Cats and Dogs

[kehorner]

Are there any good resources for introducing a dog into a cat household? Or do any of you have any tips? I know several here have "blended families."

I've currently got three cats. They are all 3-4 years old now. Pat and Spike lived in a foster home with a dog until they were about 6 months old, but haven't seen a dog since then. I don't think Captain Hook has ever seen a dog.

I am most likely going to be getting a dog sometime within the next year. It's going to be an assistance dog, so it will be highly trained to behave. They will also know that I have cats and will find a dog that is good with cats. I'm not sure what kind of dog I'm getting, since the organization I will be working with gets all of their dogs from shelters. They said they tend to see a lot of lab mixes, though. I would be getting a dog that is in the 50-80 pound range, because that is the minimum size needed to do the required tasks.

So, the question is, how on earth do I bring this dog into the house with my three contented cats? The boys are all quite convinced that they own the place (and they do). They will still own the place, and I would definitely give them lots of attention at home. The dog would mostly be needed for assistance with tasks outside of the home, and would be "off duty" for the most part when I am home. The cats have been my at-home support team, and there is no reason why they can't continue with that.

I'm most concerned about Captain Hook. He's afraid of just about everything. He's got some sort of brain damage from being really sick when he was a baby (around 8 weeks old, he had an upper respiratory infection so bad we thought he was going to die, then he had eye infections that permanently scarred one of his lenses, then he got ringworm all over). I think his fever was a bit too high for a bit too long, because he's just a little off. He's afraid of plastic bags, people walking by, new things, moving things, and strangers. He knows me and he's fine with me. He lays around flopped out on his back with his belly hanging out, and curls up with me to get love and purrs like you wouldn't believe. But when strangers (including my parents, which visit on a semi-regular basis) come over, he runs and hides, and doesn't come out until they've been gone for a few hours. In December, I moved and got a new roommate at the same time. After a week or two, he was coming out when my roommate was gone. But it took at least a month before he would come out when my roommate was home (and not sleeping). Now, he even hops up to see her on the couch and is just fine with her walking through the room. But it took a while.

Pat is really outgoing and quite the trouble-maker, really. Spike is a little bit in the middle. When strangers come over, he sort of stays around the edges and keeps his exit open, but doesn't actually run away. He'll sort of run from strangers if they try to pet him, but then he'll come back and let them.

I wouldn't introduce a dog just for the heck of it, since the boys are perfectly happy without any more family members. But this is something that I really need and will really increase my independence.

So I need to figure out how to make it work with my boys. And I want to start planning now. Once the dog is selected, it will be trained for 4-9 months, so I'll have time to do any necessary preparations. The place that is training the dog is about 250 miles from where I live, so I would be able to drive down there if needed (and I know that once they pick a dog for me, I will be driving down there to meet it, just because I won't be able to contain myself!).

[k9Karen]

I thnk with the dog being properly trained to be around cats, most of your battle will be won. Assistance dogs are chosen for their calm personalities and intelligence. If the dog is not aggressive and is trained to basically ignore the cats, the cats, being the curious creatures that they are, will want to know what's going on. I suspect they will either make friends with the dog or ignore it completely. They may hide for a couple of days, but should gradually get used to the situation. I think it unlikely that any of your cats will try to harm the dog - it's usually the dog that causes the problems by being too frisky and too 'in your face' with the cats. I'm sure the organization who is providing this dog will have some very good suggestions on how to introduce them.

[JUDY S]

I agree with Karen. When I took in a stray cat he definately did not like the dogs. They were only in the same room when I was around. As long as the dogs ignored him, he was okay. He did keep an eye on them, but stayed out of their way as well. He isn't quite friends with my rotti, because she has to be in the middle of everything and is much more in your face then the other dogs.

He did learn to love my german shepherd though. Kujo would completely ignore the cats, he couldn't care less if they were there. Oscar, the cat, grew to love him. He would follow him around, rubbing against Kuj's legs and trying to get his attention. I do wonder if he misses him, Kujo passed on May 21st. I have four cats and two dogs now and they have separate rooms, play areas, etc, but they get along great when they are together with me. Good luck!