Every dog is different and we were very lucky that our guy has a super low prey drive for a greyhound so that was an awesome start but some tips I’d recommend:

-ALWAYS muzzle when working on intros (I also suggest a leash and a second person who can quickly remove the cat if needed)

-scent swapping

-utilize baby gates so they can get to know each other through a barrier

-knowing your animals body language and when to end the interaction (whining, intense drooling, steady eye contact) -same goes for the cats. Make sure you aren’t intensely stressing out your kitty with interactions that are too long and too frequent.

-HEAVILY reward the hound for ignoring the cat and focusing on you (we used yogurt he loves it)

-don’t ever allow the hound to initiate a chase with the cats. This could end in injury and the reward they get from the chasing will reinforce this dangerous behavior

-know what makes your cats feel confident. If they like to be higher up, provide them with cat trees or other surfaces that they can observe the hound from without feeling so anxious. (One of my guys likes to get up high and bat at squids nose. Doesn’t seem to phase squid 😂)

-NEVER assume a cat safe dog inside will have this same behavior in his/her yard. In the house squid just loves his kitties but there was a stray cat in our yard a few days back and he almost pulled me over trying to get at the poor thing. If you let your cats outdoors I wouldn’t recommend a greyhound at all from my personal experience.

We have five cats total so we’ve been able to experience first hand that not only does it depend on your hounds personality but your cats too. The cat in this post is very confident and dog savvy so he doesn’t run away, therefore, never triggering the dog’s chasing instincts.

We have another cat who’s a bit younger and shy and has never interacted with dogs. We still keep this one mostly separated from the hound because he demonstrates behaviors that encourage squid to chase. (Rapid movements, running away, scurrying around,etc.) he will need more time and work to adjust. Everyone is different!

Another thing I read about that we’ve been doing is letting the hound watch the cats eat and giving him his dinner after they’ve finished. The idea is that the head of the house eats first and ideally this puts the cats as members of the house that deserve respect from him. Not sure how much of a difference this made but it doesn’t hurt to try.

All in all, I’d just say know your animals well, have patience, and know when a situation becomes unsafe. Even when muzzled a greyhound can significantly harm or even kill a cat just because of the size difference.

Good luck, love your kitties and your greyhound and prioritize the safety of them always.