This spring, Matilda and Kauf turned 9 years old.
It was a definite time, and both dogs were unmistakably elderly.
Another reason this age was a turning point for me: My childhood dog died of brain cancer at age 10, and by his 9th birthday, he was showing symptoms of neurological problems and losing weight from arthritis. slow speed.
It is well known that the bigger dogs get, the faster they age. My older dog is between a Matilda and a Cow, but neither of my daughters has shown signs of arthritis so far.
What’s more, recent events have them behaving like puppies – which makes me very happy.
Raising a litter of kittens with my dog
There is a huge cat colony around my apartment complex.
I was never much of a cat lover, but we ended up adopting a young black cat named Sabrina. She’s about two now, lets me kiss her head, and mostly just tolerates the dog, but most of the time she keeps to herself.
This spring, a stray cat outside became pregnant.
We set up a large container full of straw because it was still cold outside.
On March 13th, Lil Mamas gave birth to four beautiful kittens in containers under a red bench in my yard.
She is doing well so we keep an eye on her and make sure she is getting enough food while breastfeeding.
Four weeks later, she moved her kitten into a car engine. That’s when we had to rescue them and continue to raise them indoors.
This is when things get exciting.
Are kittens safe around dogs?
My dog is obsessed with cats and will run after them every chance he gets. They’ve softened a bit since we adopted Sabrina, but they’re still not believable…at first.
Since Matilda weighs only five pounds, I decided to give her the chance to get up close and personal with the kittens. With her small stature, even if she couldn’t control herself, at least she couldn’t hurt them.
But what actually happened was unbelievable.
She started playing with the kitten, her tail wagging like a propeller.
I haven’t seen her so active in a long time. She had never been so playful.
For the next few weeks, she became their surrogate mom, checking on them constantly, playing, chasing, and letting them chase her.
As for the cow, it took me another week or so before I decided to give her a few minutes of closely supervised playtime. This is riskier—Cow is a medium-sized dog weighing about 30 pounds, so she could hurt a kitten even if she gets too playful.
But Cow is also happy to play with the kittens. After nearly a decade of playing with Matilda, she learned the trick of getting on the floor and gently nibbling to keep her kittens safe.
Even when the kitten dozes off, the dog is totally lit. They play with toys more and they seem happier.
Live with our forever kittens
Oliver is about 2.5 months old and his siblings have moved into foster homes.
He has a crush on his puppy mom and they continue to have a crush on him.
The dogs played with him, dozed off with him, and scolded him softly when he pestered them in their sleep.
While I still only allow the animals to spend time together under supervision, they seem to know that he is young and needs to be treated with tenderness.
As he approaches Matilda’s size, she’s fully awakened – male ginger cats tend to grow larger than other tabbies, so we can expect him to grow considerably larger than her over the next few months .
As for me, while I love Sabrina, Oliver opens up a whole new world of understanding. I finally understand what a cat is. I have room in my heart for cats and dogs – and somehow, there is room in my home too.
Keep Matilda and Cow young
Of course, I can’t just raise a litter of kittens every year and hope to keep my dogs young forever.
Like all dog parents including you, I try to prepare for the fact that their lives are short and I will be very lucky, blessed and honored to spend 15-20 years with them.
Like everyone we love in our lives…we don’t know if we’ll wake up in the morning. We don’t know if something terrible is going to happen at any time. Every moment with these dogs is a treasure.
In the meantime, all we can do is provide the best service we can for our dogs.
I’ve fed fresh raw food in the past and while I can’t do that anymore as my dog doesn’t tolerate it anymore and don’t have the space or time to try different types of fresh food, I feed the best kibble I can find and dehydrated foods. Honest Kitchen Cluster And mixing food is Matilda’s favorite part of the day.
I hydrate with freeze-dried ingredients, fresh food, and lots of water.
I also started giving Daily Joint Supplement with Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSMeven though my dog doesn’t have any signs of arthritis yet.
Yes, you can start taking joint supplements anytime – No need to wait until your dog starts to slow down.
While nutrition, exercise, and veterinary check-ups are crucial, the biggest push we’re seeing is the kittens—the sheer joy and mental health they bring is more than I could have imagined.
Now, I’m not saying everyone with a big dog should get a kitten, but it’s wonderful to have unexpected guests in our home.
While some dogs cannot safely, logistically, or otherwise spend time with young animals, supporting their mental health in any way will go a long way.
Happy 9th birthday to Matilda and Kauf! I love you!
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As Matilda and Cow’s dog mom, she spends most of her day walking and practicing new tricks while trying to make the most of the very modest part of her bed most evenings.
You’ll also find her baking and homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.
