Hello from IL

Hello!  I have been surfing the web looking for information on cats and stumbled onto this group.  I am not a cat owner at the moment but I did have one when I was in my late teens.  I've had all sorts of animals throughout my life-cats, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, fish but this will be my first cat as an adult. 

My main thing is to know anything and everything about cats.  There is a cat that my family & I are looking at to adopt.  He's the one as my avatar.  His name is Popcorn.  We visited him today at the shelter and are hoping to see if my hubby & our dog approve.    I think hubby will get on board but I would love any tips on how to see if our dog & the cat would get along.

Alittle on our dog, she's a lab/chow mix (more lab than anything).  She's an awesome dog.  She does well w/ other animals.  She's been around cats but it's been a few years.  We have a few guinea pigs & she adores them.  I think she'd be fine w/ anything coming into the house (including a robber-LOL) but not sure about how to see if the cat would be ok.  The shelter thought he'd be fine but not sure if they have tested this.

So if we get the green light from hubby, what would be our next step?  Should we take our dog to the shelter to visit?  Or would this be too stressful for all?  Would it be better to see if the cat was ok w/ one of the rescue dogs? 

I'd also love to know what type of food is best for cats?  What type of litter?  Toys?  Do cats need flea/ticks meds like dogs?  Popcorn would be an inside cat.  Thanks for all of your help and hopefully we'll get the green light from hubby. 

Welcome to TCS!  I'm sorry I didn't see this thread sooner!

From what I've learned here over the years and at home it's best to do introductions slowly.  I would put the kitty in a separate room with food and water till they get adjusted.  Then your dog can smell him from under the door as well as on you from spending time with him/her.  And vice versa too.

Or if the kitty is in a kennel they can smell each other safely. 

The one mistake we made when my cat Bunny was brought home (she was about 2-3 years at the time) was that we didn't have a kennel for her so I had to carry her in.  The dogs got excited of course and were barking and jumping in excitement...not ideal.  It stressed her out a lot and she spent about a week hiding in one room before she would come out.  At first it was at the very top of the desk in there.  Eventually Bunny came to "rule" the house with an iron paw.  It just took some time. 

I would post your questions on the Behavior Forum (http://www.thecatsite.com/f/5/behavior) or the Cats and Other Animals Forum (http://www.thecatsite.com/f/41/cats-and-other-animals).  Those boards are frequented a little more often so you should get some more experienced answers there too.

Hope that helps!

Thank you for responding!  I really appreciate it.  I joined another forum as well and haven't rec'd any responses.  Now that I know that this area's not looked at often, I will post on the other threads.  We are still doing research on cats & I'm hoping to adopt soon.  The one cat we're looking at is on borrowed time.  Fortunately, I know the director at the shelter so I can keep an 'eye' on him while I do research to make sure this is a good fit.  Thanks again for responding and giving me the direction to go to.

Good luck!

Hi welcome along to tcs I can't add to what's already been said but good luck