houndlove
Posted : 6/6/2007 9:24:10 AM
I also have a "cat in dog form" (he's a black and tan coonhound) and he's great and I love him to pieces, but I think most people would question why one would want a 55 lb. cat. When my two cats want to come sit in my lap and rub their faces on my chin, it's cute. When Marlowe wants to do it--oof! And just like a cat can't be taken out in to an unfenced area and be exepcted to stay with you, nor can Marlowe. He's a hunter, like cats, and a hunter he will always be. Ever hear the saying, "it's like herding cats?" to describe something chaotic and difficult to manage? Cats go their own way and do their own thing regardless of what you want, which is fine in a 5 lb. animal who instinctually uses a litter box. It's not so great in a 50 lb. barking, slobbering, pooping, peeing, canine.
Might I suggest a change of species altogether? What about a Maine Coon Cat? These are the most dog-like cats you'll ever meet: large, vocal, affectionate, trainable (my friend has one who plays fetch), velcro-cats if there is such a thing. My friend with the Maine Coon and I often joke that someone switched our pets brains at the factory: she got the cat with the dog brain and I got the dog with the cat brain.
Also I wanted to regale you with Conrad's story: Conrad is my bloodhound mix. We got him from the pound at about a year old because the family that originally had him got him for their kids, who promised to care for him. After a little while the dog got boring, wasn't so cute any more, was a lot of hard work (ANY dog is), and the kids stopped taking such an interest in him. The family took him to the pound, where we adopted him the day before his scheduled euthanasia date. I'm not saying you'd do such a thing, but it is an example of getting a dog for the kids going horribly wrong. It doesn't always--we have a couple iDog members here who are very young and are very responsible dog owners. But dogs are a huge responsibility--more than any other domestic pet outside horses probably.
Also, even a 4-5 year old dog is probably going to live for 10 more years (a few of the giant breeds have shorter life spans but you can usually count on at least 12 years for a healthy well-cared-for dog...even longer for the smaller breeds). You say your son is 13 now? What's going to happen in 5 years when he goes to college or moves away?