Looking For Testimony Of Greys Living With Cats

[Guest jaws4evr]

Thsi topic has been covered very thoroughly but I thought I'd chime in, we have one 6 year old pitty/lab (?) mix, and one 3 year old GH. We also have two "senior" (but still extrememly active) cats.

 

I moved in with SO two years ago, with cats in tow. The cats adjusted well to the pitty.

 

We adopted the GH a year and a half ago, with care taken to let the adoption agency know we absolutely needed a non-negotiatable cat safe hound. That being said we kept her on leash meeting all small furries (even once she had proven herself with ours), including muzles etc. We took care to make sure (via babygates and cat trees) that the cats had an escape if they felt threatened. We also firmly but fairly (a mild verbal correction is all it takes for shy Nina!) any attention towards the cats with high energy (such as ears up, direct gace, or play postures).

 

Currently we trust her implicitly with the cats. They come up to her and rub against her legs, and all she does is ignore them or look slightly bewildered because she's "stuck" and is blocked by cats.

 

Interestinly, we have big wild snowshoe hare all over our neighborhood, and on walks Nina is all chomping at the bit and raring to get after them! It's the unbreakable undistractible hard stare, erect ears, tail straight out, with her body all tucked in a ready-to-bolt-"U". It's very interesting, she views indoor cats and outdoor rabbits as completely different species. I'm fairly sure she'd kill a rabbit if she ever caught one, not that we ever give her teh chance to try it!

 

My two cents.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

One thing that I would like to emphasize, I don't truly think there is such a thing as a "cat SAFE" greyhound. There are "cat WORKABLE" hounds, but not safe. Case in point, my boy Bart. Bart while in foster before my home, zapped a cat in the yard. He is trusted with my two cats in the house (3 years plus), but I would never trust him outside in the yard with anything smaller than 20 lbs (as someone else mentioned about outside prey vs inside prey).

[Guest ravenchilde]

I think it all depends on the hound! My girl Miley (2.5 years old) is very respectful of my cat, but my cat also shows her who is boss with a few smacks to the nose if she gets to close. Miley pays my cat no attention whatsoever. She was trained to be a racer, but never raced. She's got a relatively low prey drive I guess.However, one of the foster greys that came to visit, took a snap at my cat within a nanosecond and therefore was not cat safe. That grey had a very long and fruitful racing career. Anyways, a good adoption group will help pair the right hound to the household when it comes to cats and other pets.

[Guest DoofBert]

Depends on the hound and depends on the cat.

 

We have 6 greyhounds and 2 crazy cats. We have peaceful co-existance. No photos of hounds snuggling with cats, but the cats and hounds will share the couch (at their respective ends).

 

I have witnessed behavior changes in one of our hounds when our old cat Sammy began to become frail due to kidney problems. Sammy would ntagonize the hounds and we did have an incident where one hound did charge Sammy. It was a little scary, but I was able to restain the hound. No harm, no foul. But I did realize that we had to take precaution from that day on because of Sammy's changed behavior.

 

Be cerrtain to work with a group that will not cat test with a LIVE cat, but ideally foster the hound in a house with cats.

 

Good luck!

[Trihounds]

They lived together for 5+ years and one day the dogs killed the cat while she was standing 20 feet away, just outside for a moment. For that reason I would never trust a dog with a cat.

 

A pack of dogs and a cat is very different than a single dog and a cat.

 

And a cat OUTDOORS is a different creature from a cat indoors. My dog (featured in a bunch of pictures earlier in this thread) would go after a cat outside. They seem to understand that a cat inside is part of their family. A cat outside? That's just prey.

 

Except our boys, who are outside with our cat(s) frequently. We did careful "re-introductions" outside and the dogs got over it pretty quick. They will often go out the door together so they know the cat outside came from inside. There has been 0 interest shown in the cats while outside...that said, squirrels / bunnies only get a raised ear from the dogs, too.

[Remolacha]

Well, yes, outdoors is the same as indoors, depends on the dog AND the cat. I've seen pictures and read stories here on GT of hounds and cats happily and safely sharing a yard, but there have also been plenty of situations where the reaction of the dogs outside is totally different from inside. Just don't want anyone to make assuptions and end up with a dead cat

[winnie]

I think it all depends on the hound! My girl Miley (2.5 years old) is very respectful of my cat, but my cat also shows her who is boss with a few smacks to the nose if she gets to close. Miley pays my cat no attention whatsoever. She was trained to be a racer, but never raced. She's got a relatively low prey drive I guess.However, one of the foster greys that came to visit, took a snap at my cat within a nanosecond and therefore was not cat safe. That grey had a very long and fruitful racing career. Anyways, a good adoption group will help pair the right hound to the household when it comes to cats and other pets.

