Cat, dog or both?

[Sunnidayz]

Looking to get a pet at some point. We both work from home and even if I end up back at the office part time my husband won't. So there will be someone at home full-time.

I always had dogs growing up, DH has had both. My parents hate cats so that was never an option then but they don't live here so!

I've had various other small animals (apart from birds) but want a cat or dog or both. Would happily get a dog from a shelter if it was suitable but it would need to be a small dog. And I'm not spending thousands on a designer cross breed and not sure if prices will come down at some point but have been holding out so far until the "pandemic pet craziness" comes to an end.

Cat wise I'd like a purebred one because I have always been interested in various breeds since I was a child. I think my parents dislike of cats fuelled my admiration of them. I enquired online about a gorgeous oriental shorthair that was on a rescue page recently but heard nothing back and she got adopted by someone else. I thought they might call to offer another cat but heard nothing so they were probably too busy to respond.

Is it best to contact shelters to let them know you're looking for an animal and are they likely to keep you in the loop when new ones come in? I feel like there's a big waiting list still and animals get adopted quickly.

Although I've never had a cat of my own I looked after a friend's cat in my home for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately he didn't really settle and clawed a lot of my furniture and kept trying to get into my bedroom where he wasn't allowed (he pees on beds). So that kind of put me off cats for a while but I think it was the change of surroundings that upset him. He was friendly enough and I know that animals sometimes do these things. I'd be looking for an older cat/dog so we'd know what it's personality was like.

Any advice? Thanks!

I think it depends how much attention you want to give really. Dog is usually wanting attention, cats are usually being chased to give it ime

we have both and a 2 year old boy. I think cats so much easier but dogs same as my 2 years old :D also depends which breed dog you would get.. if is a big dog could be really challenging sometimes.. cats just mind their own business

I have a dog and cats
They are absolutely fine together

I remember a neighbour had a cat and dog together and they were happy enough. Am thinking more about the work involved, a cat might be easier at first to see how we get on, then introduce a dog later perhaps.

My friend had a lovely Siamese who would come running over and jump in my lap for cuddles, I'd need an affectionate cat rather than an aloof one.

OP if you're adopting from a shelter they should be able to tell you if the dog or cat will be friendly towards each other or other pets in general as rescue shelters normally assess animals on their individual needs i.e. some of their rescue cats don't get along with dogs or other cats therefore need to be adopted into a home where they'd be the only pet or they don't like being around children and would need an adult only household.

However cats and dogs can get along we had both a cat and a dog when I was a kid but we got them a couple of weeks apart when they were a puppy and a kitten so they got along well from the start as they didn't know any different.

I'm an experienced cat owner so I would say if you're getting a cat you need to provide a place where the cat can go either up high where the dog can't get to them (you can buy scratch posts for that purpose) or somewhere they can be alone as they do like to do that sometimes. Also they might scratch at your furniture a bit it depends to be honest my last cat who has sadly passed away scratched away at everything whereas my cat before that didn't she used her scratch post. To try and prevent it I'd advise you buy a scratch post with catnip in it because that will really attract them to it making it less likely they'll do it to your furniture.

Go on the shelter's websites they normally have a page with FAQ (frequently asked questions) on how they rehome the animals and what the potential rehomer needs to do before adopting. They also should have a page on the behaviours of the animals and how to introduce them to other animals i.e. dog and cat together. I'd suggest the RSPCA website they have some pretty good advice and information on cats and dogs and rehoming in general. Hope this was helpful to you OP.

Hey. Yeah I've seen that on rescue websites. Good idea on the high places to climb and catnip scratching post! Thanks!

One thing to consider is the amount of tie each animal can be

I love dogs but we don’t have one as it restricts our ability to say go out for the whole day as you have to come home for them more regularly than you would a cat (obviously not if you’ve got a dog you can take everywhere but my experience of friends/family with dogs is that this doesn’t happen)

With our cat we are able to go out for the whole day as he sleeps all day with his usual access to food/litter tray

We’re also able to go away overnight/on holiday relatively easily as he just needs someone to come and feed/scoop the litter tray for a couple of days. He’s quite happy just chilling by himself or having cuddles with us

We have had both. Cats are generally easier. Dogs take up much more time.
Both though need a lot of input. Dcats get lots of stokes, hugs and playtimes. We have cats now and they are very clean. They have though destroyed the sofa and they expect to be able to enter every room in the house. They spend their days either lazing on my big king size bed which is covered in a thick squishy duvet and snuggly blankets or on the destroyed sofa and evenings charging about playing and running across the kitchen countertops

“My friend had a lovely Siamese who would come running over and jump in my lap for cuddles, I'd need an affectionate cat rather than an aloof one.”

