Cat Testing Progress And Question

[Guest shanesmom]

My first 2 greyhounds were completely cat safe and I was not at all worried from day one. They would not even look at the cat even if she walked or ran right in front of them. Ace is higher energy but seems cat safe but how do I know for sure when he does want to sniff the cat and sometimes wants to play with the cat? I started cat introductions real slow with either Ace or the cat in the crate. He completely ignores her then even if she is right in front of him. We did this the first week. The second week when supervised, we have him muzzled around the cat or if we can't supervise one goes in the crate. He does try to sniff her and has play bowed in front of her and raises his tail for her but only when he's in a playful mood. Other times he completely ignores her even if she runs right in front of him. The minute I say "no kitty" when he tries to play with her he stops and directs his attention to me and will ignore her. I'm afraid to take the muzzle off because both of them are so playful and I'm afraid she will get hurt. I think she wants to play with him too. She roaches and runs past him all the time. Absolutely no fear. Should I let the play go further while he is muzzled and see where it goes or continue to correct him? Thanks.

[Guest Tabby]

I just last week reached the point of letting Tabby Muzzle free around our kitty. I had to watch her for drooling and tensing up when she looked at the kitty. if she did any of these things she was corrected verbally. Only on rare occasions did I resort to the water bottle. I guess you just have to wait until you are total comfortable with it and even then watch closely their interactions. Last night the kitty was allful close to Tabby's crate. I held my breath but Tabby didnt even notice her.

 

I dont allow Tabby the option of playing with kitty. You have to decided if that is something you want to allow. if not correct her when she even eyes the kitty to play.

[Guest shanesmom]

I dont allow Tabby the option of playing with kitty. You have to decided if that is something you want to allow. if not correct her when she even eyes the kitty to play.

 

 

That's where I think I am at too but I wonder if they could not safely play. My mom has a 120lb. Shepherd that has been playing with her little cat for years and it's totally safe. Ace is not at all displaying any prey drive just that playfulness that my other greyhounds never displayed toward the cat and it does make me feel uncomfortable maybe just because I'm not used to it?

 

 

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I don't think wanting to sniff the kitty is a danger sign at all. Jayne will sniff Bob all over if he's laying on the floor and she walks past. She used to stealth sniff Ron, because he'll smack her if she approaches him and he notices. She just wanted to get to know what they were.

 

She's play-bowed to Ron a couple times. He completely ignored her invites and she gave up. I, personally, would supervise any play and only begin to discourage if it looked like the dog was getting to excitable and might endanger the cat unknowingly. I know animals of different sizes and play styles can play nicely together, so I wouldn't automatically assume the worst. Bob used to play with my mom's pet rat. The two would chase eachother all over the house and have slap fights. The cat could easily have pounced and killed the rat, but he didn't. They were, however, never loose together when we weren't around to supervise.

[Guest shanesmom]

I don't think wanting to sniff the kitty is a danger sign at all. Jayne will sniff Bob all over if he's laying on the floor and she walks past. She used to stealth sniff Ron, because he'll smack her if she approaches him and he notices. She just wanted to get to know what they were.

 

She's play-bowed to Ron a couple times. He completely ignored her invites and she gave up. I, personally, would supervise any play and only begin to discourage if it looked like the dog was getting to excitable and might endanger the cat unknowingly. I know animals of different sizes and play styles can play nicely together, so I wouldn't automatically assume the worst. Bob used to play with my mom's pet rat. The two would chase eachother all over the house and have slap fights. The cat could easily have pounced and killed the rat, but he didn't. They were, however, never loose together when we weren't around to supervise.

 

 

Thank you for your response. I think I would have felt like this in the past but now I've read too much Greytalk and all the posts about how a greyhound could kill a cat even with a muzzle on etc, and I've become a little paranoid about this.

 

 

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

That's true; they can cause some major damage, but they can also be super gentle which is why I would carefully watch to see how things went. Jayne and Bob will eat off the same plate, but they only snuggle when they're both trying to be as close to me as possible and can't avoid one another.

 

Jayne will growl if either cat gets too close while she's laying down, but on the couple occasions a kitty has accidently jumped onto her face she never snapped or reacted in any way. This usually happens when Jayne is laying flat on the bed while we pet her and Ron wants to come up for petting but doesn't see the dog until he lands.

 

Jayne's body language has always been submissive and un-threatening toward the cats, except her first night home when they were just too exciting for her to contain herself. After the first time Ron whacked her accross the face she's been perfect with the cats. She's very mouthy when she plays with me, but she's got really good bite control so I'm confident that if one fo the cats would deign to play with her, she could be gentle enough to be safe with them.

[JJNg]

I agree that wanting to sniff and play are appropriate and not a sign that the grey will hurt the cat. I would personally allow it (initially with muzzle, of course) and just watch closely for any signs that the grey is getting too excited or prey drive starts to kicks in. If the dog is just wanting to play, a cat should be able to hold her own and will let the dog know if the invitation to play is not appreciated.

 

Even if you don't want to allow play, I would definitely allow sniffing. Sniffing allows a dog to satisfy his curiosity and usually leads to decreased interest after a good sniff. If you never allow sniffing, the dog may continue to be very curious and interested in the cat.

[Guest LindsaySF]

I allow sniffing and play-bowing (no contact). I don't allow playing that makes contact, and I don't allow chasing (even in play). I have found the latter two situations can lead to either rough play (that might injure the cat accidentally just due to sheer size difference), or play that escalates into "you are prey I must kill you..." Better safe than sorry.

[Guest Tabby]

the reason I dont allow Tabby to get too cozy with the cat is b/c Tabby attacked the cat earlier on and it was bad. Even with the cat attacking her back she didnt let up. We had to work really hard to get to this point. I do see both sides of this, just depends on your dog.