Cats compatible with Service Dogs?

[Kirsten]

My little tiger cat, Ollie, likes to do figure eights around Cole's legs.  Cole tries hard not to notice and maintain his dignity. 

The funniest thing I ever saw though, was when I was kitten sitting for a friend.  Her little adolescent kitten decided to plop down between Cole's front feet as he lay on my bed.  Cole crosses his front paws, so his legs formed a lovely kitty nest.  He looked so horrified!  (Cole, I mean.)  He didn't dare move and disturb the cat, yet he was himself quite disturbed to be in this position.

[Sheenar]

I have a question related to this topic.

 I graduate from college in May. When I move into my new place and get settled in with my job and everything, I plan to adopt two cats (to keep each other company).
 I was wondering how I should approach this. How do I introduce them to Pebbles? How do I choose cats that will be calm around her and who will give her a good swat if she deserves it?
 When I go to the animal shelter, what do I do with Pebbles? Our organization has concerns with bringing her into the shelter b/c of possibly contracting an illness, but I don't want to leave her in the car. Should I leave her at home on the day I adopt?
 I plan to keep the cats in a separate room at first --for at least a week --with litter box, toys, everything. I also plan on putting things that smell like the cats on Pebbles' bed and things that smell like Pebbles in the cats' room.
 How do I approach the eventual introduction? Pebbles, though she ignores every cat out on campus, tends to want to play with/chase a cat indoors. Back when I lived with my friend, her cat would swat Pebbles on the rear end and then Pebbles would chase him (this same cat would swat at Pebbles' head when I would put her harness on in the morning and he would pee in her water bowl). Pebbles knows the "leave it" command --but should I tether her to a table at first until the novelty of her new house mates wears off?
  I plan to provide the cats with several "Pebbles-free" zones and with cat trees. I just want to plan ahead and make sure everything goes smoothly.

[Kirsten]

I wouldn't go to a shelter in this situation.  I'd go through a local rescue or other entity that fosters out its cats.  You can get a lot of good information from the fosterer about how the cat reacts in given situations and if they happen to already have a dog, then you'd have a good indication how they would react to yours.  I know our local cat rescue often has pairs of adult cats who are already bonded to each other that they want to place together.  Your vet probably knows of any local rescues.

A dog-wise cat will generally handle a rude dog just fine.  My Ruby is a cat poker.  She doesn't hurt them, she just humiliates them.  She has, however, been convinced not to soak the stuffed raccoon in the water bowl and use it to smash kitties.

The real key is getting cats who won't freak and run.  A typical dog loses interest pretty quick in a cat who just lies there and protests.

When you need to go to a shelter, yes, you should leave her at home and take a service human instead.

[swanifer25]

Our SPCA requires after you decide on an animal(s) that all "pets" that will be around the new addition(s) come in and do a supervised meet and greet.  They do this in a room they keep sterile and is only used for this purpose and training classes. 

Charlotte