Yes - it is entirely doable, and easier with a puppy.
I brought home a 4 year old Collie Dog from a rescue centre back in February, and introduced him to my 2 3ish year old cats. There was a little tension at first, and the dog did get slightly injured, but now they are all friends. You need to ensure there is a load of supervision at first before even thinking of leaving them alone together in the house though. Baby gates are great for this - you can leave enough space for a cat to get through but not a dog, so the pup is locked in a room which the cat can go into and investigate this new addition, but can easilly escape.
Slowly slowly is how it's done though, and once they get along it's ace.
Plus giving an abused animal a loving home is always the best thing to do.
Oh aye - on the expense thing - my cats cost more to feed than the dog! Dogs tend to be less fussy see - so whilst the cats are on sodding expensive food, he is happy with supermarket own brand stuff! So long as it has the right nutrients to keep him healthy I am happy enough ;-)
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I brought home a 4 year old Collie Dog from a rescue centre back in February, and introduced him to my 2 3ish year old cats. There was a little tension at first, and the dog did get slightly injured, but now they are all friends. You need to ensure there is a load of supervision at first before even thinking of leaving them alone together in the house though. Baby gates are great for this - you can leave enough space for a cat to get through but not a dog, so the pup is locked in a room which the cat can go into and investigate this new addition, but can easilly escape.
Slowly slowly is how it's done though, and once they get along it's ace.
Plus giving an abused animal a loving home is always the best thing to do.
Oh aye - on the expense thing - my cats cost more to feed than the dog! Dogs tend to be less fussy see - so whilst the cats are on sodding expensive food, he is happy with supermarket own brand stuff! So long as it has the right nutrients to keep him healthy I am happy enough ;-)