lilythetigerdog Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Hello! I'm new to the web site and will be a new mom to a greyound this Thursday!! I currently live in a home owned by three cats and I'm looking for advice on how to introduce the dog to the cats. If anyone has any tips/stories I would love to hear them. Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jennifer4719 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 You have come to the right place for advice. I definately would use a muzzle and a leash until you are sure that it is safe. Congrats on your new grey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caiteag Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Start with having the dog muzzled and leashed at all times (unless the dog is in a crate). As you feel safe, stop using the leash. I would continue to use the muzzle for quite a while though. Even if you feel the dog is safe around the cats, continue with muzzling at all times for at least the first month. After that, make sure you muzzle if the hound and cats will be left alone together. We have had Choo Choo for a year and a half and we still muzzle her if she is going to be left home alone with our cats. If you aren't planning on crating, consider it again. Crates are a great training tool with hounds and cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sula Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Hello! I'm new to the web site and will be a new mom to a greyound this Thursday!! I currently live in a home owned by three cats and I'm looking for advice on how to introduce the dog to the cats. If anyone has any tips/stories I would love to hear them. Hello! Stories? You want a long sorted tale of a cat and a Greyhound! I'm blogging mine because it was just tres bizzarro: http://www.cowprintdoggie.wordpress.com But first off, cat safe? How 'bout making sure your cats are dog safe? LOL. Seriously, my cat Llew *bit* the first Greyhound he met! Anyway, what we did was keep the cat away (outside or in the bathroom) and the dog got the intro around the house. Then the dog was crated so the cat could oberve the dog safely--and vice versa. We did that for a while. Then we had the dog on leash around the cat. It should not take a long time for the dog to get the message that cats do rule the world--and will be ruling their world soon. The cat(s) should correct the dog--this is a good thing--with a swipe to the nose (Llewis was, well, *a lot* more aggressive than that!) Others here suggest muzzles--I had a pup so it wasn't as huge an issue. Question: did the rescue organzation cat test your Grey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted November 13, 2007 Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 Thanks for the tips guys! I will definitely be using the muzzle, and we have a crate for her that I will use for sure. Her foster mom says Zippy likes her crate, so this should work out well. Sula - that is one territorial cat! Great story! Lesson learned - I will be extra careful both ways. I don't want the new dog to hurt my cats, and I certainly don't want my new grey to be hurt (feelings or otherwise) by the cats. The resuce organization did cat test the dog. She is living in a great home with three cats and three other dogs right now and apparently is a little afraid of the cats. I've been told this is good. I guess I'll find out for sure who is more afraid of who on Thursday. Once Zippy is settled in to her forever home I'll post pictures. Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sula Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Sounds like she'll be fine given all her cat exposure and timidity but best to proceed with caution as you're doing. How exciting and yes, post pics as soon as you get her!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greys2cats Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Thanks for the tips guys! I will definitely be using the muzzle, and we have a crate for her that I will use for sure. Her foster mom says Zippy likes her crate, so this should work out well. Sula - that is one territorial cat! Great story! Lesson learned - I will be extra careful both ways. I don't want the new dog to hurt my cats, and I certainly don't want my new grey to be hurt (feelings or otherwise) by the cats. The resuce organization did cat test the dog. She is living in a great home with three cats and three other dogs right now and apparently is a little afraid of the cats. I've been told this is good. I guess I'll find out for sure who is more afraid of who on Thursday. Once Zippy is settled in to her forever home I'll post pictures. Welcome to greyhound motherhood, you are gonna love it! I had 2 cats when I brought my 1st grey, Max here, who is 80lbs. and he was "cat safe"! He was introduced w/out a muzzle, he was afraid of them, one of the cats hissed and thru a paw at his nose and the other used to wait for him to walk out onto the deck and she would attack his ankles, poor baby! I got Sara a year later, she was not intimidated by them, but not interested. I got a kitten after one of my cats passed away this spring and Sara was soo interested, thinking it was a sqeaky toy, I had to keep telling her no and watching behavior. I always watch and supervise them when in the fenced yard, because fast moving objects are of great interest to a grey! Kitten(Rascal is 6 months now) and he is a terror, jumps in Sara's face once in awhile but he also sleeps near them in my bedroom, so they are getting used to him. My advice, pay attention to body language, when the ears are up and tail is wipping, high interest. Quote Roberta & Michael with Furkids- Flower (Shasta Flowers 6/7/06) & Rascal the kitty - Missing our sweet angels - Max(M's Mad Max) 10/12/02 - 12/3/15, Sara (Sara Raves 6/30/01 - 4/13/12) Queenie & Pandora the kitties - gone but never forgotten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackandgrey Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Glad to see you here Carrie. One more sleep! And yes you'll need to post lots of pictures. Susan Quote Susan, Jessie and Jordy NORTHERN SKY GREYHOUND ADOPTION ASSOCIATION Jack, in my heart forever March 1999-Nov 21, 2008 My Dancing Queen Jilly with me always and forever Aug 12, 2003-Oct 15, 2010 Joshy I will love you always Aug 1, 2004-Feb 22,2013 Jonah my sweetheart May 2000 - Jan 2015 " You will never need to be alone again. I promise this. As your dog, I will sing this promise to you, and whisper it to you at night, every night, with my breath." Stanley Coren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 We have two greys and three cats. Before adopting our first grey, Celeste, in April 2006 we never had dogs before. So, none of our three cats (ages 11, 9 and 7) had ever lived with a dog before. I highly recommend that you establish a "safe zone" for your cats. We have a finished basement, so moved their food and water there (litter pans were already downstairs). We blocked the area with a baby gate that only allowed the cats access. This is gate we have: Easy Step High Guard Gate When the cats did venture upstairs, we had a muzzle and leash on Celeste. Luckily, our Maine Coon showed little fear and quickly established boundaries for Celeste. When she tried to sniff him, she smacked him in the muzzle. It took a few months for our three cats to adjust and vice versa, but all is well now. Our two greys are kept seperated from the cats during the day with a baby gate, but both dogs and cats co-exist peacfully now when we're home. We still have the cat "safe zone" too in the finished basement. