I want a cat (waits to be hit LOL)

I love my dog, I am not planning on getting rid of her but i want a cat. I had a cat, and he died while staying with gramma (we moved to a no pets area and never got to get him back b4 his demise). My girl is a GS/Rot and is very playful. It worries me, because she has her "babies" (stuffed animals) and she picks em up and shakes em. She has never been around cat, but has a small neigbor dog that she runs the fence with. My husband insists this is a bad idea, i say i don't care I want a cat. What do you all think? Size wise...she is about 2.5 - 3 ft tall, 70 pounds. I want to get a kitten when i do get the cat. We have a fish tank and she pays it no mind. Would it be the same with the cat LOL?

I had cats and small dogs when i was younger.....they got along fine. I dunno tho with her breeding.

I'm no expert but I would think as long as she's still young she might would accept a kitten.

It doesn't have to do with her breeding. The only problem you may run into, is that if your dog has never been around a cat, then it may scare her and cause her to snap. But, I have a cat and got a Chihuahua for inside and the cat got used to her in a snap. I think that it was because she sensed it was a baby and knew not to bite her or eat her. LOL Plus, in my experiences, dogs have always been more accepting to new things than cats. I know peoples' experiences will differ. But that has been mine. Anway, hope you come to a great decision!

it takes awhile to adjust two animals to be together..usually it works out..occasionally i know where the cat never walked on the ground again..from couch to table to top of piano to counter..lol anyway i have always had dogs and cats and they have always worked out their pecking order so to speak and lived long lives together..you just have to take precautions when you first introduce each and keep an eye on things to make sure both are safe..make sure kitten's nails are clipped becuase i did have a little kitten that caught my little dog right in the eye..was just a terrible accident...Scamper turned the corner and suprised the kitten..just a fluke thing, so i would make sure they are clipped in the beginning..let the cat be in one room and the dog in the other and then slowly allow both animals to get use to each other..keeping dog on leash until you know that there will be no harm done..cats are pretty good about teaching dogs proper be around cat behavior.

Pro47..no kidding cats are not accepting. My sister has a cat named doggie, had her since she was a kitten and she is going on 8 y/o. She just got another cat about 2 years ago and doggie will have nothing to do with moe. When Doggie comes across the living room moe tries to attack her, and when moe is being stupid (standing on her head and stuff) doggie will knock her over. Its hilarious to see but after 2 years they still do not get along. My sis has to fill up the fish bowl (with no fish in it) for moe to drink cause she refuses to drink the same bowl as doggie. I think I am just going to bring home a cat one day and he shall accept it LOL. My kid wants that or a rabbit, I think i would rather have a cat.....

Gus was 2 when we got Katelina, and he was wary at first, she was only 10 weeks old and not scared of anything!! It took about two weeks for me to completely trust Gus around her on his own. My advise would be shut the kitten in a room at night where your girl can't get at it, and only have the kitten loose when you are there to supervise. it won't take long before they are like this!

You could always go to the humane society and tell them you are interested in a cat but are not sure how your dog will react to one. You can ask them if they can do a "cat test" on your dog before you adopt a cat so you can be sure they will both be fine.

My local humane society will do these "cat tests" where they bring in a cat who is really good with dogs and puts them both in a room to see how the dog will handle it. It is not for sure (of course you can never really predict an animals behavior) but it will give you a good idea on whether or not it will be a good idea.

They should also be able to direct you to an adult cat or type of cat who usually do well with other animals.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you!

This is the first time since I was about 8 years old that I haven't had a cat in the same house with a dog - and from the time I was 12 it was always a large dog. They always figured out pretty quickly that they are family and must look out for each other.

Hi ya i have a cat and i have a dog and they get on fine!! apart from when me cat comes in at niht times fighting with other cats and milo teher growling and the cats to shut up!! lol
so really milo looks after misty really lol!!
Evern the cat gets on with the bunnies too!!

Gustav all I can say is awwwwwwwww.m What a sweet picture. I have a puppy/kitten calendar that pic should be in there how sweet.

Bailysmom.....I would so do that if I didn't live in the middle of nowhere LOL. I had no idea that the human society did that and I think its really cool, but the closest pund/humane society is a good 2 hour trip fior me.

