2 year old cat and thinking about a dog

[Jerseyknit]

I've had my beautiful girl for just over 2 years and adore her. She is very settled and loves being at home but also goes out. I'm seriously considering a dog but worried about the impact on her. I work from home so I can seriously consider a dog now. I also don't know if I should get a puppy or an older dog. I guess I'm thinking about what might be best for my cat and how a dog would fit in with our little family. I've no experience of combining a dog with a cat so I could really use advice. I'm at the very early thinking stages and Really know very little about being responsible for a dog. Apart from the obvious commitment.

[honeyroar]

There would more than likely be fireworks initially. The cat will not be impressed and will probably run away/hide/sulk. The dog may be over excitable and try to chase. We always put a stair gate up so the cats can get upstairs and the dogs can't. We got a new rescue dog in August and things have only just really calmed down with our two cats. The fire being lit has helped! You just have to keep training the dog if it wants to chase (saying no/sit/stay when the cat is around and praising when it doesn't chase) and reassuring the cat (lots of fuss and feeding it first in a place where the dog can't get at it).

I'd go for a medium sized rescue dog, around 2yrs old, ideally one that has been fostered and tried with cats. You may avoid all the above mentioned drama full stop..

[pigsDOfly]

I got my dog as an 8 week old puppy when my 2 cats were 17 years old.

Absolutely no problems; the male cat took one look at the puppy and fell in love, the female not so much.

Agree with Honeyroar make sure the cat has lots of places to go, particularly high up. And feed the cat out of the way of the dog, so again up a bit higher - cat food and cat poo were like crack cocaine to my dog, I say were because cats are no longer alive unfortunately.

Would also add whatever type of dog you end up with you need something with a low prey drive, so nothing like a Lurcher :)

[mercifulTehlu]

I have a 12 yo cat and a 1 yo dog which we got as a puppy. Basically the dog adores the cat and the cat tolerates the dog! When the dog was a puppy he was very bouncy with her - desperate to play. She stood her ground, gave him death stares and occasionally whacked him in the face (whole he continued wagging his tail hopefully). As he has calmed down, she has become less frosty with him and they sometimes curl up next to each other now.

Ddog is a pointer. Dcat is very, very chilled in general, so probably dealt better with bouncy pup than some cats would.

[haggisaggis]

We got our current dog as a pup - and at that time had 2 cats - one around 10 and one around 2. The 10 year old was fine (he was a rescue and I think may have been brought up with dogs) whereas the younger one took one look and flew out of the cat flap! He did come back though but it took a good few months for him to tolerate the dog. Unfortunately these 2 cats have since died and we got 2 more - a rescue 2 year old and a kitten. Both were absolutely fine and now love the dog much more than they love each other! But yes - you need stair gates to ensure the cat gets a space where the dog cannot go until she gets used to it.
Have to say I think a puppy may be easier - you can train it not to chase the cat and the cat may take to a puppy better than a grown up dog. Before dh and I moved in together he had a puppy and I had a then 3 year old cat. I remember bringing the puppy into my flat where he went to sleep - my very nervous cat came up and gave him a good sniff when he was sleeping - it was really sweet. When we moved in we gave the cat the upstairs and kept dog downstairs until they had settled - which didn't take that long.

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

We got a rescue dog to go with our 3 year old. About a month ago and it's going ok. The cat hates the dog but the dog ignores the cat completely. Part of the process of choosing a rescue dog was finding one that would be fine with cats and, as someone posted earlier, that was because we knew she had been fostered in a house with cats.

The dog does not go upstairs so the cat knows he is safe up there. The flash point is the kitchen back door, where we still get hissing! Hoping that will ease with time.

Good luck!