10 year old Dcat1- thinking of getting a little dog, advice please

[hattyhatty]

Hi,

We're all struggling a bit after the unexpected death of Dcat3, and we're tentatively wondering whether to get another pet, and after years of cat ownership (cats owning us obviously) we're wondering if a dog might suit our current lifestyle better.

Dcat1 is nearly 10, his twin (Dcat2) died as a kitten, and then a couple of years later we got dcat3. Although Dcat1 and Dcat2 were inseparable, dcat1 and dcat3 tolerated each other. They would occasionally sit in the same room but rarely showed affection for each other. In fact, Dcat2 pretty much took possession of upstairs whilst dcat1 had the run of downstairs. They would occasionally touch noses. Dcat3 was PTS in December, and we all miss him, dcat1 included who spent a good while looking for him.

Dcat1 has never met a dog (except perhaps on his meanderings) and I'm wondering what effect bringing a dog into the household might have on him. The last thing we want is to upset him.

Any advice?

At a cat rescue where I volunteer we "dog test" cats with a cat-friendly dog (one of our volunteers has dogs and cats at home) by bringing a dog close to the cat's cattery pen. Ideally the reaction you are looking for is for them to pretty much ignore each other. Cats who take to dogs well tend to be confident, laid-back cats in general.

Do you know anyone with a calm dog who could visit so you could see your cat's reaction?

Thanks Viccat, unfortunately I don't, the dogs I know are all bouncy types.

Do you think the rescue, as well as visiting the dog in his foster home, would allow him to visit us to see how that goes?