My wife has been bugging me for our whole marriage to get a cat. She wants a seal point siamese because she thinks I will be less allergic to it. And she says if we get it as a kitten, I’ll simply get used to it. We already have a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
Help with some concerns:
[ul][li]Dog eats cat, Phlosphr get’s punnished[/ul][/li][ul][li]Dog likes cat, Phlosphr developes never ending sneeze[/ul][/li][ul][li]Dog likes cat, cat can’t sleep in bed with Mr. and Mrs.Phlosphr, and yells all night long causing sleeping dog to consume it to stop it’s meowing[/ul][/li][ul][li]Dog likes, cat, therefore doesn’t mind midnight meowing, and Phlosphr can’t get to bed because of MNM![/ul][/li]
Help!
Has your dog ever been around cats? If not, that’s a genuine concern. Non-cat-friendly dogs take a LOT of retraining and persuading to make them cat-friendly, and it’s not always even possible. You might consider talking to your wife about getting a cat for your NEXT pet??? And maybe getting a new known-cat-friendly dog (or, if you start with a puppy, it won’t have learned to be non-cat-friendly yet) and cat at the same time so they grow up together.
It’s a lot harder introducing one species to the other when they’re fully grown. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it’s a challenge. Our cat did great with our newly adopted golden retriever five years ago, but when she died and we adopted a new golden and a golden/yellow lab, they both regard her as a play toy and she retired in a huff to the master bedroom suite, never to come out unaccompanied. (She gets regular meal service and attention and even has her own bathroom window for entry/exit, so she’s not exactly suffering, but try telling HER that!).
I don’t think siamese is a good choice for allergies. You might want to call your veterinarian and see if they can recommend a breed that is less allergy-inducing. Also, if you have smooth surfaces in your house (e.g. hardwood floors), you should be able to keep the allergens down, whereas wall-to-wall carpeting will make it virtually impossible to keep the area sneeze-free. Also, a vacuum with a hepa-filter will helpt, and an air purifier would as well. Keeping the cat away from your bed would probably be the most important thing for your allergies. My ex was allergic, and changing the sheets and keeping the cats away was the only way to prevent his waking up with bloodshot eyes and the sniffles (even with an OTC antihistamine).
If you get a cat from a breeder, they will usually take it back if it doesn’t work out after a month or so. I’d look into that.
DO NOT GO FOR THE SIAMESE!!! They will not help your allergies at all. Trust me.
Instead, go for a larger alternative. The Siberian. Siberians range from 15 to 25 pounds and are the manly alternative to a dog.
Not only do they look like Maine Coons, but they secrete less Feline Protein - D in their saliva than the majority of cats. Less D usually means less allergy. Not only that, but Siberians were originally trained to guard monestaries in Russia, and therefore the are amazingly aware of the surroundings and can be trained to defend your property.
I cannot stress to you enough if you have allergies to check out this breed.
We have mostly hard wood floors, so that is good. And my wife and I sleep upstairs…Our house is wide open, it is a modern Log home, so think big cathedral ceilings with a staircase leading up to our room, and a den. And on the other side of the house another staircase leading to two spare rooms. (We’re planning on the 2.5 kids thing)
So if we do get a cat, it will not be allowed in our wing. I just don’t really want it anyway…Oh no, what to do, what to do…
There are many hypo-allergenic (sp?) cats out there. If you don’t want a cat, always refer to them as pussies and talk about how you like to stroke them (a la Mrs. Slokum). Maybe if your wife gets in the habit of calling them that you will both be so turned on that you will make wild passionate love and forget about it.
If your dog is so psychopathic that it will eat the cat, you should have the dog put down. Just keep in mind that a dogs favourite treats can be found in the cat’s litter box. That is reason enough not to get a cat right there. A cat as a next pet would be a good idea, in my opinion.
