Adopting kitten(a) with resident puppy

[Citygirlrurallife]

Our lovely cat died in the summer and we’re all bereft. We were considering getting a puppy anyway and took the advice to get the puppy first before getting another cat.

DPup is now nearly 6months old, golden retriever, socialised with my mum’s Siberian forest kitten who is about 4months. Super friendly but obviously very playful, not an adolescent yet so does still listen to me so we’re thinking get the kitten now?

We’re keeping an eye on all the local
shelters as we’d rather adopt - considering we have the puppy as well would anyone particularly recommend getting one or two as in noticed kittens tends to be adopted out in pairs?

I'd probably get an older cat. That's known to be ok with dogs.

I don't know the answer to your question, I'm just here for the photos of your puppy and the Siberian Forest Cat

I’d also go for an older cat.

I had huge issues with two kittens- once they reached adulthood they nearly destroyed the house with territorial spraying. So unless you have a big house so they can each have a large space and a low density cat population generally I would never get two.

adult cats you know their personality too, kittens can change quite markedly.

I’ve always found cats and dogs get on well enough as long as the dog doesn’t chase. Cats will put the dog in it’s place soon enough.

we got an 18m cat that had never lived in a home, never met a dog. She’s absolutely fine with the dog. Teases him, gives him a swipe now and again but he seems to be her security, if he’s around, she relaxes.

Oh interesting, I assumed a kitten would be better because then you socialise them to the dog, so will bare that in mind. Would def prefer to just have one in any case

@wonkyheadwoes just for you 😉

Not a kitten. A dog could easily kill one accidentally.

I’ve heard a few stories of kittens scratching puppies eyes (as in been at the vets when they’ve been brought in) so I’d say older cat too.

The dog socialises to the kitten. Cats dont socialise to us let alone a dog.

Haha fair enough @Fluffycloudland77

we've only had one of our cats from kitten, always adopted but this is our first dog so in somewhat unknown territory

I'd go against what everyone else has said and get a kitten.

We got a kitten when our beagle was three - we already had two resident adult cats. By a long shot, his best relationship is with the kitten - he is so gentle and the sleep together, wash each other and share food.

He gets on fine with the older ones but it's more mutual indifference than anything else

It really is potluck with cats. Think through worst case scenarios - how will you cope with stress spraying, dog chasing, cat scratching, destruction of property, etc?

If you feel up to solving those potential problems, then you're fine with adopting a kitten or cat imo. Over the past year my wife and I have incorporated 2 cat households into 1, and we are just now getting to the stage of companionable bed napping, which is a relief. But there has been fights, chases, spraying, and other cat related drama, and we have a large house (each cat has a defined territory) and took it slow in introducing them all. It is worth it now though - they occasionally lick each other's heads!

Good luck, your puppy is adorable.

Thanks @EmergentThoughts weve introduced cats to kittens before but not brought a dog into the equation!