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sweetpea Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Ditto what winnie said. Sweetpea is cat safe, but once in a while, if the cats start fighting and tearing around the place, she'll chase a bit in fun, and she gets a definite redirection. We use baby gates more now for separating unruly cats (we have three) and to keep Sweetpea out of the cat food (and cat boxes). This is Sweetpea and Gracie in the room they share during the day. 'Just take it slow and easy, better to be too cautious than to try and undo something unpleasant. good luck! Buzzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tricolorhounds Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 We had 4 indoor cats when we brought home our 1st, Copper... We do not crate, nor do we muzzle. When I walked him in the house the 1st time, our cat Simba walked right up to him to check him out. I kept Copper on the leash for several days. Copper doesn't particularily "like" the cats but he is cat safe. When we brought Savannah home, she was still in her leg cast and needed to be confined to the X-Pen. She was very very defensive of her space with the other dogs, growling when the even came near the pen. The cats on the other hand she allowed to put their paws through the bars and drink her water, they would climb up the sides (we have obnoxious cats) and Savannah never made a peep. After she was released from her prison, she even shared a bed with one of the cats. Bonks, Gain'er and my foster dog Pudding all walked into the house, checked out the cats once and were fine. I still keep them leashed mainly for housebreaking purposes. The cats have an area that is baby gated where they can get away from the dogs but they are not separated when we are gone. In fact, Simba prefers to stay in my room with Copper and Savannah when we are gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted November 16, 2007 Author Share Posted November 16, 2007 Thanks for all the greyt advice! We picked up Zippy last night and she is beautiful! She stole our hearts right away and she has been great with the cats so far - very calm and not too interrested. Two of our three cats are interrested in Zippy and are trying to get close. The other cat is in hiding. We established the basement as the cat safe-zone, but no one seems to be scrambling for safety yet. I plan on keeping the muzzel on Zippy in the house until we are 100% sure she is good with the cats, and we've been keeping a close eye on the cats too. Zippy is such a great dog! Chinook Winds did such a great job of placing her. I'm very confident this will all work out with a little patience and time. I took photos and will post them asap. Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sula Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Wow--congrats!!! Yes, photos please!! Someone once told me the best thing to do is to watch your cats--they'll let you know if they're feeling unsafe. Sounds like you're being cautious which is great but that you also will have a very good experience. Can't wait to see the pics!! Sula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest whatahound Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 From North Carolina Congrats on Zippy, no cats here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shanesmom Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Congratulations on adopting Zippy! Looking forward to seeing pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 **UPDATE** Lily (the dog formerly known as Zippy) has been doing great with the cats! She chased one once for fun and did not like being told "NO!" so much that she hasn't chased anyone since. We have been following the advice from our adoption group and Greytalk and have not been allowing Lily to be interested in the cats at all. Now (2 weeks later) she is great and is muzzle-less when we are watching her and has her muzzle on when we aren't paying full attention. When the cats walk by her she turns her head and looks at the wall, or looks at us to make it obvious she's not looking at the cats. Too cute. We had to change her name (and my Greytalk profile) to better accommodate her personality. She came to us a sweet little girl and did not look like a Zippy at all. She looked like a little docile tiger. Her name Lily; short for Tiger-lily. Thanks for all the well-wishes and advice! We love our Lily to pieces! I'll post photos as soon as I figure out how to. Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tenderhearts Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Sorry I missed your post earlier, but glad things are working out well! I have been fortunate in that all 3 greys I have had in my life have peacefully co-existed with cats. I prefer the term cat correctable as opposed to cat safe as I have never trusted any of my greys 100% with the cats. If a cat moves just the right way or suddenly races across a room, it can definitely turn on cat-chasing mode in all my dogs (grey and non-greys). I do keep a squirt bottle handy for such occasions, but anymore a 'NO' in the voice of God works nicely to stop that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sula Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Congrats on your sweet Lily girl!! She sounds wonderful--and smart. She knows that you do *not* want to cross a cat!! Please get some pics up--we want to see her!!!!! Hugs, Sula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 [/img] Here is Lily after only 3 days at her new house. [/img] This is Lily in her homemade snowsuit. She hates the cold weather and has taken up hiding when she sees us reaching for her snowsuit! [/img] And her favourite sleeping spot in the living room. She can see everything, even those scary cats.... [/img] Quote Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sula Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 She's adorable!!!!!! And so are those kitties too. So glad she seemed to adjust and fit into the fambly so quickly and thanks for posting the pics!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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