Siamese aren’t affectionate - they’re needy and clingy. I’d have another in a heartbeat, but, you do need to be aware that it’s way way beyond just affectionate, it’s borderline obsessive tbh. Not at all what you asked, but thought I’d mention it.

My current moggie is affectionate, she’ll come when you call her (most of the time anyway) she likes a cuddle and a stroke, she’ll come looking for you if she’s not seen you in a few hours just to check in. And she’s very sociable with everyone that lives in the house and frequent visitors.

My Siamese was basically like having a cat attached to me with loud shouting if she couldn’t find me... and would only tolerate anyone else if I wasn’t in.

Anyway... cat and dog... it’s very hard to get a cat to accept a dog when they’re not used to them, and it’s very very hard to get a cat friendly rescue dog. In case that affects which order you’d be thinking about getting them.

We have a cat and a dog.

The cat is affectionate, partly because we got him as a kittne and alwyas handled him, stroked him a lot.

There is an enormous difference between owning a cat than a dog though.

Cat - can go out to work, have a cat flap (get one with chip so only your cat can come in), leave food down. Go out all day, be away for the weekend and just get someone to come in once a day and top up food and check on them.
Lovely and affectionate, but 100% independant.

Dog - like having a toddler. You can't leave them for more than 5 hours. Even then some dogs will chew stuff/pee/bark if left. Puppies stage is horrendous for 2 years. Never go out for the whole day without dog sitter, cannot leave them overnight, need someone to come in a dinner time to feed, need to walk them for 1-2 hours eveyr single day come rain, snow, hail, never mind if you have the flu etc etc.

Dogs are a really significant tie. Cats are not.

I love both of ours, and have chosen to have a dog, but it is a veyr different experience that owning a cat.

Ah! My friend's Siamese was older so perhaps a little more laid back? I was just happy how she came straight over for cuddles, another friend's moggy wouldn't come near, very nervous. I wouldn't want a Siamese anyway due to the noise. Again my friend's Siamese (she'd had several over the years) weren't too loud but I've been to a few shows years ago and heard the yowling.

I think the going up on kitchen countertops bothers me a bit, especially if the cat has been pooing in its litter box etc? Or if it were to investigate food cooking on the stove it might hurt itself, not sure how you mitigate that kind of thing.

I grew up with dogs but my parents did the majority of the work. Also had non-chewy, laid back dogs, perhaps again down to parents training them. A friend has a Labrador that has had a go at a lot of furniture, in their home and other people's! If we got a dog I'd want a small one. I wouldn't want a puppy. Thanks for your advice, lots to think about.

My cat doesn’t go on the worktop. I just trained him not to as a kitten. Every time he would go on I’d put him on the floor and say no. But he’s generally very well behaved and acts like a dog most of the time (answers to his name and plays fetch)

“Ah! My friend's Siamese was older so perhaps a little more laid back? I was just happy how she came straight over for cuddles, another friend's moggy wouldn't come near, very nervous. I wouldn't want a Siamese anyway due to the noise. Again my friend's Siamese (she'd had several over the years) weren't too loud but I've been to a few shows years ago and heard the yowling.”

If you like a wee stalker - Siamese are great, lol, just... they do tend to fixate a bit on one person. The yowling tbh, it’s not like at shows, just yeah they’re louder and chattier than some other cats - but it’s not constant or anything, it’s for a reason, where other cats might meow they’ll shout is all it really is, well and for less obvious things like, you get an annoyed Siamese sweating at you if you’re out too long or if they realise you’ve gone for a bath because the wet is bad and worrying. But mostly it’s, open a door for me or where’s my food, just like any other cat.

Worktops... I’ve only ever managed to train cats to stay off worktops if they know I’m looking, so you just assume a cat has been up there and give it a quick clean before you prep food on it.

my cat doesn't go on worksurfaces.

I have never let since he was a kitten.
Removed every time. No worksurfaces or tables.

Cats are actually much more trainable than you think.

Both!

I am a cat person, DH is a dog person. We have been lucky enough to own both in the past, our dog absolutely adored our cats. The cats ruled the roost.

That's good to know about the training! I'm a bit of a slattern and the thought of a cat wandering on table tops knocking stuff off might encourage me to be more tidy!