Getting a dog when you have a cat

[GhostsToMonsoon]

Can anyone who has introduced a dog to their previously cat-only house give me some advice? I would dearly love to get a dog in late summer, having never had one before. However I'm worried how our cat would react. She'll be 9 by then.

My husband's family have in the past brought their dog when they've been to stay (usually just for one night) and the cat spends most of her time hiding upstairs. To be fair, she spends most days asleep on our bed anyway. We use a stairgate to stop him going upstairs and feed him in a different place from the cat. When she did see the dog downstairs, she hissed at him and ran away as fast as she could.

I had a 13 year old cat that had never seen a dog and then took on my parents 5 year old dog. I had a stair gate too but one with a small pet door in it, so the cat could come and go as it pleased but most importantly could get completely away. Also arranged high areas in the lounge for the cat, so he could sit and observe the dog. Plus swapped blankets around occasionally so they got use to each other’s smell. It took about a month or so for them to be relaxed with each other. Now they will be next to each other on the sofa. It can be a massive stress for a cat though and you’re right to give it some thought. I think with us it was a case of giving the animals the time they needed not try and push things along. Would recommend going for a calm dog. Good luck.

I had three cats when we got our first dog (one has since died). One cat was immediately in charge of the dog. One pretends they don't exist, and one was quite upset and took a few months to get back to her normal self.

Using a stairgate is great as it gives the cat a big safe space. If your cat eats in the kitchen and the cat flap goes from there, using a stairgate on the kitchen gives them a safe exit, and somewhere they can see the dog and feel safe. Never 'introduce' the cat to the dog, or force them together - the cat will do whatever they like in their own time.

Thanks for the replies. She's quite a nervous cat anyway and is still wary of my son despite having lived with us since before he was born - he's never hurt her, but he's quite loud and moves fast.

She has several catflaps so could hopefully stay out of the dog's way. Currently she has her food in the utility room so I would probably feed the dog in the kitchen. I will look into making some high areas that she could access as well. We were thinking of getting a smallish breed of dog.

Really glad you've posted this, as I'd like to get a dog within the next couple of years, so am interested to know how it went for people who have. One of my cats is a very nervous girl and that puts me off bringing a dog into our lives.