 

As others have already stated... a greyhounds racing career does not determine their prey drive. A grey with a long career might just be one that enjoys running. A grey with a short career might have shown no interest or might have been injured.

 

Our grey girl Darcy was in 154 races and didn't retire until she was nearly 5 y/o. She lives peacefully with our 3 indoor cats.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Depends on the hound and depends on the cat.

 

We have 6 greyhounds and 2 crazy cats. We have peaceful co-existance. No photos of hounds snuggling with cats, but the cats and hounds will share the couch (at their respective ends).

 

I have witnessed behavior changes in one of our hounds when our old cat Sammy began to become frail due to kidney problems. Sammy would ntagonize the hounds and we did have an incident where one hound did charge Sammy. It was a little scary, but I was able to restain the hound. No harm, no foul. But I did realize that we had to take precaution from that day on because of Sammy's changed behavior.

 

Be cerrtain to work with a group that will not cat test with a LIVE cat, but ideally foster the hound in a house with cats.

 

Good luck!

 

I think you meant to say work with a group that WILL cat test with a LIVE cat.

[Guest mollieandme]

It also depends on numbers and familiarity. My greys get along really well with my cat but team up against interlopers. This morning they shot past my cat and nearly killed themselves trying to get a stranger (lots of strays here.) Maggie (who was advertised as cat safe) instigates. Mollie doesn't care much and Rocko the Foster goes along with the group- alone they pretty much ignore small animals. Cat safe individually doesn't mean cat safe in a pack.

 

Another thing I've noticed is Maggie and Tif (cat) will play chase. When Tif stops, Maggie stops. Tif also smacks her good naturedly and Maggie sniffs her. Maggie also ignores Tif when seeing her in the yard from the house. Any other cat elicits an explosive round of barking and carrying on.

 

 

[Guest Liz_in_PA]

Bonnie, who is very submissive to us and Dash, likes to chase the cats until they're fluffy. Once they're fluffy she leaves them. The lower status cat hangs out on the kitchen chairs tucked under the table. When Bonnie walks past, Mango smacks her.

 

Both dogs ignore the cats as the cats help themselves to the dog kibble.

[krissn333]

 

And be smart about the introductions! A good adoption group can explain all that to your friend.

 

 

This is a very important point.

 

Scenario here: I had two cats, adopted a greyhound. The cats were leery of the dog and hid for a few days, only coming out when she was in her crate. Dog was understandably interested in sniffing the cats, but not in a prey-driven way. Just interested in the same way that dogs are interested in sniffing other dogs. As time went by, the cats realized that Ace would not eat them and carried on with their normal lives.

 

Ace was a lonely dog - she was constantly trying to entice the cats to play with her. The cats' response:

 

Fritz came to live with us about a year and a half after we got Ace. He came straight from the track and had not been cat tested. Since I did the cat testing at the kennel, I felt comfortable dealing with it. We had to do a little bit of training with him, which included muzzling him and allowing him to get a good sniff of both cats, and allow the kitties to swat at him a little bit (they don't have claws). After a while everything was fine.

 

Pinky was terrified of my cats when she came home with me. She wouldn't go in the living room if the cats were in there Never a question with her.

 

Skimmie (IG) was just fine with the cats.

 

Sutra came to me from two different former homes, both of which had cats. My cats were never of interest to him either.

 

Sage (IG) has been okay with the cats in that he doesn't want to eat them. He completely ignores the smaller cat and barks at and chases the larger cat (who is bigger than he is). But, because she runs from him to hide under the bed, it spurs him on. He will not hurt her, it's a game to him (this is not usually the relationship that you'll see between a greyhound and a cat, btw). She has come to realize this is a game too, and will hide under the bed and wait for him to come by so she can swat at his legs - it really upsets him and hurts his feelings

 

Carrie came to me from a previous home that had cats, so, there was never an issue with her either.

 

My cats can sense when they should be cautious and when they don't need to worry. They never hid when I brought Pinky home, never hid from Sutra, and have never hid from Carrie. They were leery of Skimmie at first because he moves very quickly, and didn't hide from Sage, but would avoid him when he first came home.

 

Bottom line is, finding a dog that is going to match up with the type of cat that you have (one that runs away like prey, or one that is indifferent, etc.) is what's important. The adoption group will be able to provide plenty of advice and support. It's ABSOLUTELY a do-able situation. I have 6 dogs and 2 cats and no problems!

