How do cats react to foster dogs?

Hi all,
I am the proud momma of four felines and one dog. I already had three of my cats when my dog came but my dog was very ill when she came and primarily laid down for the first month. Therefore, my cats did not seem stressed out about her arrival.

I am now considering fostering a dog. He/she would be special needs and/or a senior. I would stick to more mellow dogs. I have fostered in the past but I never fostered dogs, or at least not for more than a couple nights. I have a lot of experience with special needs. My hesitation is that I do not want to stress out my cats.

For those of you who have brought in foster dogs, how did your cats react? Was it stressful? Fighting? I would love to hear about your experiences. Good idea? Bad idea?

Bumping this for you. I think the idea of fostering a special needs dog is lovely and hope you get some helpful feedback.

@Margd

Thank you for the bump!

Agree, love that you are willing to foster special needs/senior dogs.

I know at my humane society it hurts my heart when we have no foster home available for them, the shelter is no place for an old or unhealthy animal, dog or cat.

I do think it's important to assume that each dog you decide to bring home is tested for cat aggression.

Once cats have become comfortable around dogs, they will do fine, UNLESS the dog is cat aggressive. Then it is another story entirely, and will most definitely be stressful on them.

You may very well even get some behavior issues along with them in protest to a dog that causes them fear.

This is the peeing on your bed or clothes, pooping outside of the box, their way of showing you they are not happy!

Yes, of course...the safety of my cats and dog is priority. Mine had zero issues with my dog so I am hopeful.

I'm surprised there are no replies with personal experiences here!

My cats were much younger when I was fostering both cats and dogs and they never missed a beat. Since most of my pets were my fosters at one time that was their normal and they were used to animals coming and going. That was 7 years ago... Through the years I've had some short term non resident dogs in my home and my cats did very well with them. Just like catwoman707 stated, once cats are accustomed to dogs they do well.
I think it's definitely worth a shot to try.
Let us know how it goes!

Thanks...and I will!

I do foster, primarily cats but I had two dogs here short term as well. Both of my cats reacted well to the dogs, but understand by "reacted well" I mean ran away and sat on a window sill trying to figure out what this pug-beast in the house was. Its going to depend on your cats and also the foster dog. Be ABSOLUTELY certain the dog has been cat tested, and he's fine with them. Ideally, if you want them to ignore each other, the same goes with dog meeting dog. I'm sure since you're taking in a mellow special needs there won't be a lot of bouncing around, but be careful. If they have a condition that's painful they may become aggravated. Its wonderful that you want to foster but please understand risks involved. I would definetley supervise everyone for at least the first few weeks, possibly crating or containing the foster dog while no one is around until things seem to be good. Also, its really important your cats have a "foster-free zone", even if things go well. Its stressful, and they're going to need somewhere to go to decompress.

Also, the dog will most likely be stressed as well, so the first 24 are generally left for settling in time, don't be alarmed if a happy dog you met before is nervous in a new environment. (Unless he's my foster Pug Percy, in which case he needed to be in contact with my body at all times. The only issue I had with him is a refusal to eat for a day or two)

Good luck with your foster adventure! I've only been doing it for about a year, but feel free to ask me any questions, I can always ask my boss who has been doing it for over a decade and has so many animals in her house she needs a kennel license.

Actually, Im not hoping for them to ignore eachother, Im hoping for a positive relationship! So far thats been successful with eveey foster and ny own, so lets keep our optimism!

I sill make sure of their history and have one of the dogs in mind. Still waiting for a few things before starting though.