Summer and Sansa

It sounds like a children’s fairytale from down under. Sansa, our three month old tabby kitten has had interactions with Koda and Summer, her eleven month old canine siblings. It may puzzle you that we are taking our time with this introduction, but if you knew Summer and Koda you would understand why. It is not that they are unfriendly or aggressive. Quite the opposite. These fifty plus pound pups are excited and eager to meet anyone they come in contact with. Each dog has it’s own way of showing it. Summer will wag her tail and go in close, with her nose low, putting out a friendly vibe to every dog we come across on our walks. Koda shows his energetic greeting with a deep bark, tail wagging, but deep barking. I have learned that if I stand and talk to the dog owner and we are in a relaxed conversation, Koda finally quiets down.  All the while, Summer has made close friends with the dog.

Sansa is all of three pounds (just weighed yesterday at her check-up). She is tiny! Sansa is also like Wolverine with really sharp claws. She is quick as a whip and can disappear under the bed like Houdini. It has only been one week that we have had Sansa at home with us. We are in no rush to forge the friendship of her with housemates. Taking the advice from our vetrinarian as well as several online sources, we are exposing  Sansa to Summer and Koda in small increments. The goal is to build positive experiences between them.

Summer so far has been accepted the most by Sansa. She laid flat on her stomach and just calmly watched her. They both seemed curious about one another. No sudden moves, just a sweet exchange of two Game of Thrones named animals. Koda on the other hand ruined his encounter with Sansa by letting out a deep bark which sent her dashing under the bed. The next time around he did not bark, but tried to eat her food and was interested in her litterbox. But he did not bark: that is progress!

As the vet reminded us, there is no hurry. Sansa is still getting used to her new environment. We just need to keep having short visits and eventually they will learn that nobody is going anywhere. I’ll post the actual tips I have read about introducing puppies to kittens on tomorrow’s blog. Stay tuned, as “Sansa and the Aussiedoodles” continues.