ramonaghan

I don't know if Sweep hasn't discovered the litter box or just isn't that interested, but either way I am counting my blessings on that front.

This is something I've been thinking about. We have a somewhat challenging floorplan (very open) and the animals all seem to prefer the same room (our bedroom), but it's an option I'll likely explore down the road. I also have stairs, which I can probably use to my advantage, since I know the cats are faster on those even with the stair treads we've added for Sweep. All good food for thought, thanks. Love it! Indy needs to work on reading those calming signals. (Boy, wouldn't that make life easier for everyone?)

Gives me hope, thanks! And what a good-looking duo. I miss my Siamese boy every day; they're the best!

:beatheart The quintessential cat expression. All he(?) needs is a tiny Photoshopped flag between his paws to make it official that he's staked his claim.

While I haven't actually done this, I can say that I no longer worry about whether I remembered to turn off the stove, etc.—now it's always "did I lock the crate door?"

Thanks, all. Your responses have been really helpful. It's clearly an issue of one's personal comfort threshold and of risk analysis/tolerance. Maybe as a newb I also needed to be reassured that it wouldn't make me dysfunctional or paranoid if I never get to the point where I'm okay leaving them all out together. I know the crate bothers me more than it has ever bothered Sweep; she goes right in at 10 p.m. and stays quiet til 7:30 or later (lucky me!). As long as that holds, I think I'll stick to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. This is so funny to me…I can't even fathom my cats wanting to snuggle with Sweep. Olive vomited daily and lived in the top of our closet for at least two weeks after Sweep arrived, and Henry is the stink-eye master. They have come a long way in four months, but I still considered it a major victory when they got close enough to sniff her feet (Fritos!).

...did you feel safe leaving your grey(s) and cat(s) loose in the house together when you're not home, if ever? We've had Sweep for four months now, and we always crate her overnight and when we're gone. I work from home, so other than overnight, she's rarely crated for more than two or three hours at a time. When we're home during the day, she's unmuzzled and has the run of the house, and we are just super-mindful of where everyone is at any given time. (Not too difficult when we have three velcro pets!) We feed them separately and at different times and have had no issues in that area. Sweep mostly ignores the cats, but she isn't scared of them. She watches them sometimes and seems curious, but doesn't get fixated and has never lunged, chased, drooled, or given any signs of aggression. She play-bowed to the female cat once, but the cat wasn't having any of that and Sweep gave up easily. She has growled at our male cat on a few occasions: once when he got too close to *our* dinner--yummy, stinky barbecue--and I suspect she was either jealous or correcting him; once when she got too close for his comfort and he swatted her; and again just the other night when she had had her first dose of Comfortis and clearly was feeling rotten and didn't want him getting close. (Both cats generally keep their distance, but this was a tight quarters situation and the cat had to pass her to get into the room...not the typical setup but we had just had Easter company. She's not usually space-aggressive, but as I mentioned, she obviously felt crummy--was fine the next morning.) I recognize the growling for what it is and don't reprimand her other than a firm "no kitty" when appropriate, but I still worry about a situation escalating in our absence. I guess as long as she continues to crate well, I shouldn't stress about it, but I am curious if there's a light bulb moment where you realize the cats are perfectly safe (well, 99%; I know there are never any guarantees). I am definitely not there yet, but would like to think I will be in time. TIA.

Welcome from a fellow newbie! Patsy looks like she is settling right in. Congrats to you both.

Thank you both! I think it's my favorite so far; it was the moment I knew she was finally feeling comfortable here. (My husband argues that when she's roaching it's just gravity making her smile, but I choose to believe otherwise!)

Thank you all for the warm welcome! Cool; where did you go to school? We live near Belmont, Lipscomb, and Vanderbilt. I was born and raised here, left for a few years and lived in NC and Boston, and came back here in 2008. It's grown so much in the past several years! Small world! I went to high school downtown, right on Broadway, and graduated on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium. My husband works downtown now right in the midst of all that stuff. (And yet neither of us likes country music… )

Hello, all, I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster. My husband and I started researching greyhounds almost two years ago, and in November we agreed to dog-sit a foster for the long Thanksgiving weekend, just to "try things out." Long story short, Sweep has been here ever since. We went from dog-sitting to fostering to fostering with intent, and finally, in February, to formally adopting. It has been a long, at times arduous, journey since neither of us have had dogs as adults, and we have two cats we adore and (still) worry for since they have ruled the roost for so long. My female cat vomited from the stress every day for the first two weeks or so...that was not fun. But things seem to have settled into a routine finally, and Sweep's a total sweetheart and a goofball and overall about the easiest dog we could have asked for. She is showing some signs lately that she might be a bit of a breed snob, but that's about the only issue we've encountered with her thus far. Perhaps more on that in another thread if it continues. For now, I just wanted to introduce myself and her...and I've lurked long enough to know the rules, so here she is!