dog person adapting to cats

Hello from Boston, MA. As you can see by my user name I am a dog lover who, after putting my dog down a few months ago, has become a cat person. I was so devastated after my dog died I swore I'd never have another one. My niece persuaded me to adopt 2 of her cats, brother & sister, who were terrified by her new rescued dog. I agreed and have been learning via the internet & asking cat owners all about cats. They are definitely a different breed. Hopefully I'll get a few pointers on this forum. More than pointers. I'm still learning.

 

Hi there! I can totally understand how are you feeling, because I grew up with dog person; my mom. She has never been able to tolerate cats, so kudos to you for trying to do that! Cats are very different from dogs, so it might take you a while to get used to them, meanwhile try to be patient, I'm sure you will eventually like cats so very much! =D

 

hi doglvr,
Just read your post. I started out as a dog lover as a kid, but then I rescued a black kitten. Jumped into a canal at 5:30 in the morning after hearing a small animal crying out for help. I can't swim, but the water was only waist high, and stinking cold! That's how I got started in cats. Also rescued his two black brothers, so we went from dog to cats overnight!

We also rescue Malamutes (cat-friendly ones), so we're now a mixed family. Hope you enjoy your cats. They can be fiendishly clever, and very annoying at 2 in the morning, but I wouldn't want it any other way.
k

 

wow.. that's just so cute.. I love dogs too.. but cats are so irresistibly cute and cuddly.
like you, I'm learning about cats too through this forum.

I'm new here as well.. i found you story sweet.. about not having another dog after your doggy died. I'm sorry for the loss..

thanks! and God bless

 

I'm fast being trained by these cats. Knowing nothing about cats I've done a great job spoiling them & they are now more like dogs than cats. Where I am, they are. They have many kinds of scratching posts, seats, beds, toys but the favorite one is my lap so I guess I've come up to their expectations.

Fortunately I don't have the roaming around early a,m. as I was told would happen. They get up when I do.

I'm so happy you are an animal rescuer. All my contributions go to animal shelters no matter what kind. I'd love to have a wolf but observing them at our local zoo will have to do.

 

I have a question? Is it possible a cat may live in same house with a dog? It will happen to me as I'm planning to spend my vacation in my mom's house this summer, with Kitty and we our old dog there. His name is Tiger. Like Odie and Garlfield?

With right supervisions, is this even possible??

 

Hi Super Petlover,
Over the years, we have had a lot of cats and dogs living together. But it takes a lot of time and patience to get them to adapt. We rescue and foster Malamutes, and they are NOT usually a small-animal friendly breed. Most of them have a very high prey-drive, which means that anything that runs from them is chase, catch and eat. The ones we do foster are cat-friendly, and have been tested on someone else's cats.
It really depends on the dog--some breeds just have more of an instinct to chase and catch animals. You may have to keep Kitty in one part of the house, and Tiger in another part of the house. Let them sniff under doors. If Tiger shows aggression, then it just might not work. Keep in contact, I'd like to know if this works out, but you may be spending your whole vacation refereeing.

 

Welcome Doglvr. Many years ago I was probably neither a cat or dog lover person but always came along having dogs around. I have no recollection of cats in my early days but I am told we had one or two. Fast forward to the present and my son convinced me to have an indoor dog who later gave birth to her daughter. My bigger dog spends most of his time outdoors but I am working on that.

Interestingly enough my son more than a year ago found a cat (then kitten) on the highway and brought him home. Within weeks the cat stole my heart but would only live with me for under a year. I was devastated and swore I would never own another. Some months have passed and I am doing much better but I still miss him and only have my dogs to keep me happy.

As it turned out I was both a cat and a dog person but never knew. I felt like I had the perfect cat. They are different yet similar in some respects. I don't know what your cat is like but they like more independence than dogs. They are not nearly as needy. I hope you enjoy your cat experience. I miss mine.

I believe that in time you will own a dog again and me a cat. The ideal situation is to have both. I enjoyed that experience for a while. They were just wonderful together: the perfect cousins. Sometimes I wonder if the dogs miss Twinkle as much as I do.

 

yah! it looks like I'll be doing that throughout my vacay! and just make sure I'll enjoy it. Thanks for the advice, I'll do that. I really pray this will not cause any harm and stress to both of them or else my guilt will kill me. Thanks.. I'm learning a lot.