Should we get the cat or dog first for a happy home?

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We lost our ddog nearly two years ago and feeling like next year we will be ready to get another. I am looking at cutting down at work with a view to retirement. DH and I both work mainly from home. So we won't get a dog until we are sure one of us will be home.
We are also thinking about a cat. We both grew up with cats. So my question is. If in the next year or so we want to end up with a dog and a cat, what order should we get them in? We won't be getting a puppy - will be looking for a rescue. Should we start with a kitten and then introduce a dog? Or the other way round? Or both at the same time (probably the maddest option). I want to end up with two happy animals in our family who like each other. What is the best way to achieve this?

Go to a rescue and get a cat that has been dog-tested. Get the cat first

If I was currently pet free and looking to retire soon, I’d want to travel loads and wouldn’t want a dog or a cat to worry about back home. That’s been the greatest obstacle having a dog. I want to go travel the world and we can’t do it together. I go separately (it’s dh’s dog), but he does get annoyed to miss out. But the dog can’t come to Spain or Thailand or wherever.

We will probably do a big trip before getting the pets. Then plan for subsequent trips with adult DD staying here, or kennels which we have used before.

Cat first. So it’s settled and comfortable in its territory. Then a cat friendly dog.

Better to have your DD stay and care for both. Cats are territorial animals who prefer to stay in their territory and many do not cope with catteries. And while a cat could be okay home alone with someone popping in once or twice a day to feed them, that’s not going to work for a dog - and sending only the dog to kennels means also splitting them up from each other. If you get both, you need a house sitter if you’re away.

Cat first, but be aware it's hard to find a truly cat-safe dog in rescue and it will limit the choice of dogs you have.

We had a cat for many years before we got a dog - the cat was bigger than the dog to start with and put her in her place very firmly. The dog is now fully grown and quite large, but still gives all cats the respect they deserve 😂

Maybe not a helpful answer but….I think it just depends on the personalities of the pets and how you go about introducing them. We got an older kitten with our very chilled elderly dog. The kitten hadn’t been with dogs but was a confident soul at the rescue centre who were rehoming her. She was TERRIFIED of the dog but as he was so gentle she took to him very quickly. Her favourite place to sleep not long after was in his bed and her favourite toy was his tail. We then 6 months later got a puppy. She wasn’t an immediate fan of the puppy but took to her quickly. They now get on great. Interestingly they rarely cuddle together but do play a lot. She also grooms the former puppy. The cat is a little confused and (in a lot of respects) behaves more like a dog than a cat. My point is, a lot of dogs wouldn’t cope with a cat coming in second and vice versa (the cats I grew up with would never have accepted a dog). Whatever order you decide, choose both based on the idea you hope for them to mix with the other.

I’d go against the grain here and get the dog first , that way you can make a reasonable assessment of how it is with cats out and about and any cat you then get will know from the off that there is a dog in situ . I’ve seen quite a few cases where people have a cat then get a dog and the cat just moves out .

Cat first..............then a kitten .(or two)

That's my cats opinion

Or - what about seeing if a Rescue has a Cat&Dog that were together originally ?
There will be , if you're prepared to wait .
I'd imagine there will be times when due to moving , allergy, money , people are in the situation where they need to rehome . Maybe a new baby and the established pets don't like it ?

It will only really work if you get a puppy or a rescue dog that has lived with a cat.
If you get a cat first it would be better. I think you will be very risky to get a rescue who will tolerate a cat.

Cat first. Though I'm back in baby days hell with a kitten at the moment who is shredding me and the sofa with teeny kitten claws, so unless you are feeling up for chaos, I'd say a slightly better house trained one.

please, please don't adopt just one young kitten. Kittens do best in pairs. Have a Google of Single Kitten Sydrome. I foster litters of kittens for my local rescue charity (Hertfordshire) & all our kittens go in either bonded pairs or to a home that already has a young, playful cat or occasionally they'll go with their mum if they are very bonded & if there were an uneven number in a litter.

We had two cats first, then got a puppy a few years later. The cat (one died) now lives upstairs as she detests the dog despite us doing everything we can to have calm interactions and the dog doesn’t chase her.

We have 2 cats and 1 dog. One cat gets on ok with the dog and the other hates him with a passion! They’ve all been together over 8 years so I don’t think she’ll ever accept the dog.

In your shoes, I’d get cats. Much easier, especially when you want to go away.

I'd get a cat and leave it at that. They are way more independent, don't need walking every day, can cope with being left at home and a cat sitter coming twice a day to feed them.

IME, if you give them lots of attention (gradually, not overwhelming them at first) they become quite doglike and join in with the family like dogs do, but remain independent. Like having a permanent benign teenager, not a permanent toddler.

I'd personally say get just the cat. Dogs are more restrictive and if you are planning on retiring soon, it may hinder any plans you have to travel or even just go out for long periods of time.

I'd forget about the cat and just get a dog.

Ahhhh yoo cannot post this without a photo
Though............. Thank You , I was looking at kittens on CPL , there's a litter of 5 black kittens , I'm sure they'd love to live in my house (probably not all five though , I'd be a MadWoman with 7 Black Cats then )
My pair would eat them and my sofa would spontaneously unravel .

This has put my right off kittens

@70isaLimitNotaTarget do not be fooled by the cute face. He is a vicious beast. The furniture and my body are all being destroyed. I do love him, but...We do have a black cat also, who is a big softy, but he wrecked the stair carpet when younger!

Awwww look at those paws
My DD calls our Female Cat's paws the Mittens of Doom
FemaleCat shreds carpet . MaleCat attacks the sofa

8yo and no sign of growing out of it ,

With my experiences a kitten has always settled with an existing dog. Getting a dog/puppy with an existing cat has not been successful, the cat was scared and kept away. My current dog is 15. When we first got her my 2 cats hated her and were never friends. The cats I have got since are fine with her, and get on great.

Thanks for all the insights and gorgeous photo. Lots to think about. I had been thinking I could get the cat/cats when I move to part time and the dog when I fully retire. But I can see I really need to work out what retirement is going to look like and where pets fit in.
This is the first time in our 28 years together that DH and I have not had a pet in the house and it does feel empty.

Cats are so territorial and do not like change. If you get the cat first, they will get used to being the only animal in the home. Introducing a dog at a later date will really upset the cat and they may never get on/always be scared. Whereas if you bring the cat into a home where a dog already lives from the start, I think that would be better. You’d of course have to know that the dog is good with cats though. It’s a tricky one. Cats are just so particular that I think it’d be a nightmare trying to introduce a dog into its territory once it’s already settled