AnthemLights Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 So, my dog has been accused by the rest of the family of killing our kitten. The evidence is strongly against her. But I am having a hard time believing it to be true. (Obviously, I am prejudiced.) Here are the facts: 1. Big but gentle dog. Never known to harm a soul. Grow up with cats and never showed any hostility. Got bred and had a litter of puppies. 2. Orphaned barn kitten maybe 6-7 weeks old. We put her in with the newborn puppies just to see what would happen and much to everyone's surprise, mommy dog adopted kitten. Kitten was often seen to nurse at mommy's side. Momma would "groom" kitten just like she did her own puppies. Everyone was pleased and thought it was terrible cute. Kitten stayed with litter. 3. One week goes by. Everything seems fine. Then one morning, kitten is found stone cold dead still lying in the middle of the litter of puppies. The only sign of foul play is a little bit of dried blood coming from the poor thing's nose. Her fur is not "roughed up" in any way. 4. Location - inside whelping box inside huge run-in kennel. (So, outside). Kennel is set up in such a way that momma can get out, but puppies can't. (Half a piece of plywood wedged across the door of the kennel. Momma can jump over.) Is there any other possible explanation other than the dog? We can't think of any, but I am very reluctant to ascribe murder to my dog. Although, in the eyes of my family, she has already been tried and convicted. (Please don't judge on having the kitten with the puppies. It seemed like a good idea at the time. :crying: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in MS Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 This is an orphaned kitten. A lot of kittens die for no apparent reason. They call it fading kitten syndrome. Based on your evidence, it looks like the kitten died of natural causes. It was an orphan, so there is no way of knowing what kind of background the kitten or mother had. It could have had an underlying condition that you didn't know about. Sorry. I think your mother dog sounds like a sweetheart! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I agree. The kitten could already have had an undiagnosed issue. If she were going to reject the kitten I would have assumed it would have happened early on. Also, though, is dog milk o.k. for kittens? Dog food and cat food don't have the same balance of nutrients. I assume dog milk and cat milk would also have a different balance of nutrients. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 And hugs hugs to you and your family. Sorry for the loss of the kitten and the issues it has caused regarding your dog. FWIW, even if she did harm the kitten (which I doubt), I don't think it fair to be upset with her. Perhaps she felt the kitten was harming one of the puppies or she did something accidentally that hurt the kitten. I hope your family can accept what happened and not blame your dog. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 With the blood coming from the nose, my first thought would be that the dog accidently stepped on the kitten and ruptured some organs or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Orphaned kittens die all the time, often from respiratory illness. Or one of the other puppies could have even hurt her. It certainly doesn't sound like mama dog did anything on purpose, if at all. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Sometimes, kittens just die. And a kitten orphaned at 6 weeks... well, I have to say, the younger they're away from Mom, the riskier it is. (And was this kitten orphaned or abandoned? There weren't any littermates...?) Even if the dog did kill the kitten, it seems more likely to have been an accident - perhaps the dog rolled over onto her or something. I wouldn't blame the dog here. I assume dog milk and cat milk would also have a different balance of nutrients. Kittens can't have puppy formula (not enough calories or taurine) so that's a possibility. However, at 6 weeks the kitten was likely starting solids anyway. It's hard to tell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Was the kitten gaining weight and eliminating? How old was this kitten? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 For everyone's peace of mind, I would ascribe the status of 'accidental' to the event. Tiny kittens are fragile and even the best-intentioned foster mama dog could have mis-stepped. So sorry for your loss. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Oh man, that's rough. I'm sorry your family is dealing with this. Poor Mama dog too. If she adopted it into her litter, I can't imagine that she'd kill it on purpose. I don't know anything about dog behavior, but that just doesn't sound right. I agree with the other posters who said either it was an accidental crushing incident or the little kitten was not thriving anyway and just died. