Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

with in the next year we are buying a house- and we have been waiting for the house to get a dog

but we have 2 cats- one older one- and my DH is concerned about him and the dog getting along

Has anyone gotten a dog in this situation? and what kind?

I was thinking of getting a 2 year old resuce dog to start with- thinking that might be better then a puppy???

Personally I don't forsee this as being a huge issue- I have seen my cat at the vet and groomer and he is fine around other animals

We are also going to dog sit my friends dog for a weekend to see how he reacts

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

I had a cat then got a dog. Shelby (my cat) was pi$$ed for awhile but she got over it. Jake was about 7 months old so he just wanted to play with her but she would have nothing to do with him. We got him from NSAL and they allowed us to bring a cat to the play area to see how he would react to it. He could careless. I wouldn't say they were ever best friends. They basically ignored eachother until I moved out with Jake and my mom kept Shelby.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

We have a cat and had him before we got Tiger who was 4 months at the time. Blackie was mad and didnt come down stairs for months. One day he just decided he wasnt going to tolerate it and now they are buddies.
They play fight and rub up against each other.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

Chloe and I moved in with my boyfriend and his 2 dogs and everyone is doing well. The dogs are intimidated by chloe. They want to play with her and she's always snubbing them. It helped that we created a safe, dog free area that she can go to and they can't.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

Me! Molly (older cat) didn't like Jack and doesn't like Teemu either. She avoids him, but will bait him by sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor licking herself. They get along well enough since she has the advantage of being able to get to high places, and the basement is off limits to the puppy (the cat food and litter are down there!). SHe just needs to show TEemu that she is boss and I think he will leave her alone all together.

Jack and Teemu are best buddies. I say they are boyfriends, but DH doesn't appreciate that I am sure Maggie and a new puppy would get along great since she is still young. And your older kitty was way moer tolerant of Maggie than Molly has been of Jack, so he might just get along just fine with a puppy dog.

Jack and Teemu chase each other around and wrestle. I get nervous sometimes cause Teemu is bigger than Jack already, but if I yell at them to stop wrestling they just sit there staring at each other

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

I was eventually planning on getting a dog when we get a bigger house and we have 5 cats... my plan is to find a rescue that has been around cats and kids... I have no desire for a puppy. I've actually seen rescues that are advertized as "good with children and other pets" or specifically cats. I wouldn't want an aggressive dog anyway b/c of the baby. Research breeds that are better with other animals. My favs are Labs, Greyhounds and beagals... but if/when the time comes I'll ensure the dog would be wells suited for our situation with cats and children.

My cat hated my parent's golden puppy when I lived there... but my cat hates the other cats we have too

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

Jake thinks crokey will Kill the dog

but he said the same thing about Maggie- and he loves Maggie

I am just worried that I wont be able to hang with the dog as much- b/c crokey thinks I am all his

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

Espresso was just over two when we got Misty (she was nine months).
We kept them apart when we weren't home and only allowed them to interact the first few weeks while we supervised. After about three weeks of "getting to know each other" we were able to leave them alone together.
Two years later and they are fine together. This with Misty being a hunting dog and chasing down any other cat she sees, but she sees Espresso differently and they play together all the time.
It can be done, it just takes patience.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

If you don't get a puppy and get an older dog, make sure he / she is ok with cats...on Petfinder it tells you.

So, I had 2 male cats when we got Casey as a puppy. At first they were like What In God's Name is This Yellow Maniac Furball!!??? They hid from her and watched her cautiously for weeks...until they figured out she wasn't going anywhere. Casey did get swatted a few times and she learned her lesson. Now they are buddies and my cats will even rub up against her and cuddle....

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

Good Luck! We really thought our 6 year old cat, Chilly would love a new playmate..boy were we wrong. Now we have to constantly keep them away from each other. It is very difficult. My puppy trainer said it is not the puppy, it's the cat. She was a 6 year old cat who has never been around a dog, it probably will never work.
It is so difficult for us now, cat upstairs and dog downstairs. We let the dog in the yard alot of give kitty time to come down and hang out but in hindsite it was not a good idea. Hopefully things will be different for you, Good luck!!!!

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

Our cat was a little over 3 years old when we brought home an 8 week old puppy. Mugsy (cat) voluntarily isolated himself for a few days, but he got over it and realized Murphy isn't going anywhere! I made sure to still give Mugsy PLENTY of attention. They have been together now for 5 months and the cat is fine with the dog now. Murphy is such a friendly dog and they will chase each other around now.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

I had a dog then got a cat. The cat climbed up me like a tree but w/in a few days they were sniffing eachother out while the other one slept.
Then years later my dog died. My cat cried for weeks and kept looking around for her.
Then a few years later we got a new dog (puppy). They adjusted to eachother quickly and were the best of friends until my cat died. Now we just have my pup- and she gets so excited when she sees a black cat outside-- I think she think's it's misty.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

My situation was slightly different. But I had a dog, and my DH had two cats. So when we moved into together we had to introduce our beloved pets into each other. Thankfully my dog, a black lab mutt, LOVES the cats (she hates dogs) and they all sleep together now. The only time my dog gets a little mad is when they go near her bones. She does not like that one bit. I think it really all depends on the dog more then the cat imo.

Re: Anyone have a cat- then get a dog?

When adopting from a shelter, the potential adopter is asked if there are other pets at home, if so, they must all be at the shelter so as to see if a new pet would be accepted. In the case of your cat not liking your dog, I recommend the following: put your dog in a crate and then put the cat in the same room. I would pet the cat and if possible over time, hold her and each time get closer and closer to the dog. I would continue to do this on a daily basis for 15 minutes and over a period of time your cat will be more comfortable.