My wife is also planning on getting a couple of cats this summer when we move to an apartment that allows pets. Since she knows that I’m allergic, she did some research. It turns out that no cat is 100% hypo-allergenic. I do believe that exposure to cats will lessen your symptoms. We have friends with cats and I have noticed a marked reduction of my allergies since we started hanging out with them. A strange thing: when I grew up my family had many cats and I didn’t develop an allergy until I went to college and was away from them. I’m hoping that since I acquired this allergy by not being around cats, I may lose it totally through exposure.
Also, get a few HEPA filters. I am allergic to many things, and air filters are the best thing.
Never. We love the dog, he’s highly trained and we are not expecting much of a problem. Anyway he is only allowed in the living room and the from porch. So he doesn’t go upstairs for anything. The only problem is he loves to chase squirrels, and has not had much exposure to cats. We are thinking that if we bring home a kitten, and play with it infront of Grissholm, he may warm up to it. We would also not clip it’s nails. My Wife just thinks that the dog is not as cute and cuddly as a cat, and that he is more of my dog.
Unless you can physically block access to the rooms you don’t want the cat to go to, you will not be able to stop the cat from going there, particularly if you get a Siamese. And I don’t think exposure is going to make your allergies better.
If your dog is well trained, you may not have any problem training him to behave around the cat. I’ve found there’s a big difference in behavior between how my dog acts towards outside cats and inside cats. His prey drive definitely kicks in with outside cats and other animals, but he couldn’t care less about inside cats. Also, he know that my cats are part of the pack. I already had my cats when I got m dog as a puppy, though. But I’m seriously considering getting a greyhound next year (who will of course be tested to not be cat aggressive), and I’m quite confident I’ll be able to train the dog to accept the cats as part of the pack.
Most animals react differently to puppies/kittens/young ones than they do to grown specimens. In my experience most dogs will tolerate a young kitten perfectly fine, and once used to it will have no problem when it grows up either. But you can’t know for sure till you try it, of course…
And if you’re worried about nighttime yowling: don’t get a Siamese! Those cats are LOUD!
I second the nomination to NOT get a Siamese. They are some of the most vocal, human-oriented, damned intelligent cats Mother Nature ever put on this earth. They will literally talk you blue in the face they are THAT vocal. Siamese also have a habit of getting into and out of things they should not get into/out of if their humans aren’t around to keep them occupied.
I’d suggest getting some allergy medication and then finding a shelter with some cute strays to adopt.
What I_Dig_Bad_Boys said? Read it again for effect. It’s the truth. Beautiful cats and sure, your mileage may vary, but they are known to be one of the higher maintenance cats around which may be well and fine, but they are not going to help you with allergies.
How about a hairless rat cat? Kidding.
You can train a cat to do certain things like not jump on kitchen counters when you’re around to catch them (you know they’re all over it when your back is turned) but cats will do what they want.
Now, I love cats. Have a sweet gray one myself but I am laughing at visions of the cat climbing modern log cabin walls.
Seriously, if your dog is well trained and behaved, he can be taught not to chase the cat.
I have animal hair allergies, and I work with dogs and cats most days. Exposure may decrease your allergies with time.
If you have a dog, particularly a large dog, I suggest getting an adult cat from a breed rescue society/welfare organisation, because most adult cats will stand up for themselves against a dog, if carefully introduced. The dog is also more likely to recognise the cat as being something that isn’t vermin.
If your wife really wants a siamese, there is a designer crossbreed called a Si-Rex (or perhaps in the USA this is considered a coat colour variation… I’m not 100% certain), which is basically a Rex cat (a cat with a short curly coat) with Siamese colouring. They are less of a pain-in-the-ass than a Siamese with respect to temprement, although they are still outgoing and friendly, and they don’t shed fur everywhere (even though, like any animal, they are not 100% hypoallergenic).
If Siberian cats look like Maine Coons (we don’t have Siberians here yet) then they probably shed a lot of fur. If fur, and not salivary protein, is where your problem lies, you will be in trouble.
