Trish Allearz
Moderator
Hi Guys,
So as some of you know from Facebook yesterday-- our gorgeous F5 kitten, Darling, passed away in her momma's home yesterday.
Her Momma had Darling in quarantine in one of her kid's room (I have no problem with this-- it gives the kitten safety, security and playtime with a kid-- their favorite toy!) When she ran the kids to school, her daughter forgot to latch the door and a household dog entered the room over a baby gate and killed Darling
We don't know what really happened besides the obvious and everyone is heartbroken about the situation and there is no blame to be assigned. (I'll restate before anyone goes on a tangent-- an accident is an accident and if you've never had one, well-- you are not quite human.)
Yet, I look at this tragedy as a lesson that needs to be restated time and time again.
I just wanted to take a moment and talk kitten safety. Please remember, when your breeder tells you to quarantine-- it's not just to ensure your kitten is healthy, but it is also to ensure the other members of the household accept/adapt to a newcomer in their midst. In this situation, the dog had shown no signs of cat aggression so the owner could not have known the end of this story, BUT if you have a dog-- please make sure you watch his body language/temperament around your new kitten. If for any reason, whatsoever, your gut tells you the dog needs more time to adjust to a feline in his company (or this specific feline), please follow your gut. No amount of cute kitten time outside of quarantine can mitigate your feelings of guilt if you overlook signs that your dog may cause harm to your baby.
In the end, this is a horrific accident and tears were shed all over the country for our baby girl yesterday. But let's also learn from this accident too and remember-- it's OKAY to take it slow introducing family members. And to always, always be alert to signs of aggression between the family dog and the family cats. Dogs are dogs-- they don't always know their strength and cats are more fragile than we would like to believe as cat lovers.
Rest in peace, my sweet girl...
So as some of you know from Facebook yesterday-- our gorgeous F5 kitten, Darling, passed away in her momma's home yesterday.
Her Momma had Darling in quarantine in one of her kid's room (I have no problem with this-- it gives the kitten safety, security and playtime with a kid-- their favorite toy!) When she ran the kids to school, her daughter forgot to latch the door and a household dog entered the room over a baby gate and killed Darling
We don't know what really happened besides the obvious and everyone is heartbroken about the situation and there is no blame to be assigned. (I'll restate before anyone goes on a tangent-- an accident is an accident and if you've never had one, well-- you are not quite human.)Yet, I look at this tragedy as a lesson that needs to be restated time and time again.
I just wanted to take a moment and talk kitten safety. Please remember, when your breeder tells you to quarantine-- it's not just to ensure your kitten is healthy, but it is also to ensure the other members of the household accept/adapt to a newcomer in their midst. In this situation, the dog had shown no signs of cat aggression so the owner could not have known the end of this story, BUT if you have a dog-- please make sure you watch his body language/temperament around your new kitten. If for any reason, whatsoever, your gut tells you the dog needs more time to adjust to a feline in his company (or this specific feline), please follow your gut. No amount of cute kitten time outside of quarantine can mitigate your feelings of guilt if you overlook signs that your dog may cause harm to your baby.
In the end, this is a horrific accident and tears were shed all over the country for our baby girl yesterday. But let's also learn from this accident too and remember-- it's OKAY to take it slow introducing family members. And to always, always be alert to signs of aggression between the family dog and the family cats. Dogs are dogs-- they don't always know their strength and cats are more fragile than we would like to believe as cat lovers.
Rest in peace, my sweet girl...
