Adding a cat to our two large lab puppy family.

Question
Hi!  We are thinking of adding a kitten/cat (used to dogs) to our family.  We have two larger lab 10 month old puppies.  Zeus, about 30 inches and 100 lbs, and Athena about 26 inches, and 50 lbs (she was the litter 'runt, and is slightly deformed, but has an 'old soul').

We want to introduce a cat into our family.  Our puppies have been in houses with cats, and have been curious at best, and a little playful.  Athena has actually been chased/stalked by a cat and has tried to submit to the cat.  I figure they will be okay, but I was hoping to find out the best way to introduce the animals all around.

Thanks!

Brittnie

Answer
Hi Brittnie,

A kitten would be easy to introduce, as long it's an outgoing and social kitten (of about 8 weeks in age). Being a baby, it would be most accepting of your dogs.

You can also find cats that are already socialized to dogs. One really good place to find cats that have evaluated temperaments is www.petfinder.com.

Here's two web pages with info on introducing dogs and cats:

http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/catdog.html

http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/50/Introducing-Cats-to-Dogs.html

Whether you get a kitten or adult cat, you'll have to keep a close eye on all the animals to make sure things are going smoothly. Until you're quite sure that they all get along you'll want to separate the cat from the dogs when you leave the house.

Best of luck,
Patti