 Purred: Fri Feb 22, '08 10:36am PST |
 | |  | | I've been thinking about adopting a cat or kitten, and was hoping for some advice. Here are my concerns:
My dog. Henry is a 20-pound poodle mix, and has lived with a kitten before - my last roommate had a kitten, and he and Henry were great friends, and played all the time (their play was fairly rough, so that's something to consider, too). I also think Henry would respond better to a cat as a housemate than another dog, based on his personality - he tends to be anxious and gets depressed when I'm gone or not paying enough attention to him. Adding a cat that would play with him and be his friend would be perfect and even good for him, and, as Henry tends to be very curious (in a completely non-aggressive way) with cats, the cat would have to put up with a lot of sniffing and having Henry follow him or her around, especially at first. So a cat that doesn't do well with dogs would be a bad match for us.
Dog door. This is my big concern at the moment, actually. I just had a dog door installed in my bedroom, which leads out onto a porch that is VERY well secured for my dog - there's four-foot fencing around the inside, the porch is raised off the ground, and the door to it is locked inside and out. But for a cat, I think getting off the porch wouldn't be so hard. I think a kitten would have a hard time opening the dog door on his or her own, but an older cat probably could. There are lots of cats that roam our neighborhood, but I don't feel that it would be safe or responsible to allow my cat to roam like that.
I'll be living in this house for at least the next few months, and then will be graduating from grad school and hopefully getting a job somewhere. My pets will definitely move with me, so that's not an issue. I'm also home a lot until at least May, as I only have classes one day a week and work only very occasional days, which is why I thought now might be a good time to add a second pet.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'd love to be able to give a home to a cat or kitten that needs it, but want to make sure that I do it right. |  |  | |  |
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