[JJNg]

I think there are greys that are completely cat safe. It has more to do with the dog's personality, rather than racing ability, time on the track, or even interest in an artificial lure. My dogs participate in lure coursing and amateur racing and are very keen on the lure, but they are great with my cats, even outside.

 

I do agree that time in a foster home with cats is a much better way to assess potential than a quick cat test at the adoption kennel. When our group gets a dog in from racing kennel, they are cat tested before arrival to help with placement into foster homes. But these initial cat tests are considered preliminary only. Even if the grey tests 'cat safe', foster homes are expected to take precautions to protect their cats and further evaluate the dog. Sometimes the dog's initial interest in cats changes, and this can go in either direction.

 

To add to the picture testimonials...

 

My boy Wiki is not only good with my cats, he's fine with strange cats and kittens too. In fact, he seems to really like cats and tries to sniff and greet them (and in a calm, not excited way) although not all cats care for his advances.

 

Here he is with a kitten that's no more than a couple weeks old.

 

 

 

And one of my favorite pics of Wiki greeting my newest addition last summer.

 

 

My friend Karen's boy Jose is the most laid back greyhound ever, and he lives with 3 cats. Karen also raises and fosters orphan kittens, and both her greys are very good with the kitties. Here are a couple pics of Jose.

 

 

 

And an album with more pics of Jose and kitties, as well as a video of a kitten trying to nurse on him.

[Guest bonniesbullet]

Racing career length has NOTHING to do with a hound being cat safe or not. Frankly, the notion of "prey drive" being a huge factor in racing ability (dogs who are no good at it don't do it long!) is overstated. I think for many of them, it's much more about running faster than the dogs behind them and next to them than thinking about catching the stuffed animal speeding in front of them.

 

My dog raced for close to 3 years, and has what I would call a very low prey drive (squirrels, rabbits, etc. don't get him even a little worked up), but was a successful racer.

 

Despite his lengthy career, as you can see, he is about as cat safe as you can get!

 

The key is to work with an adoption group who has at least one skilled person involved who can evaluate the dog's "cat workability," and to take their recommendation!

 

And be smart about the introductions! A good adoption group can explain all that to your friend.

 

Witness a cat safe dog (and trust me, the spotty/striped cat is probably about as annoying as a cat can get! He's not known as both Da Ebil Won and You Little Bastard for no reason!):

 

George with Tiger

 

George with Mister Bigglesworth as a kitten

 

A classic!

 

Probably my favorite picture ever

 

George and Tiger again

 

 

Not sure really who is in MORE danger here?

 

I rest my case!

 

Bullet lives with two cats and he tolerates them...I think I would die if I ever saw him snuggled up with the kitties like that!! Only in my dreams, I guess! Glad to see you crew gets along sooo well!

[Xan]

Everything is pretty well covered here, so I confess I only sampled the text, and sped through looking for pictures!

 

Things I found myself nodding about in particular:

Depends on both the cat and the dog, and each pair is an individual issue.

Better safe than sorry: provide safe exits for the cats always, keep food and litter out of reach, and (for us) muzzles when you're out.

 

We have 3 cats: one of each of the thee types mentioned (rabbity, cocky and friend to all). We have 3 greys, with varying playfulness, boldness and prey drives. I worry most about the one who's most scared of the cocky cat, as that fear might one day turn to a chomp if he felt attacked or cornered. The other two dogs occasionally play-chase the cats if the cats are running around already, but we discourage it because they aren't gentle, and the cats are all seniors.

 

Moral: one size does not fit all!

 

Now, more pictures??

[Guest bluefiggie]

Your friend should find a cat friendly greyhound that she loves and go for it. I adopted a girl, Lola, who showed little interest in the cat during her cat test. When we had to move into my mothers a few years later we moved in with four other breed dogs and a cat. Ralph is no ordinary cat however because the first time Lola sniffed her Ralph smacked her on the nose. Lola stayed away from her until they got to know each other. By the time we moved out they were sleeping on my bed together. Ralph would even do that little half jump thing cats do to rub on Lolas chin.

If she gets the right dog there is no reason they can't live together and be best buds.

[Guest Elaine]

I have a friend who has been thinking of getting a grey for a very long time and I think she would give it a wonderful home. The only thing holding her back is her two cats and the fact that her vet told her horror stories of greys killing cats. I was sad to hear that because I've heard that they can be cat safe. So thought I'd ask for testimony from those of you who have brought greys into homes with cats. Obviously every dog is differnt (not sure if years raced makes a difference)- I think she is just worried that she would never be able to leave the animals alone and of course does not want to bring harm to the cats. PS- the dog she is considering is beleived to be cat safe. Any good or bad you have to share is appreciated.

