Visitors with dog and have two cats- advice

[trystatearea]

As it says really. I have two indoor cats, and I have a friend visiting this week who is bringing their dog. I know the dog well and it is not a good mix with cats (not aggressive but will just want to play and is very boisterous and excitable) so they can't be introduced. Current plan is for the dog to have the run of downstairs and the garden during the day with the door to the downstairs closed at all times so they cannot meet. At night the dog will be crated and will sleep in the spare room with my friend (cats never go in that room anyway).

Their food is usually downstairs but I'll bring it upstairs for the duration of the visit. They'll have access to both their litter tray, all their normal sleeping spots, and the entire house bar the spare room at night; they just won't be able to sit downstairs and look out the garden window which they often do during the day.

Anything else I haven't thought of? I'm feeling really guilty because I know they're going to be frightened.

I think the calming diffusers are a good idea. I would also leave the radio or TV on upstairs to distract the cats slightly.
It isn't ideal, but I do similar when I take my dogs to my sister who has a house cat. Her cat just retreats to the airing cupboard where he spends much of his time on a normal day. Apparently he has a good old sniff around once we have gone.

t just takes a snap second for the cat to get in the dog’s room or for the dog to escape into the wrong room when someone left the door open to go to the loo.

When the dog is in the bedroom it is sleeping in it will be in a shut, covered crate in a room my cats never go into, and my downstairs loo doesn't require the door being opened to the rest of the house to get to it.

I live in a three storey house and the cats are nearly always at the top of it. Even if the dog did get out it would be grabbed long before it got up there. That plus when downstairs walking about it will be on a lead.

It’s not a case if they will be kept completely separate , the point is that your cats are having their routine and home disrupted and will be able to smell / sense the dog and basically it’s very unfair to inflict that on them .

I mean they have their routine disrupted all the time in that case. When my son was born. When he has friends to play, which he often does. When I have extended family to stay (which I often do, in large groups). When they go to the cattery at Christmas. When we move, which we've done twice in two years.
They're quite chilled little things and tend to just stay out of the way if anything is happening they don't like. When my mum used to come with her dog they put their head round the door, saw the dog, went back upstairs and slept til the dog went.

Ridiculous answers on here! The cats will be fine. My only suggestion is make sure all the animals can reach water and the cats can easily get to their litter tray.
I have two cats and a dog stayed for one night over new year. It was fine.

Your plan sounds fine I have a cat and a dog. My dog is a cat chaser. He occasionally chases the cat. The cat sms is him round the face.

We all know who is in charge.

Smacks

I'd be wary if your dog isn't cat-savvy. Not only does it risk upsetting the cats; you shouldn't underestimate the damage a pissed off or frightened cat can do to a dog. Training a dog to be cat-savvy and respectful takes time, patience and, crucially, supervision. We used to take our cat-savvy dog to stay at my parents' house (with their cats) but he knew his place and always deferred to cats.

Just to add, my experience of introducing a new dog to resident cats, and new cats to a resident dog, was far, far easier than introducing a new cat to a resident cat!

I have to say I agree with other posters and I wouldn't have agreed to let the dog stay in the cats' home; it is unfair on them and appears unnecessary when you could have put other arrangements in place. I suspect they'll be stressed even if it's not obvious on the surface to you so make sure you watch them closely during and after the visit. I'd also get the Feliway diffusers if you can.

All that being said it's happening and you seem to have tried to put arrangements in place to minimise the impact on the cats and I really hope it goes well for you all. Good luck.

@trystatearea

I feel like some of you are thinking the dog is going to have free roam of the house. It won't. It will be confined to one room. It will not be able to see the cats. At night it will be shut in a crate in a room they can't access and wouldn't ever go into anyway. They will have free access as normal to their food and litter.

It's not just about whether it can see the cats, though.

It will be able to smell them and when the cats come back into the living room, they'll be able to smell the dog and it's likely to make them unsettled and a bit anxious. If they've never met a dog before they'll be even more anxious than if they've lived with dogs previously.

Anxious cats can and will pee outside their boxes as a way of marking and believe me, that's not a habit you want them to learn!

I agree a lot of these responses are very OTT! We had a visitor with a dog for several days over Christmas & our cat was absolutely fine, sure yours will be too. Sounds like you’ve thought it through OP & have a good plan.

birdglasspen
Your cats will be fine they all ready spend each day gazing outside wondering why they can’t go out and enjoy being cats...
That’s an unnecessary & very judgy comment. I know it’s unpopular on this board but lots of people decide to keep their cats indoors for lots of valid reasons, like to avoid traffic, because the cats have medical conditions, to protect wildlife and to prevent them using neighbours gardens as their toilets.

meh, I'd let the dog visit in my home how OP describes; we've had day visitor dogs do similar. Our cats clustered at top of stairs, watching, unhappy but coping; no after effects.

I think it sounds fine.
I have both cats and a dog and often host people who bring their dogs. Then the cats usually just sleep on my bed and i bring their food to them! And i live in a bungalow.

We don't know of the dog can go to kennels-my dog can't. We don't know the relationship between the OP and the dog owner-but having pets shouldn't isolate you from family and friends-especially when the OP and dog owner have put reasonable measures in place for all the animals while still being able to spend time together.

My dogs have always been in crates at night to start with but you cannot ignore the possibility of the dog having a high pray drive, it does happen, even in the soppiest dogs that wouldn’t hurt a fly.

I have been in this position and it made for some very very stressful days. I never expected my very friendly dog who is afraid of big dogs to act towards the smaller animals as if they were vermin she needed to catch the day after they arrived. I certainly couldn’t recognise her… she really made some very effective attempts at escaping the room going between my legs when opening the door, learned to open the kitchen gate and even pushed the doors repeatedly until she opened them or damaged them, she totally and absolutely refused to stay in her crate at night without kicking a massive loud noisy fuss for literally hours.

So it may be that the dog is ok with your cats but it is a huge risk to take.

I'd also be careful about how your cats will react when the dog leaves. One of my friends did a similar thing and one of her cats started spraying in the room where the dog was kept. And once it started, it didn't stop despite various attempts with feliway, etc.

@trystatearea

I mean they have their routine disrupted all the time in that case. When my son was born. When he has friends to play, which he often does. When I have extended family to stay (which I often do, in large groups). When they go to the cattery at Christmas. When we move, which we've done twice in two years. They're quite chilled little things and tend to just stay out of the way if anything is happening they don't like. When my mum used to come with her dog they put their head round the door, saw the dog, went back upstairs and slept til the dog went.

Makes me wonder why you bothered to start the thread then .

You said in your OP I'm feeling really guilty because I know they're going to be frightened. ….. yet you’re dismissing everything posters are saying, and that it will all be fine

What do you want from the thread?