@shankara Oh yes, I've heard the stories! 🙂 Our first basenji chewed through the seatbelt of my mom's car on a road trip. He turned into a wonderful and patient dog though. I'm certainly looking into BRAT too.
My gut feeling is if you can't find a dog who is utterly good with cats already, your best and safest bet is a puppy. I suggest you get on a couple of breeder's list and wait for the perfect pup for your house.