Hi All,
Was hoping to get some advice from those with experience introducing adult dogs to adult cats, particularly greyhounds or other sighthounds.
My fiance and I will be moving in together soon. He has a greyhound, I have cat. He'll be moving to my place and I would really like to make sure we introduce the two correctly and set them up for success. I'd love to hear any tips you have for helping make it a good/safe situation for my cat.
Some context/background info:
The grey is a former racer from a rescue. She passed the small dog/cat testing through the rescue, though she has not had to put her cat reactions to the test. She has been around small dogs plenty and is fine (she is shy around other dogs and usually prefers to stay behind her human).
My cat is young (3 years old) and VERY playful. She often has zoomies around the house and plays constantly (her activity level and love for running around is what worries me most). She will have access to a 'safe room' that will be off limits to the dog. She is an indoor only cat. ETA: her food and litter will be in the safe room.
The dog is crate trained and is always crated when people are not home, this will continue. Dog owns a muzzle that we can utilize in the beginning to be extra safe, but obviously looking for tips to get them to a point where the dog doesn't have to be muzzled.
so far we've had a few small introductory interactions. Dog on leash has come into my house and my fiance has sat with the dog made her lie down, kept her focused on him, and fed her treats. I've stayed with the cat and offered her treats. The dog has not seemed to notice the cat much and is more interested in exploring the new space. My cat has been VERY aware of the dog. She has stayed focused on the dog, but has responded to me when I called her. She wasn't relaxed enough to eat treats, but also did not hiss or run away or freeze. Right now the plan is to continue these short interactions until both animals are calm about it. But then I'm not really sure what to do beyond that. I also want to make sure I take any necessary precautions and steps to make sure my cat stays safe.
Was hoping to get some advice from those with experience introducing adult dogs to adult cats, particularly greyhounds or other sighthounds.
My fiance and I will be moving in together soon. He has a greyhound, I have cat. He'll be moving to my place and I would really like to make sure we introduce the two correctly and set them up for success. I'd love to hear any tips you have for helping make it a good/safe situation for my cat.
Some context/background info:
The grey is a former racer from a rescue. She passed the small dog/cat testing through the rescue, though she has not had to put her cat reactions to the test. She has been around small dogs plenty and is fine (she is shy around other dogs and usually prefers to stay behind her human).
My cat is young (3 years old) and VERY playful. She often has zoomies around the house and plays constantly (her activity level and love for running around is what worries me most). She will have access to a 'safe room' that will be off limits to the dog. She is an indoor only cat. ETA: her food and litter will be in the safe room.
The dog is crate trained and is always crated when people are not home, this will continue. Dog owns a muzzle that we can utilize in the beginning to be extra safe, but obviously looking for tips to get them to a point where the dog doesn't have to be muzzled.
so far we've had a few small introductory interactions. Dog on leash has come into my house and my fiance has sat with the dog made her lie down, kept her focused on him, and fed her treats. I've stayed with the cat and offered her treats. The dog has not seemed to notice the cat much and is more interested in exploring the new space. My cat has been VERY aware of the dog. She has stayed focused on the dog, but has responded to me when I called her. She wasn't relaxed enough to eat treats, but also did not hiss or run away or freeze. Right now the plan is to continue these short interactions until both animals are calm about it. But then I'm not really sure what to do beyond that. I also want to make sure I take any necessary precautions and steps to make sure my cat stays safe.
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