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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

I have a cats protection home visit tomorrow but have a dilemma

19 replies

drivinmecrazy · 03/01/2016 11:36

Our much loved and adored cat was PTS last week. She was 19 & had a fantastic life with us. Both she and us were very lucky to have her in our lives.
To us, a house is not a home without a feline.
I have a lady from cats protection coming for a home visit for a possible placement of a six month old kitten.
BUT we have a dog. Our dog has been great with our old cat who ruled the roost completely. I've heard so many stories from friends about rescue centres not favouring placements with dogs.
Do I lie about the dog, maybe 'we're only dog sitting' (cannot get rid of him for visit as everyone who would have him is back to work ) or hope the lady will trust us that he'd be fine with a new kitten in the house?
I'm also over thinking the visit because my 15yo DD2 has said she thinks the lady will look at our house and be worried about choking hazards, while reassuring her this will not be the case, it's made me paranoid.
Please help reassure me it will be fine. We live in a very small cul-de-sac with no passing traffic, fields to the back.
It's been soo long since we adopted our old cat, home visits weren't necessary.

OP posts:

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thecatneuterer · 03/01/2016 11:56

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the dog before arranging the home visit. Rescues are happy to home to houses with dogs generally (although bull breeds are a bit problematic) but the rescue will need to suggest cats that seem to be ok with dogs. Cats are often 'dog tested' in the rescue to assess which ones can cope with them. Other cats will have come from a home with a dog.

So it's not a problem but the rescue needs all the information to assess which cat would suit you.

Choking hazards? I've done home visits and that's not something that has ever crossed my mind.

Goingtobeawesome · 03/01/2016 11:59

Don't lie. If you are confident you can manage both, why do you need to?

Costacoffeeplease · 03/01/2016 12:03

No don't lie - there may be a cat they know is ok with dogs and it would be unfair to home one that they know isn't

drivinmecrazy · 03/01/2016 12:03

I did have a lengthy chat with the lady over the phone. She asked loads of questions. She asked if we had any other cats, where we lived etc but didn't ask about a dog. It stupidly only occurred to me when I put the phone down.
Our dog is, or was, so very respectful of our last cat. Though maybe scared witless of her might be a better description.
I'm just getting myself into a state trying to preempt any obstacles.
Over thinking it, definately! !!

OP posts:

IAmAPaleontologist · 03/01/2016 12:05

Just be honest but also don't be disheartened if they say no. Different shelters and different volunteers within them can have different opinions. When we adopted ours one place I spoke to thought we were highly unsuitable to get a cat due to our work and young children and so on and was very snotty and patronising. Another, and where we got our (very happy, well looked after, sociable and adored) cat merrily introduced us to cats they thought would be suitable for us, made recommendations for cats that got on well with young children and we took the cat home the very same day with no home visit!

SuburbanRhonda · 03/01/2016 12:08

It stupidly only occurred to me when I put the phone down.

Really? If someone said to me, "Do you have any other cats?", I think my instant reaction would have been to say, "No, but we do have a dog."

drivinmecrazy · 03/01/2016 12:20

I think it didn't occur to me because it just isn't an issue to us. It was only afterwards when talking to a friend who said that very few rescues will place a kitten with a dog.
Hopefully she was just going on her experience with rescue centres.
If it was going to be a definite 'no' surely that would have been a question she would have asked.
I'm also a bit perplexed that we have to go through a home visit before we even see the kitten we are interested in. We have only seen pics because he is in a foster home. Don't even know if we want the kitten until we see him. We know nothing of his temperament. We do know that he and his brother are six months old and the last of the litter to be re homed

OP posts:

SuburbanRhonda · 03/01/2016 12:25

So you have two options - phone and tell them you have a dog but it didn't occur to you to mention it, or let them find out for themselves when they visit. I definitely wouldn't tell them you are dog-sitting.

Sparklingbrook · 03/01/2016 12:28

I would ring them and tell them before the home visit. The volunteer doing the visit would appreciate some advance warning.

timtam23 · 03/01/2016 13:42

I would tell them beforehand, rather than have them possibly waste time on doing a visit (if they wouldn't place the kitten in a household with a dog). They may have a dog-friendly cat at the rescue so a visit could go ahead anyway?

Lonecatwithkitten · 03/01/2016 14:34

Have the home visit as you will either be approved or not to have a cat from CPL. If the current kitten is not suitable they may have another cat that is or you are approved ready for when they do have one.
I technically failed a home visit on several points, however, we discussed how I deal with the points including a dog at the time of the visit and I was still allowed the cat. Four years later all is well and none of the points are a problem.
Think about how you would introduce a dog and cat to each other ensuring both are safe so you can discuss this.

Viviennemary · 03/01/2016 14:48

Don't tell a lie about the dog. You weren't asked if you had a dog so aren't to blame for not mentioning it if it didn't occur to you. If you lie about the dog and then you have problems it will be difficult to go back. I think on balance it would be better to phone in advance so the person visiting is aware of the fact you have a dog.

Haffdonga · 03/01/2016 14:53

Our cat is from CPL. We also have a dog. CPL were remarkably unconcerned about whether the 6 month old cat we wanted would be dog friendly and only said 'he's never met a dog before so we've no idea if he'll be ok' .

The house inspection seemed very cursory except to take our donation (fair enough). The one question she wanted to know was where we would feed the cat. She also asked again all the questions I'd already answered on the application form (what age cat we wanted, did we live on a main road, did we have kids etc).

Haffdonga · 03/01/2016 15:02

Also, I think as you're going for a 6 monther, CPL will be happy. I deliberately chose not to have a tiny baby kitten in case our dog decided it was ediblely (Luckily cat showed absolutely no fear of dog and dog quickly learned this was a family member. They were curled up together within 2 weeks.)

However, don't be surprised if the cat you end up with is not the one you've expressed an interest in. We wanted a particular kitten on the CPL website. When we inquired we were told that that cat had been rehomed weeks earlier. We were eventually offered another lovely boy, who never actually made it onto the website. It seems in our area the cuties are left on the site to pull in interested customers but the site is not updated enough to show who is really currently available.

Goingtobeawesome · 03/01/2016 15:05

You must ring. If they turn up and the dog means no they be annoyed at their time being wasted. IME the home checkers are volunteers.

MsMims · 03/01/2016 15:28

You need to tell them, if nothing else for the sake of making sure you don't end up rehoming a kitten who is totally petrified or unsuitable to live with dogs.

FWIW I have rehomed many, many rescue cats when I already have dogs but I was always upfront about my dogs. The rescue will simply be looking to make sure you and the new cat are a good fit to avoid the adoption breaking down. It's in everyone's best interests to be honest.

Skullyton · 03/01/2016 16:56

just be honest.

not being funny, but if they say no there are plenty of other places you can get a kitten from.

and 6mo isn't that young, they're not that far off being adult sized, they're just skinny and a bit leggy (i have a 19wko kitten) and perfectly capable of fending for themselves!

JennaRoss · 04/01/2016 20:48

Be honest - the rescue that we got ours from actually advertises if certain cats are used to / happy to live with dogs / children / other cats etc

19lottie82 · 05/01/2016 16:59

We adopted a cat from the CPS a few months ago. Each cat will have a profile, and one of the questions will be "can they be reformed with a dog", the answer will be yes, no or unsure. As long as it's not "no", they won't mind, especially if the dog is used to cats. However, if it's a "no", then don't lie, it will be a "no" for a reason, so this wouldn't be fair on the cat. If your home isn't suitable for the kitty you have in mind, they should have plenty of others who are fine with dogs.

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