 

 

My big boy, Nampa, wanting to play with Gizmo. We've had a lot of hounds come through this house and all of them have been very good with the cats. Abbey, when the cats were alive, was known to groom them. The cats were known to sleep with a couple of the hounds: Lindsay and Spoof are the first to come to mind. However, all that being said, the dogs were only good with THEIR CATS. A neighbor's cat or a feral cat was considered fair game. They know the difference.

 

 

Elaine @ DM Greyhounds

http://www.dmgreyhounds.net

[Guest Figmama]

I think there are greys that are completely cat safe. It has more to do with the dog's personality, rather than racing ability, time on the track, or even interest in an artificial lure. My dogs participate in lure coursing and amateur racing and are very keen on the lure, but they are great with my cats, even outside.

 

I do agree that time in a foster home with cats is a much better way to assess potential than a quick cat test at the adoption kennel. When our group gets a dog in from racing kennel, they are cat tested before arrival to help with placement into foster homes. But these initial cat tests are considered preliminary only. Even if the grey tests 'cat safe', foster homes are expected to take precautions to protect their cats and further evaluate the dog. Sometimes the dog's initial interest in cats changes, and this can go in either direction.

 

To add to the picture testimonials...

 

My boy Wiki is not only good with my cats, he's fine with strange cats and kittens too. In fact, he seems to really like cats and tries to sniff and greet them (and in a calm, not excited way) although not all cats care for his advances.

 

Here he is with a kitten that's no more than a couple weeks old.

 

 

 

And one of my favorite pics of Wiki greeting my newest addition last summer.

 

 

My friend Karen's boy Jose is the most laid back greyhound ever, and he lives with 3 cats. Karen also raises and fosters orphan kittens, and both her greys are very good with the kitties. Here are a couple pics of Jose.

 

 

 

And an album with more pics of Jose and kitties, as well as a video of a kitten trying to nurse on him.

 

Oh, those are soooooooooooo sweet.

 

When we brought our first Grey home, we had cats. He had been tested as cat safe. Okay. Initial meeting and he really didn't show much interest. The cats stayed pretty much gone until they got used to him. I was thinking this is great, UNTIL, we were outside one day and one of the cats ran across the yard and the dog went after her. Almost got her but she jumped the fence (didn't see her for 2 days). After that, we did the NO KITTY yelling. Eventually, he adjusted and there were no problems with the cats. In our house, they pretty much ignored each other. Luckily, the other Greys I've had here (except for one male I was babysitting) pretty much ignored the cats.

[Guest Maellesmum]

Maelle couldn't care less about our cat, or any other cat for that matter. She didn't care about him the day we brought her home, and to this day does not care. The cat swiped her across the nose the very first day she was here, and I guess she decided he had an attitude problem and just steers clear of him. Squirrels? That's another story. That's about all she chases. How she ever won a race is beyond me.

[Guest Shermanator]

We've had mixed experiences- My bridge boys Sherman and Patton always live with cats. Patton would chase one cat (and never catch her, he just wanted to play,) and was terrified by the other cat.

When they passed, we tried 2 pups who were tested cat safe. That ended up not being the case. (We introduced with muzzles, and both pups went for each cat with agression.) Our group immediately took them back, and placed us with pups who had actally lived with cats. Travel and Echo could have cared less. However, the interesting/scary thing- when we tried to introduce the girls to MIL's cats , Echo went for it. Complete predator mode. It looks like she was fine with our cats, since they were there first, but any other cats- not good.

[PrairieProf]

I don't really have much to add, but here's a picture from this weekend of Beth (who lives with a cat) meeting a new cat for the very first time while staying at a vet tech's house. I think she is a little shocked the kitty is coming up for such close contact; my own cat is fully over her initial nervousness about Beth but chooses to keep a certain distance.

 

 

Beth has also behaved politely (VERY interested but not predatory) with cats she encounters up close outside while she leashed. (My neighbor has a cat who goes outside occasionally who is so dog-friendly she runs right up to Beth and starts rolling around on the ground in front of her! Not the smartest move, kitty.) When Beth sees a cat outside at a distance, she gets very excited and makes noises that seem prey-driven to me -- it's like up close, she recognizes the cat as a fellow pet; at a distance, it's just a small animal she'd like to chase.

Edited June 6, 2011 by PrairieProf

[Guest RichardUK]

Depends of the individual dog and cat. There is no relationship between racing ability - prey drive and being cat safe.

