My Westie interacted with our kitten unrestrained today for the first time and he loves to nuzzle her.?

Question

However, the kitten liked it at first this morning, but now she goes under things when he's around in the afternoon. Has she just had too much of him for today, and will she play with him again tomorrow?

Answer 1

Short and sweet is the key. Kittens are easily intimidated by things bigger than them. If she liked it at first, then chances are she will at the very least give it another go. Try introducing them once a day, preferably on her own territory, and for a very short period of time (two or three minutes) increasing the time periods as she gets braver. Always supervise this - if she gets too nervous she might attack, which could lead to trouble - Westies are terriers, after all, and have the potential to be a bit too boisterous for a little kitten.

Answer 2

Probably so.  You didn't say how old your Westie is.  Wonderful dog by the way! (wink!) Kittens are like babies and they get their play time in and then have to rest.  Unless something happened between the two that you think may have frightened your kitten I imagine it's just time for her to rest.

We have 4 energetic fox terriers that we raised on bottles a year ago and even though our cats "raised them" and get along wonderfully with them there are days when the cats just don't have the energy for their high energy.

Hang in there, keep an eye out and I'm sure they'll be playing together again soon. Make sure you let the kitten think that she has the upper hand over the dog though.  No matter how you look at it, a dog can always more seriously hurt a cat than the other way around.  If you have to calm one or the other down it's easier to teach the dog the limits and boundaries when playing with the cat, than the other way around.

Good Luck!