Can I bring a dog home if my 12-year-old cat is very skittish?

If George gets really upset with other animals in the house, I think it would be best for your family to stay in a hotel if they are bringing their dog. He's an older cat, he deserves to be comfortable in his home, and stress can bring out health problems in cats such as feline idiopathic cystitis. I think his needs come first here. Best of luck.

Great question! I can give you a method of introducing Junior to this dog that will hopefully allow them to live together in peace. Introducing them should be done slowly. When you first move into your new home, I would keep them in rooms separated by a door. This way, they can get used to the smells and sounds of each other without contact. Make sure Junior has a litter box, food, and water in their room. You can also place a blanket with the dog's smell in his room, and a blanket with theJunior's smell in the dog's room. I would also consider get a Feliway for your cat and a DAP for the dog. These are pheromone diffusers that help with anxiety and should also help ease the transition. Once both pets seem relaxed with the current situation, swap rooms placing Junior in the dog's room and vice versa. You can do this switch several times over the course of the introductions. Once they are both comfortable with the smells of each other, it's time for them to meet face to face. I would introduce the dog on a leash to Junior while he is in a cat carrier or on the other side of a baby gate. Reward the dog for being calm and quiet near your cat. Once they seem comfortable with each other, the baby gate can be taken away. Make sure Junior has a cat tree where he can escape from the dog as needed, and don't allow the dog to chase Junior. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi, you have quite a collection of animals! I would not advise a puppy because your animals are older and a puppy can be too much stress for them. A puppy can seem to tolerate older animals then reach sexual maturity and challenge the older animals of the house. I suggest going to your local shelter and bringing your dogs to meet some possible candidates. i suggest any age over 2-3 and spayed or neutered already. Try some visits and see how the new dog will react to the animals you have. Also have the shelter to a cat test to make sure the new dog won't chase them. There are plenty of adult dogs who need homes with excellent temperaments. Good luck, i hope this helps!.

I have a few suggestions for you. First, dogs often see cats outside as an invasion, but may treat cats in the house differently. My dogs wil chase a cat outside, but happily live with 2 cats in the house. Hopefully that will be the case for you. But you have to play it safe. So, I would recommend only allowing Molly to see the cat when she is on a leash initially, so you will have control over how close she can get to the cat. if Molly is treat/food motivated, one nice way to do this is to give her treats when she can see the cat, but ignores the cat, so she learns that is a desired behavior. Make sure the cat has lots of "safe" places that he can get away from Molly. Depending on Molly's reaction to the cat, you will have to determine a safe schedule to continue their introduction from there. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is absolutely possible for you to introduce a new dog into your home with Cassie. Here are some tips on how to make the transition: 1) Introductions should always be done at home. 2) Start by keeping them in separate rooms and then, over a few days alternate their rooms so that each has a chance to explore the other's smell. 3) Then place a blanket or other item from the dog with cat and vice versa. 4) Once the dog is calm, you can allow both animals to be in the same room at the same time, but keep the dog securely leashed. 5) Once both the dog and cat seem happy and relaxed around each other, you can allow them free (but supervised) access to each other. 6) Eventually you should be able to work up to unsupervised access.

It depends on the personality of your cat and the incoming dog. If your cat is at all skittish, or has never seen a dog before you should proceed with caution. It may be stressful for your cat to have a dog around. If the dog has never been around cats the stress level could increase. If both the dog and your cat are pretty laid back it could be just fine. I'd keep them separated for a day if you do decide to try dogsitting and then start a gradual introduction. Feliway or similar pheromone sprays can help reduce stress for your kitty as well:

Without knowing how Cookie interacts with other dogs, it would be hard to say. I would recommend bringing her to a local park to see how she reacts- is she interested? Does she want to play? Or does she avoid and shy away from the other dogs? This may give you some idea as to how she may interact with a new dog in the house. If you do decide to get a new dog, I highly recommend bringing Cookie with you to the shelter or other place you are looking for one. Most shelters will allow you to introduce your current dog to any potential new family members to see if they are going to get along. As for age, it really depends more on your dog's personality and that of the new dog. An older dog that is super hyper may not work well compared to a very calm puppy, etc. As with any new pet, take introductions slow. Even if they got along outside the home, they may still have some scuffles over shared items, spaces, etc. Separating the two until both are calm, and then trying again to reintroduce them can help ensure things go more smoothly during the transition.