Experience with adding a kitten to your pack?

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Just wondering if any DK members can share experiences of adding a kitten to their pack?
Yogi is almost 3 and Maci is 2. They are best buddies and have nice calm temperaments.

We had a Ragdoll many years ago before doodles, but she died young of heart disease.
I find myself really wanting another... But I don't want to upset my happy home. I love my
doodles.

Any thoughts or first hand experience with this? How did it go?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I got a kitten when my last dog, a miniature Poodle, was 4 years old. I actually did it so my dog would have some company while I was at work.

I didn't do that cat any favors, lol. 

The first month was very very rough. I had to keep them separated or the dog would go after the kitten, and not to play with her. Eventually, the kitten figured out two things: 1. She could get into places where the dog couldn't follow her, like under some of the furniture, and 2. She had claws. After that, things calmed down, and I could leave them alone without bloodshed, but they never became friends. And my Poodle tormented the cat from time to time, just to remind her who was boss, I guess. If the cat was playing with a toy, the dog grabbed it and destroyed it. If the cat was lying on a bed or sofa, the dog would jump up there too, somehow accidentally-on-purpose landing in the exact spot where the cat was lying. I felt bad for the cat all the time.

In the last couple of years of my Poodle's life, she mellowed, and I would sometimes find them lying within a foot of each other, but that's about it, and it took many many years to get there. My cat had a much happier life after Pawla (the Poodle) died. She had the house to herself for 4 or 5 months, and then I got Jack, who was scared to death of her, lol. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks Karen. I appreciate you sharing your experience

[Amy and Annabelle]

Years and years ago when my kids were little we brought a 6 week old mini schnauzer puppy into our home. My sister who lived close by got a little kitty from a kitty breeder at the same time. We had the bright idea that they could be playmates. Stupid, stupid idea. Even at their very young age of 6 weeks, they HATED and I mean HATED each other. I always thought that hair standing straight on a cat while in a screech position was only for cartoons. But no, the cat did that all the time around my dog. I think the cat associated me with the dog, because she wasn't all that fond of me either, even long after my dog died. After the schnauzer died, we rescued a Golden Retriever who was about 18 months at the time. A few years later when our oldest daughter was about to graduate college and move back home with us for awhile, she adopted a cat. Now I don't know if it was because they were both rescues and had been in shelters and they were used to the other species or what, but from the moment my daughter brought home her cat, they were the best of buds. They used to snuggle up together to sleep. When the dog was 10 and dying of cancer, those final days the cat never left his side. She was so depressed when he died. He was a very mellow dog, and she was a sweet mellow cat, so that may also have had something to do with it.

So I guess for you, it could go either way. Since you have calm dogs, it may go just fine. But I think for awhile anyway, there may be a disruption in your happy home.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks Amy. I think that's what I'm trying to decide, if I'm willing to go through the transition.
I truly think my doods would be fine. It's just whether the new kitty would be.

[Kamela & Beckett]

Schnauzers have a high prey drive. We have one and adopted a cat when the schnauzer was 7 or 8. That was 3+ years ago and the schnauzer has never adapted. She still goes after the cat, if given the chance (she won't catch him though and wouldn't hurt him). It works because we have a 2 story house and the cat hangs out upstairs where the dog can't go (or on top of the fridge). We've got a one year old doodle who wants to play with the cat, but of course the cat has been conditioned to think dogs are out to get him so he's not having it. I think it depends on your dog and the age of the animals.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ro has cats and Enzo - all is successful.  I know the cats were there first. I hope she sees this and gives you the benefit of her experience.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks Nancy.

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

I have had 2 dogs and 2 cats on a somewhat rotating basis for years.  Initially, I had a cairn terrier, and at the pleading of my daughter we rescued a kitten, which turned into 2 kittens so my son would leave my daughter's kitten alone.  The dog and cats were introduced to each other gradually over about two weeks, and the cats always had a cozy place set up in the kitchen garden window where they could relax out of reach of the dog if they wanted.  Shortly before the cairn died at 16, we brought home my silky terrier, who was gradually introduced to the cats with no difficulty.  After my son's cat died of a congenital heart defect, we rescued Roxie, a huge, very nervous former barn kitten who wanted nothing to do with the dogs.  A few years later, we brought home my daughter's lab/service dog, Ellie.  Roxie immediately fell in love with Ellie, and almost always slept snuggled in between her legs.  The other cat, Sophie, tried tormenting Ellie, but soon gave that up when she realized that the lab wasn't the least bit intimidated by her. Roxie still grieves for Ellie, and sleeps hugging an old sweatshirt of my daughter's that Ellie always slept on.  When Belle came home last August, she and the cats had a gradual introductory period of a few weeks when they were never left alone together, but nothing much happened.  Now Roxie pretty much ignores Belle, but Sophie and Belle enjoy getting into trouble together.  The silky, who is now old and sick, just ignores everyone, and the cats leave her totally alone. Based on these experiences, I think with a little bit of care, a kitten could be integrated into a household already occupied by dogs. I suspect the availability of the out-of-canine-reach refuge was essential. Bottom line, the cats and dogs, together and separately, are endlessly entertaining. Good luck if you decide to go with a kitten. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thank you so much! Gives me hope :-)
Sounds like slow and in baby steps for the introduction.