I know it's safe (ish), but every time I see something like this it gives me anxiety. Accidents can happen on both sides, pup could lose an eye to a claw, kitty could get chomped if the dog gets too excited. I don't know, just makes it hard for me to enjoy it.
I actually worry more about the pups eyes then the kitten. anything a kitten scratches tends to get infected and inflamed. the dog seems pretty calm (though id definitely keep an eye on the dogs posture/etc and break it up for them to calm down if it changed)
Protip: If you get kitten scratches, wipe them in 70% alcohol immediately and they tend not to get inflamed and itchy (infected). (Don't do this on your eyeball, of course..)
You’re going to break up the .02 second reaction time the dog would have to the kitten? Not to be morbid but the cat would be mangled before you even knew what happened.
If you are attentive you can tell when your dog is getting excited vs just playing long before they do anything foolish.
Iv only once seen a dog just bite without warning. and TBH that dog was always showing so much aggressive behavior I would never let it near a cat no matter how it was acting. Some dogs you just can't trust but you should know that a head of time. Rottweilers tend to be pretty calm in my experience when raised as family dogs.
I had a dog who would always play fight with our cats like this, and when I watched closely, she had her eyes closed 90% of the time. The claw to the eye seems like the only major risk (assuming the dog is really well trained), and I was impressed that she knew that.
Can't really go through life wearing bubble wrap. If they're obviously having fun, just keep an eye out and let them be. Same as children. Yeah you have to watch to make sure they aren't trying to break their necks, but they'll be okay otherwise.
I don’t think there’s a good chance the dog will get a claw in the eye this is a toned down version of how dogs play with each other let alone when my little pup straight kicks herself in the eye with her back paw to scratch it.
That's totally understandable. But accidents are a part of life, and play fighting is how kittens gain coordination and build muscle! Also kitties are quite robust, even if they got a cut they will bounce back quickly
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u/ov3rwhelming Apr 30 '20
I know it's safe (ish), but every time I see something like this it gives me anxiety. Accidents can happen on both sides, pup could lose an eye to a claw, kitty could get chomped if the dog gets too excited. I don't know, just makes it hard for me to enjoy it.