Toying with the idea of getting a cat

Raminahobbin

Hi all,

I've been thinking for a while that I'd like to get a cat. The only thing stopping me is my dog- I'm not 100% sure how it might go down if I did. I'd like to explain some aspects of her behaviour and see what you guys think.

My dog, Kayla, is 8 years old, and has always been an only pet apart from hamsters. She not brilliant with other animals, but not terrible either- she seems to operate a policy of if they ignore her, she can ignore them. She gets walked with other dogs every so often, and as long as they don't hassle her she's fine, but if they jump all over her she reaches a point and snaps, then runs back to me (by snap, I mean a sharp bark really as she has never bitten another dog or started a fight). My sister in law has had her own dog stay in the house on occasion, and again, there's no problem as they stay out of each others way. There is a little bit of jealousy though, but only if I am eating and the other dog tries to beg for food off me.

With regard to cats, she chases them because they run. I was minding a family of cats consisting of an abandoned fiesty little black cat and her kittens 2 years ago as I was sorting them out with homes etc. The black cat refused to run away from Kayla, so she was unsure what to do and generally just began to ignore her. I never left the two alone or un-separated by anything, but as you can see by the pictures, attached, she would get quite close and Kayla would settle down and wasn't massively bothered.

My theory is that if I got an older cat who was used to dogs and quite calm around them, that the two might hit it off after a while and form some sort of friendship. I know, absolutely, that Kayla will not attack the cat. She might snap, but she will not attack. But as I have never had a cat before, I'm not sure how cats interact with dogs. Would they be content to operate a policy of ignoring each other until they got used to each other? Or would they tease the bejaysus out of Kayla?

My priority in all this is the dog, so I don't want to upset anything. It's not essential to get a cat, I just think it might enrich Kayla's life a bit to have an animal friend. It has not been possible to have a second pet until now, as my circumstances wouldn't allow it. Currently Kayla spends the day at my mothers while I am at work, but if I had a cat (it would be an indoor cat) it would have to stay at mine all day. Would 9-5.30 be too long to leave a cat? (I'm home for an hour on my lunch).

Anyway- at the moment I would just like opinions, nothing is set in stone, it's just an idea.

Thanks

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Catlover

It would be okay to leave an adult cat all day, especially as you usually come home for lunch. It would not be so good to leave a young kitten. If you are going to keep a cat as an indoor cat it's best to get one that's never been outdoors, as once they've been outdoors they don't like being shut in.

You're right in thinking that the main thing about a cat with a dog is that the cat doesn't run away, but stands its ground. Dogs enjoy the chase.

The Sweeper

First up, pics on either side of a window don't count.

When mixing dogs and cats, be aware that there are two totally different worlds - indoors, and outdoors. A dog who lives indoors with a cat that it ignores or interacts with gently, can completely change demeanour if it ever sees that same cat in the garden, and can chase and even kill a cat it's lived with for a year, just because the rules are different in the yard than in the house.

You can get either a proven dog-friendly adult cat, or a kitten, and it'll be all about how you manage the introductions. An adult cat that isn't absolutely bombproof will probably never befriend your dog and the best you could hope for is frosty ignoring each other - which is fine really and plenty of households operate like that with dogs and cats.

There are threads on this forum already about introducing a cat to a dog, ways to do it, devices to use (height) and what not to do (never present the cat, in your hands, to the dog for a sniff).

If you take it slowly and carefully with the introduced cat, and never leave them unsupervised, you may be fine. Vigilance and consistency will be key. It's more difficult to introduce a dog into a house with a resident cat than vice versa.

planetX

If your main reason is to enrich the dogs life - don't. You could be lucky and end up with pets that get on reasonably well, or you could have a lifelong stand-off on your hands. If you want a cat for yourself it's perfectly doable, but will mean a lot of supervision for a while.
My dog is ok with the cats, but they don't provide company for each other. Dog will try to 'play' with them and I have to step in and stop it. I can never leave them alone together which is a hassle making sure doors are closed etc.
You'd be better off getting 2 cats if you're leaving them alone all day.

anniehoo

The Sweeper wrote: »

If you take it slowly and carefully with the introduced cat, and never leave them unsupervised, you may be fine. Vigilance and consistency will be key. It's more difficult to introduce a dog into a house with a resident cat than vice versa.

+1

Remember that it takes time for cats and dogs to learn each others body language. A "waggy tail" on a dog is read as "anger" to a cat, a waggy tail on a cat is understood as a happy cat by a dog, ye can see the consequences of this. Also a scared running cat is seen a "game of chasing" to a dog.The list goes on. With time and patience, they'll learn to understand each other, but neither should ever be put in the situation where they're scared,cornered,cant escape or feel threatened as you may very well have an animal who will just never recover from the shock of that experience and will be forver fear driven after that.

I regularly petsit dogs in my home and my cat adores them. He was a bit scared at the start but once they all figured out the lingo of each other, he actually now greets them at the door, even ones he hasnt seen for maybe 6mths or so as he knows theres no threat there.