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthemLights Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 The kitten was found abandoned in our barn. No idea what happened to her mom or litter mates (if she had any). I thought the kitten was doing well up until it was found dead. Clear eyes, good elimination (just starting solid food). Active. So maybe it was just an accident. I am glad you all don't think it was malicious. I didn't think so either, because truly mom is a sweetheart. I have no clue about kitten milk/puppy milk differences. I would never have even though of that. It's hard on the children, my girl especially. She was the most attached. But she also loves my dog, so I am sure she will be quick to forgive. Especially if I show her this thread. :001_smile: (Hopefully) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I'd think she was accidentally stepped or rolled on by mama dog. I'm sorry :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 You have feral cats in your barn that you don't know about? Can your trap and spay/neuter them? This all is very odd to me. A young found kitten should have gone to a vet for a check up and been bottle fed kitten milk replacer if it still needed it. I wouldn't blame the dog at all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthemLights Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 You have feral cats in your barn that you don't know about? Can your trap and spay/neuter them? This all is very odd to me. A young found kitten should have gone to a vet for a check up and been bottle fed kitten milk replacer if it still needed it. I wouldn't blame the dog at all. No, not that I know of. Sometimes stray cats, but we can usually track down the owner. It was a mystery to us as well. No neighbors with missing kittens. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Truly a mystery then! Are all your puppies ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthemLights Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 I am keeping a close eye on them. They are only 3 - and they all seem to be doing great. Fat and happy. :tongue_smilie: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 how many puppies are there, and what are their sizes/strength compared to the kitten? is it possible when the kitten and puppies were all in a bundle nursing, the kitten was accidentally suffocated? as the tissues swell with asphyxiation, that can cause blood from the nose and mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SproutMamaK Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Dogs are usually protective over those they accept into their "fold", so I can't imagine it was intentional. If it was, there would be some sign of it on the kitten. It may have been natural or accidental (perhaps trying to play with the kitten along with the puppies, who are probably ready for more rambunctious play at this point?), but I agree with the PPs that it probably wasn't intentional on mama dog's part. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthemLights Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 how many puppies are there, and what are their sizes/strength compared to the kitten? is it possible when the kitten and puppies were all in a bundle nursing, the kitten was accidentally suffocated? as the tissues swell with asphyxiation, that can cause blood from the nose and mouth. Only three puppies, but even as newborns they were bigger (fatter) than the 6-7 week (?) old kitten. Not by much though. The puppies were only 1 week old when the kitten was added to their litter and she was only with them for a week before she got killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I know nothing about kitties. I doubt it was intentional though. Sorry your kitty died :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Only three puppies, but even as newborns they were bigger (fatter) than the 6-7 week (?) old kitten. Not by much though. The puppies were only 1 week old when the kitten was added to their litter and she was only with them for a week before she got killed. baring something being wrong with the kitten - just the puppies and kitten sleeping in a lump could have cut off the air to the kitty the way a bumper in a crib can with a newborn. the kitten might not have been able to free herself from the puppies depending upon position if they were bigger than her. asphyxia can cause rupture of blood vessels and bleeding from the nose and or mouth. It sounds like either natural causes or an unfortunate accident. I wouldn't blame any of the other animals of doing so either because they were too rough or intentional. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I am keeping a close eye on them. They are only 3 - and they all seem to be doing great. Fat and happy. :tongue_smilie: I think you mentioned the mom dog is big, so her pups will grow much faster than any kitten would. I wonder if even one of the pups accidentally got a little too puppyish with "kitten sister?" I also vote "accident." Sorry. Always hard to have something die. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Oh so sad. But an accident for sure - or natural causes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 So sorry. How sad. If there is no sign of trauma on the kitten, I don't see how its death could have been deliberate. Others who are far more knowledgeable than I am have had some good ideas as to what might have happened. If you're still unsure or if the family is still blaming the dog and you think there may be conflict over it, maybe it would be worth taking the kitten to the vet for an exam/post-mortem. That might put any questions to rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 No advice. Just wanted to offer :grouphug:. You dog sound like a sweet girl! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.