As for the rest of ya'll. Thanks! You all have such wonderful advice! I am so glad I founf this forum!!! I think I am going to wait until we move (in Nov) to get one but I am getting one!!! I am determined. Maybe that will be my daughters big Xmas gift...I dunno...but I am determined.

When u do get a cat make sure you have a place for the cats to run to that the dog can't get to. That way the cat can have a nice safe place.

Well if you wern't in New Mexico I would say you should adopt one of my foster kittens coming in.

Omigosh, Gustav... what a PRECIOUS PICTURE!

As for cats, let me tell you my story. When I got my Yogi (original yella lab) who had been a stray, I think he used to eat cats to stay alive. He comes to my home and I had my big ole white cat, Catfish, who thought he's a dog, anyway. Yogi would just want to attack and KILL him every time they were in the same room. But Catfish would just stand up to him, get right in his face, and YELL at him like you wouldn't believe. Yogi was so confused. He would actually try to fling him with his nose as if to say RUN RUN, I WANT TO EAT YOU! And Catfish would just get right in his face and YELL. He would also punch him in the face with his paws -- and he was declawed! He'd use Yogi's head as a battering ram all the while YELLING. Yogi finally gave up and decided cats were "ok" and didn't mess with him anymore. After everyone was acclimated to each other, they started a new thing. Anytime Yogi was in trouble for something and I was reprimanding him, Catfish would come flying into the room and get right in his face and YELL and YELL at him and do the battering ram thing to his head! I called him "The General" (a.k.a. Bobby Knight). When Yogi would do something bad, I'd say "Don't make me call in The General"... Lol!

I had a pair of cats in NC that lived with the stepmoms confirmed cat killing dog. Everything was fine from the word go. When it was cold the kittens slept on the dog or crawled into his couch on the porch. The dog Le Mutt taught the cats to open the porch door and they would follow him around the farm, he would even protect them from the other dogs on the farm. Eventually they would even chase the horses with all the dogs, 2 greyhounds, some sort of Australian mut, and Le Mut a black lab/bouvie mix.

Currently the cat was here before the dogs, she showed up as a stray kitten and wouldnt leave. Erp the Cat was about 8 months old when the roommates got their pup. She was a little over a year+ old when I brought Blue home as a pup. She puts up with the dog play to a point and then its of to one perch or another. The older the dogs get the less they try to ruff house the cat.

My friend has an English Setter called Palma, and a cat called Whiskey, and if she wants the cat in for any reason, she says to Palma go and get Whiskey, so Palma goes outside finds Whiskey picks him up gently by the scruff and brings him into the house! Whiskey just lies still in Palmas mouth while she carries him! It's sooo funny/cute to watch!!

Great pic & story.

I don't think bringing a dog to the humane society to meet a cat will bring ideal results as it's not a relaxed atmosphere like being at home. Also, from my experience so far, cats take their time to approach dogs and know better. It took mine anywhere from 1 week to 2 weeks to approach a dog. It's a gradual process, but you have to be patient. I used to put up a gate across a bedroom where the cat could go for security (climbed/jumped over) from the dog until the day came when it was no longer needed. My CJ 11 1/2 years old was never around another dog or cat until 2 years ago when she met Tiny. The first week we both thought it wouldn't work between CJ chasing Tiny and Tiny hisses at CJ. Well we just kept telling CJ "no, make nice to Tiny" and after that week passed it got better. Now, CJ & Tiny are best of friends; Tiny rubs up against her all the time. Patience is what's needed.

I have 3 dogs and 3 cats. Jasmine doesn't really mind the cats at all. Maggie is the same size as the cats so they don't really mind her. But Katy... oh goodness. She's very playful towards other animals, it doesn't matter what it is. The cats are used to Katy, but it took them about a month to realize she isn't going to hurt them, and that she's just a "stupid dog" (according to the cats). Katy still chases them around a little bit, but nothing major. So in my experience it matters mostly on how curious the dog is. Jasmine couldn't care less about the cats really. They'll lay next to her and play with Maggie and SOMETIMES play with Katy. I don't think size really matters because Katy is almost 60 lbs, and she doesn't bother the cats a whole lot. So I would say go ahead and get a cat if that's what you want. Make sure the litter box is out from where the dog can get to it because dogs will eat what's in there. Hopefully it works out for you.