Hi all
We have a 4 year old Himalayan girl Lolly and a 3 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback boy.

She is an inside only cat, very quiet and shy, and scared of pretty much everything, except her own humans and her dog. Other than those - she never shows up when there are guests, for example, and hides upstairs...

She was a bit depressed for a while when the dog first arrived, but over time curiosity took over fear and she figured out how do handle him, and now feels comfortable around him. They both have totally unrestricted access to the entire house except one area upstairs which has a closed doggie gate with an open cat door, sort of a panic room for Lolly, just on case.

She is not very playful, and I think sleeps most of the day moving from one location to another, except a few bursts of energy when she runs around... But those don't last long.

Now - the question.. We had a thought of perhaps adding another Himalayan, a boy. With this setup - adult cat and dog who are already very well adjusted to each other, would a kitten upset the relationship somehow? Our dog will not be bothered very much, but the cat-girl is very sensitive... Last thing we would want is to put stress on her. How do older cats usually react to new kittens? And would having a huge dog around be a concern?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

Here they are:

After reading "Cat Counsellor", was I glad I didn't decide to bring in another cat seemingly as a companion for ET. Lolly already has a companion - your dog, if it were me, I wouldn't wanna stress her or myself out further. Adding another cat may or may not work out even with proper introduction, be prepared for the worst if you still wanna go ahead. Its good to be optimistic, but cats are territorial creatures by nature, you just need to be prepared if it doesn't turn out - multi-cat household problem.

A shy cat is a shy cat, adding another one won't make her less shy with strangers, thats just my opinion. I understand, its hard to resist another cat that you have taken a liking to.

^^^^^what snowy said could not be more true! She may take to a newbie in time, she may not. It may be pure bliss, it may be pure heartbreak - for everyone. Why not see if you can foster a kitten to see how it will work out with Lolly? I think you would know within a few weeks if this has any hope or not. Lolly is just a doll! SO pretty! and your Rhodie is beautiful! My neighbor has one but that dog scares the helk out of me. VERY powerful animal.

They are SOOOO cute!

I wouldn't...she has a friend in the dog, adding another cat may not work out and then what do you do?

Personally, I would go for it. If she warmed up to a dog and is just shy, I think she could take to a kitten in time. Dogs are much scarier than kittens


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I would get an older cat 1 and up. My cat is a lot like yours. Shy and sleeps a lot. She accepted another cat bec he respects her space but a kitten wouldn't do that

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Thanks very much, all... hmm, yeah, a lot to think about...

I have to say, Lolly is SO cute! I have such a soft spot for those pug faced kitties!!

They're both gorgeous, dog and cat alike! Those dogs are giant, but oh so cute! And same with your kitty, I give everyone a lot of credit for caring for a kitty so fluffy like that - brushing a cat like that is a job and a half!!! (As I'm sure you know.. I can only imagine)

I think some good advice has been given - the biggest one that caught my eye is Marcia offering you to foster to adopt a kitty. That's a wonderful IDEA! I love love love it. You'll get the best of both worlds - you can help a kitty in need, and if it doesn't end up working out there's no harm done.

Another thing I like that was mentioned above was getting a cat that's a little older. Since your kitty is so shy, etc, she may not be too happy with a kitten that'll be pressuring her to play, and maybe just simply pestering her without really meaning to.

Some animal rescues that I worked with. They would allow a time period to see if kitty is a good fit. So you might like to talk to a local rescue group. But be prepared because some do home visits to cheek up on where they are living. I never adopted from one but it is just an idea. I brought some cats I rescued and got them adopted.