Sighthounds & cats!

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cumbriamax

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:rolleyes:has anyone ever successfully kept a sight hound(ie, greyhound) and a cat sucessfully together, am asking on behalf of a friend. I have a greyhound too and am not sure I could trust her with a cat, but friend says that there are stories on the internet of how people have sucessfully kept the two together but I remain very sceptical about it!:confused::rolleyes:
 
Well I have my lurcher (believed to be whippet x greyhound x saluki x ?) and she's fab with my cat, I took Suzy from GRWE in April (she was described as 'cat friendly'), Gypsy the cat has been with me for years, we introduced very carefully, Suzy muzzled and Gypsy allowed to run away, i kept them separate when i was not around to supervise, but by day 3 they were both happy with each other in the house, Gypsy tends to steer clear in the garden though, wondering along the fence instead. Suzy just couldnt care less about her!

Gypsy now 'rears' up to Suzy's head for fuss!
 
Yes, we had a grey who lived happily (and shared a bed) with three cats, but she was brought up with them and never raced. And the cat was a better rabbiter than she was, so she might not be the best example!
 
I had 4 whippets, they all regularly caught and killed bunnies and various other local wildlife. I bought a 10 week old cat into the house and they basically all lay in front of the fire, looked at the kitten, shrugged their shoulders and went back to sleep. One of the whippets thought the kitten was the best toy she had ever had and they played together constantly. I had to tell her to be careful now and then when the game got too rough, but believe me the cat was giving her a hard time and he started the game.

Those dogs have all died and I now have a JR x whippet lurcher (Rippet)and a young whippet. We just bought two kittens into the house. The Rippet was beside herself and shaking with excitement and I was genuinely worried about it. The Whippet was also very excited, but not so hysterical. For their safety, the kittens had a large dog cage to sleep in, but I can tell you that 7 days in, they are all now sleeping in the same bed. Also, the dogs are willing to let the kittens stick their noses in their feeding bowls with no aggression.

My whippets all race, have been live hare coursing (when it was legal), so they all chase, catch and kill. My dogs had no previous experience of cats before the kittens arrived and these kittens came from a dog free zone.

Yes, of course they can live happily together. I am not saying my dogs won't chase other cats, but they realise these are now "their" cats.
 
Yep, I have always had sight hounds and cats, I currently have 4 sight hounds and 3 cats, all sight hounds have hunted/worked, I also have a rabbit running about in the garden:)
We also cat test and train all our rescue sighthounds who need to go to homes with cats.
 
we have a lurcher who started chasing the cats when we got her (as a puppy) but this soon stopped when she met the OTHER cat that is horrible to dogs and she got bullied for a while...! :o
 
I rescued an elderly deerhound who would chase rabbits (and anything else given the chance) and would stand stock still and tremble if he saw a cat outside, but gave our cat a wide berth in the house.

I also had a beddie/whippet who was introduced to cats from about 8 months and he just play-bowed at them (as he also did at horses and cows ;))

I think it's a question of careful introduction and careful management. I must say even though my experiences have all been good, I would never leave a cat with a sighthound unattended.
 
I worked really hard with my current lurchers and poor long suffering cat and had got them so they could be in the same room, if I was there and the cat didn't move too fast. Unfortunately last year 2 dogs got out of the house when someone left the front door open, the cat was asleep in the front garden and they pounced. I had a hell of a job to get them off and the cat had to be pts a week later because the infection in his wounds was so bad. It was a horrible time and I'd never risk it again.

Very much down to the individual dog though.
 
I have a cat with two lurchers. The younger dog and the cat get on very well. They don't get to go above a walk or play rough but they follow each other around and generally get on. The older dog is fine with the cat but he is much sharper than the younger dog (he was bred to work, although she's the better hunter) and he gets told off for even looking at the cat in that glittery way. I also tell the cat off for bothering the dogs - I can't help her if she won't help herself!

Over all, they get on well but frankly I wouldn't trust the dogs with any cat, even ours, out in the great wide open. I've heard some horror stories from sighthound friends and have experience in the past with dogs - mercifully not my own - killing other small pets after they've lived with them successfully for some time.

I think it comes down to management. If you don't forget what the dogs "are" and make sure you keep some control over the situation, it's very doable, at least with most dogs.
 
My friend runs a greyhound rehoming group and they've homed a fair few retired racers with cats over the years, they cat test for suitability and adopters are advised how to introduce them safely. I agree it depends on the individual dog, i don't think my own 2 greys would live with a cat but then i don't think that's necessarily a sighthound thing.

Here's a similar thread that might be useful-greys & cats
 
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