Advice for bringing a dog into a cat home

I have owned my cat for 12 years. She is an indoor only cat and completely spoiled. My husband and I are thinking of bringing a dog into our home. We live in a hot climate and want to allow the dog access in and out of the house while we are at work so were looking at dog doors. My concern is how to keep the cat from accessing the door as well? I have been told some people outfit the cat with one of those "pet training" low voltage collars made specifically for cats to teach them to stay away from areas (such as the dog door) but am curious if anyone out there has used these before with a cat? I of course am worried about the safety and wellbeing of our cat. I would love to get a dog but am a huge animal lover and want to ensure both animals will be safe and well taken care of. Any advice????? Thank you!

 

while i wouldn't put one of those collars on a 12 year old cat, i have heard of a doggy door where you put something on the dog's collar, and when the dog tries to go thru the flap it will unlock. i think it was developed to keep wild critters out of the house.

 

do not put any kind of shock collar on your cat.

Honestly I never thought it was a good idea to allow a dog access to the outside world while no one was at home. Just too many things can happen - poisons, someone stealing the dog, the dog managing to escape even a well-fenced yard, etc. You could crate train your dog or just confine it to one room while you are gone.

 

I agree with Mary, I wont allow my dogs to go outside if someone isnt home, I have crate trained all the dogs Ive had, when Im at work or somewhere I know they are safe, they're not shut in there all the time, once theyve been housetrained and aren't chewing the house up I leave the crate doors open, they will usually curl up and sleep in there.

 

I've thought about a dog door too, but what stops just "whatever" from coming in? I saw a video on TV once and a raccoon was coming in every night and eating the dog's food. The dog would go running out barking and the raccoon would leave before the people got out to the kitchen. The people finally set up a video camera and caught the masked bandit on camera! Anyway, that just always stuck in my head.

 

you can get collars you put on the dog which controls the dog door...BUT if the cat is sitting right now, and we all know most cats learn quickly, the cat can just wait until the dog goes near the door and scoot out with the dog

 

The story about the raccoon is too funny! And I agree with Mary - my little kitty would take no time at all to figure out how to follow the dog out before the door closed! All of that being said, any other ideas??? I am currently looking at all options, a dog walker (but that can get expensive), puppy day care (ditto)....it seems that there must be more options for two people who work but love animals to be able to have them...
Thanks for all of your posts!

ps - to coppersmom - Guess it depends on the type of critter There are many versions, most aimed at keeping other critters out - such as the double door tunnel version. Some have "hard" doors that can be placed on at night.

 

If u're concerned about housebreaking your new dog while working all day, I would get an older dog who is already housebroken. I know puppies are cute but not being at home to train them can cause more than 1 problem.

 

ditto on the older dog...maybe an older puppy who can hold it longer. Our dog stays home all day 8-4:30

 

First I wouldn't let my dog have an open doggy door while
i am not there.
If you HAVE to, then maybe don't let the cat have access to that room where the door is?
second, doggie day care and walking isn't so expensive, it can be. I didn't see where you are from, but in cities there are generally people everywhere who do it and that keeps the price lower. If you live in "the country" maybe a friend or relative who needs excercise could stop by during the day. Just some suggestions.
ANother idea is to get the whole tunnel thing, where there is a small area
(I have actually only seen this for cats, but I am sure they could make it for a dog too) but then your cat and dog could go outside without being able to get away.