Considering getting a cat..

Hi everyone,

Here's my situation:
I have an 8-year-old black lab, who I 'inherated' from my parents when they sold their house and couldn't take the dog with them. They were, however able to take their cat with them, who got along with the dog fine for a number of years.

I work 40+ hours a week and am frequently on the road for a few days at a time for work. I live alone, so when I'm gone, the only interaction my dog gets is a few minutes with whomever comes to let him outside.

I've considered for some time getting him a friend, however a dog is really out of the question and a puppy/kitten just wouldn't be practical with as much time as I have to spend at work. I would like to getting an adult cat.

I will not be traveling for work for the next few months, so I think now would be the best time to bring a new cat into the picture, because I would have more time to spend with the animal. If everyone thinks this sounds like a good idea, my next question is how to deal with clawing furniture.

I have a couch that I purchased 4 months ago that I would really be upset to see destroyed. I know declawing is an option, however I did some reading and discovered that is terrible for the cat. I trim the nails of my lab weekly, and I have seen various pet stores carry cat nail clippers--would taking the sharp tips off the end of the claws be an acceptible solution?

Thanks for your suggestions!!

Good for you for researching the horrors of declawing and deciding against this! Absolutely nail trimming is your best option if you decide to adopt a new family member! You can get a scratching post for your kitty to enjoy instead of your couch, and there are also artificial nails that you can apply to your kitty's nails to keep clawing of your furniture from being an issue.

I'm curious about how you are going to predict which cat will be compatible with your dog and if both will be happy together? Most cats are afraid of dogs, and even if one has been brought up with another, it does not mean it will feel the same about a new dog. It certainly could put the cat, if nothing else, in a dangerous situation if, for instance, it saw a strange cat or dog out the window one day and instinctively became confrontational to your dog indoors (as happens a lot) - will your dog just 'take it' and/or ignore it, or will his instincts come to the fore?

I'm not really sure how to predict which cat would be compatible with my lab. Do you have any suggestions?

When the George, my black lab, was 5 my parents adopted a kitten and brought it into the home with no issues. For the most part, the George ignored the kitten even when it would paw at him or nip at his paws. He never growled or became aggressive toward the kitten. Without knowing this, I probably wouldn't even be considering bringing a cat into the picture.

Would your local shelter allow you to bring the dog into the cat room and stroll it past cages to see which cat withdrew and which didn't?

Some of our local rescue groups foster the cats to families with dogs. It doesn't guarantee that the cat and your Lab will become best friends or even friends.

Zoey gets along with our Golden Retriever and Old English Sheepdogs. They pretty much ignore each other. Zoey hisses at my son's dog and chases her around the house - which the dog loves. The Golden will go up to Zoey and sniff her when she seems upset. It does seem to calm her down.

For the first three months I had Zoey, even though I was 99.9% sure that my dogs wouldn't hurt her, I never left them alone together. I closed themup in separate rooms. Zoey also high places for escape in each room.

An older cat might be more of a challenge to integrate into the house, but it can be done.