with it.

Mine have killed to many fuzzy animals for me to ever think of bringing a cat round them. Having 3 dogs it would only take 1 one them to go after the cat, and the other 2 would join in.


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

Pecan was 8 weeks when she was introduced to our cat that is a year and a half. They played well together at first because they were the same size, but now I can't allow Pecan to play with the cat anymore as she's just too big. That being said, they get along great and hang out together all the time. My previous hounds were the same, where the house cat was considered part of their family, but any other cat was fair game.

I would say just be very careful and ensure the cat has a safe place they can get to that the dog cannot.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

It's an interesting conversation people are having here, but it's from the perspective of the Vizsla (not surprising)...but not the cat.

This cat is feral, no matter the temperament of the Vizsla, or how smart it is, or others successful prior experience with cats and dogs, this cat likely will react in a very un socialized way to you and the Vizsla..it will likely see the V as a real threat. Can you work thru that? Maybe. But why risk it.

Cats need socialization to adjust to humans and their peculiarities (including the other critters they have to share the space with) in much the same way as a V does. In the absence of that, the kitten might be remarkably adorable (as baby animals are), but in much the same way as you wouldn't introduce a baby squirrel to your beloved, domesticated V, you shouldn't bring a feral kitten in either. It's a safety issue!


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

My Niece had cats, and brought home her GS pup, and before to long, the pup had lost an eye.

I know cats and dogs get along, I had a Chow Chow and a cat that were great friends, and the cat wouldn't hurt the dog.
But a Cat can protect itself very well.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Every V is different - I do know THIS - would never have a pet QUAIL in the house !!!!!!!!!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

As others have said, every dog is different. I can tell you this much... I have an eight-year-old male Vizsla with a very strong prey drive. He thinks cats are just like squirrels and rabbits. If I brought home a kitten and set it down on the floor, the kitten would be dead in sixty seconds or less.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Sorry guys this is way off topic, but I had to post Regal Point vizsla's video of Tiara nursing a (found wild) baby squirrel. I'm in no way saying this is the norm. 

https://youtu.be/ec57YWv_gf0


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## cwood8656 (Jan 7, 2013)

My 2.5 year old male Vizsla, TB, would eat a kitten alive. It would be prey. Seems like a bad idea to me.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Cash lived with the vet when he was very young and healing from his surgery. He hung out at the vets office during the day and went home with the vet at night. He was around lots of cats in the office (my vet has about three cats that roam free in the office), so Cash was completely socialized with cats from a young age. He gets along fine with any cat - in fact last week when we were at the vet there was a new cat that hissed at Cash and it didn't faze him at all. 

Years ago I brought a feral cat into the house to become my pet. She was very young when I found her but she did adapt and was comfortable inside the house and got along ok with the dogs (not Vs, we had a lab/Shepard mix and a golden retriever). That being said, both of those dogs had grown up with cats and really didn't pay much attention to them. The cats nickname was Chicken because she was afraid of a lot of things. Sudden movements scared her and if she felt like she was cornered she would totally freak out. 

Just sharing some of my experiences, I don't really have advice either way. You know your dog and her temperament and you probably have a gut feeling of what you think you should do.

Good luck with your decision.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

We have 2 cats. They were already in our home and full grown when we brought our V home, so for a short while they were actually bigger than our V. I think that has a huge factor in the fact that she hasn't ever harmed our cats. She is 3 years old and there still isn't a day that doesn't go by that we don't say "Ruby, leave it!" regarding her and the cats. :
We have a baby gate at the bottom of our stairs so that the cats can run away if they are feeling too threatened. I don't think she'd ever hurt them, and we often leave them alone together, BUT they were raised together.

I agree with TexasRed. I think with the right training you would be able to get your V to leave the cat alone while you are there to supervise. I wouldn't leave them together in the same room unattended.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

stumbled upon this,,haha


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