 

We always cat test all greyhounds - their reactions at the local cattery divides them into three groups.

 

1 Death to all cats

2 shows little interest (may be trained to be cat safe)

3 Shows no interest (can be adopted with a cat - after supervision and training)

 

Then they are introduced to our cat shaped dog tester to finalise diagnosis. Some group 2 are moved to group 1 or 3 - Some group 3 are moved to group 2

 

Group 1 adopted to cat free families without problems.

Group 2 adopted to adopters who understand and will supervise and train. We have to trust them. Not lost a home cat yet.

Group 3 adopted to adopters who will supervise but not train Not lost a home cat yet.

 

Some dogs I know will be fine with the cat in the house but chase it outside.

Some dogs I know will be fine with the cat in the house and outside but will chase other cats in the yard.

Some dogs I know will be fine with any cat in the house and outside but sometimes if the cat swipes the dog - the dog will try to kill the cat (happened to Ben and the loose vet's cat)

 

We recommend the cat is kept in a closed room then a cat basket while any dog becomes familiar with the cat - supervision essential until both are relaxed.

[Guest brindleandfawn]

Two cats, two hounds, one bird, no problem.

Edited June 7, 2011 by brindleandfawn

[Guest DebSzal]

We have been very lucky in our house. We had 7 cats when we got Gracie. The initial meeting did not go well because one of the meaner cats ran into the introduction room and distracted Gracie. The next day she cornered one of the meaner cats in the bedroom. We had just come in from outside and she had her muzzle on. The cat reared back and hissed. Gracie backed away so quickly she stumpled. I yelled "Leave it" and that was all it took. She left them all alone although it was awhile before we could trust her without her muzzle. Now she will growl and bark if the cats get too close, but otherwise leaves them alone.

 

Primo was a whole different ball game. He couldn't care less. The cats can walk all over him, but they are still leary of any greyhound so they don't. But then again, all my cats have their claws and know how to use them.

[JJNg]

Just had to add these photos to this thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting thing is that my girl Willow and this kitty had never met each other until a few minutes before these photos were taken. And while Willow is perfectly cat safe, she prefers they keep their distance and my cats never snuggle with her. Even more amazingly, the cat was a semi-feral adolescent kitten that showed up as a stray at my tech's house last winter. It took her several months before she could even touch him (he absolutely loves people and can't get enough attention now), but for whatever reason, he seems to love dogs!

[Guest LindsaySF]

I do the cat testing for my group. I have to echo what Chad said:

 

Only Fruty mentioned one HUGELY important factor, the CAT. I say there are about three types of cats, 1) rabbit (acts like prey, freezes then darts and runs) 2) agressive cat (attacks the hound if said hound is within sight) 3) happy go lucky (doesnt mind the hounds, may or may not swat if cornered). The toughest to deal with is the "rabbit" cat. Most greyhounds regardless of how workable they are will investigate a cat that acts like prey. To someone that already has incorrect information from a so-called expert (vet), will probably be very nervous and over-react if confronted by this situation. My cats are testers as well as I foster. I have had 2 out of a hundred or so tested that fooled me. I do testing in my house in a quiet setting once the greyhound has been in foster for a few weeks to get the most accurate test that I can (simple things like a new home, stairs or other stimulus can change a hounds reaction). If a group tests, and fosters said hounds in cat homes before being adopted out, there should be minimal issues. If the group does neither, then the new owner may have some issues. I wont go into testimonials since you have many here, but I thought I would explain the one important part of the equasion that seems to be missed in the comments.

I'd also like to point out that not all cat testing is created equal. Some groups or tracks use toys or lures to cat test. We've known one to use a remote control car covered in fur. The dog knows the difference, they aren't stupid. Also, cats are different from small dogs. A small dog friendly dog is not automatically cat friendly. Cats are also different from squirrels, birds, etc. Even cat friendly dogs with mellow cats, might not be cat friendly with nervous cats that run, OR with very young and small kittens.

The best scenario we've found is: 1) Cat testing and/or fostering with cats in a home, 2) Home visit to have the dog meet the adopter's cat, and sometimes 3) Trial period to make sure dog does okay with adopter's cat.

All of that said, don't let your friend be scared away by horror stories. Any dog can hurt a cat, it's not a Greyhound issue, all dogs are individuals. If she is careful about finding the right match and doing the proper introductions, everyone can live harmoniously. I never leave my dogs unattended with the cats, and my cats are not allowed outdoors, but inside everyone gets along fine.

 

 

 

~Lindsay~