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Adding dog to a household with 2 adult cats

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  • 18-05-2020 2:40pm
    #1
    lalipule
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭


    Me and my partner are considering adopting a dog while we already have 2 adult cats at home.
    Similar to some people the coronavirus situation is giving us an opportunity that we didn't have before - enough time (we plan to work from home full time at least till the end of year if not longer) to introduce properly the new dog to 2 resident cats.

    We are two adults, no children, living in an apartment (2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room and bathroom), circa 63sq. We have common area, which is a bit of green and car park. In front of our apartment block there is a huge green area, where local people are taking their dogs for walks, and we are in very close proximity to two big parks. We are active couple, I'm personally running, so we spend lots of available time outdoors.

    My partner is working from home part of the week, I'm working in an office, which is close enough so can travel home during day if necessary.

    What is most important, we have 2 adult cats (brother and sister, Abyssinian breed), who are 13 years old. They are indoor cats only, with very different personalities. One is laid back, the other is a bit skittish. And as with cats they are king and queen of the castle :)

    We've been looking at several breeds and I'm in love with greyhounds, lurchers, saluki,you can get the trend :). My partner is forever in love with border collie.

    I have a feeling that these might be almost the worst breeds to try to introduce to cats. Therefore if someone has any experience with this process, with these particular breeds, I would appreciate if you could share it with me.

    We were thinking about fostering, but I know myself, I would not be able to part with the animal, therefore it would be great if you could share as well an experience with me how to overcome the process of introducing a dog to 2 cats, in the apartment environment. I'm aware that this requires dividing the area into zones, which is not a problem as I already made measurements for gates and cats already have their shelves in different rooms including big cat tree.

    I'll be happy for any advice you can give me. I want to give a dog a home but obviously not on the expense of the cats. When I look at dogs waiting for rehoming only few are cat friendly, therefore I'm thinking if this is even possible what I want to do? Should we possibly consider puppy instead of adult dog?

    Thank you


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    #2
    Choc Chip
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,442 ✭✭✭Choc Chip


    If you pick a foster-based rescue, they'll be able to advise you on what dogs they have that are good with cats. You might be waiting a while, as a lot of fosters don't have cats and can't cat test, and there's a high demand for cat-friendly sighthounds. They do exist though, and since the dog will be living with you for years, they're worth waiting for the right one rather than rushing in.

    Lol to the breed choices btw! :D BCs and sighthounds couldn't be more different to live with. I find sighthounds cat-like, especially salukis. They love a good couch and a nap. Border collies are workaholics. Pick what you want to live with rather than what looks nicest. ;) I'd pick a sighthound as an easier option if it's your first dog.

    I wouldn't necessarily go for a pup. Sure, a pup might be fine raised with cats, but I've met plenty of collie pups who think that herding the cat is the best craic ever. Getting an adult who has lived with cats in foster and you know is fine, would be a safer bet for me.


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    #3
    mymo
    Registered Users Posts: 3,553 ✭✭✭mymo


    I agree with the above, collie may not be best choice, but a lurcher or saluki would be great, go to a rescue that keeps dogs in Foster homes, my 3 dogs have a lurcher friend who's afraid of small fury things, he was terrified of my youngest as a pup, now they play together, he has no hunting instinct.
    I got a pup with a 7 year old cat who was very skittish, we used a baby gate and a crate for pup, they ended up great friends, my pup is now 12 and we recently lost the cat just before his 19th birthday. We added other cats and dogs, currently have 3 dogs and 2 cats.


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    #4
    lalipule
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭lalipule


    Thank you mymo and Choc_Chip for your response. I was checking few rescue places but only online as with coronavirus everything is now closed of. I did enquire about 2-3 dogs I found online, but unfortunately they require another dog presence I was told. I guess I need to sit tight at the moment and wait for the services to resume. I hope there is a doggy somewhere there that will fit perfectly with us.


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    #5
    potatograttan
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭potatograttan


    Hi! I would definitely recommend going for a greyhound or lurcher type dog. They are overlooked and get such a hard time when are in fact the most gentle dogs and perfect for an apartment. My mam has 3 lurchers, 2 are cat friendly. She has 1 cat and our deerhound cross is kept separate as she has a large house. If you get in touch with great hounds in need, a dogs life, flying Irish greyhounds, Cara rescue dogs they are all great Irish rescues who have greyhounds and lurchers. Often rescues cat test dogs before rehomimg. They will do a home check before but as far as I know most rescues are home checking again after June 8th. Hope this helps 😊


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    #6
    lalipule
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭lalipule


    potatograttan wrote: »
    Hi! I would definitely recommend going for a greyhound or lurcher type dog. They are overlooked and get such a hard time when are in fact the most gentle dogs and perfect for an apartment. My mam has 3 lurchers, 2 are cat friendly. She has 1 cat and our deerhound cross is kept separate as she has a large house. If you get in touch with great hounds in need, a dogs life, flying Irish greyhounds, Cara rescue dogs they are all great Irish rescues who have greyhounds and lurchers. Often rescues cat test dogs before rehomimg. They will do a home check before but as far as I know most rescues are home checking again after June 8th. Hope this helps ��


    Thank you for this information potatograttan. I contacted HUG (Home for Unwanted Greyhounds) and submitted my application. I guess with Covid everything is on a stand still so I hope in couple of weeks it will be "almost" business as usual. I can wait as I'm not in a hurry. And I hope there is somewhere a doggy for me .


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    #7
    potatograttan
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭potatograttan


    lalipule wrote: »
    Thank you for this information potatograttan. I contacted HUG (Home for Unwanted Greyhounds) and submitted my application. I guess with Covid everything is on a stand still so I hope in couple of weeks it will be "almost" business as usual. I can wait as I'm not in a hurry. And I hope there is somewhere a doggy for me .

    Another great rescue I forgot to name! Good luck in your search keep the thread updated 💕


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