Can anyone advise me from their own experience with regards to having a retired greyhound and cat in the same family?  I have read up on greyhounds and there seems to be a mixed opinion.  Is it really possible for these two animals to live together or am I expecting too much?

Hi
It depends on the greyhounds previous exposure to cats as to how the individual dog will react .
It can work - some rescues will foster the dog out and see how he/she behaves with cats ( or children and other small furry animals )  before being rehomed :)

I have no greyhound experience by the way - but i do have a Staffy and a cat and there are people who think the two cant live together ;)

we have a staffie & a cat too, The dog plays with the cat (chases her and pins her to the floor with tail wagging but the cat does not want to play, so she tells the dog off and she releases her) other from that they are fine, the cat was here first so the dog kinda knows not to push it too far ;)

Emma

I think it depends on the prey drive of the dog(I have a friend whose two coclers were killed by retired racing greyhounds) A local racing greyhound owner has cats with his retired indoor dogs & he has no problems but never leaves the two alone for safety(the dog as well as the cats who are Norwegian Forest Cats)

If you speak to the people here www.grwe.co.uk they will be able to advise you on which dog would suit you best.  Some of the greyhounds they currently have are cat friendly.
Hope it helps
Clair

I have a friend with a retired racing greyhound, a G.S.D., a lurcher and 3 cats.

Hi Netty,

I spoke to Greyhound rescue at Discover Dogs last November.  They assured me that many of the greyhounds are absolutely fine with cats.

Stacey

I'm sorry to have to give a bad story to this. My friends rescued an ex-racer. It mauled their neighbours cat so badly it had to have its leg amputated :( . It almost lost a second leg, but they did manage to save it. Lucy just can't be trusted near anything small and furry.

If you let the people know that you have a cat when you go to adopt one they will point you in the right direction.

Oh yes I agree some of them will kill small furry things.  Mine mauled and killed our neighbours cat :( much to our horror and given the chance I'm sure would kill anything small and furry, which is why she stays on the lead and is muzzled when we take her for a walk.  But that is not to say they are all like that.  The greyhound rescue tests them before rehoming (don't ask me how :D :D) to see if they are cat friendly and gives advice on how to introduce them your other pets.

Hi,
I have a lurcher and 2 staffies living in perfect harmony with my 2 cats and 2 rabbits!  I'm almost certain that Tizer had been used for rabbiting before we got him, but he has shown absolutely zero interest in chasing them.
We introduced them all in the garden to begin, with  Tizer on his lead and we held the cats, he had a sniff and then the cats just wandered around him.  Then we moved on to them being supervised with Tizer off the lead, he had a bit of a chase but a firm no and a smack on the nose by the cats soon put him off. 
It may be much more difficult for an ex-racer, but there are plenty of greyhounds and lurchers in rescue centres that have never been near a track or used for hunting.  I would say don't trust the rescue centres when they say not suitable with cats etc.  THere's no way you can tell for sure until you get the dog in a natural environment.
Good luck!:)

I have an ex racer and 3 cats and they get on very well. My dog came straight from the racing kennels, so we kept an eye on her. She never raced on track- she would run half way round and then wonder off! So she never had much prey drive as they say, she was what they call a "Non runner"
She is fantastic with my cats, they seem bully her! Its very funny to watch a big greyhound looking nervous because a tiny cat is staring her in the eye!. I can say truthfully that I can 100% trust her with my cats, but she doea like to chase wild rabbits. If I were you I would ask the retired greyhound trust - or other greyhound rescue and see if they have any non runners as these stand the highest chance of being ok with cats.

Well,

Ive just brought an ex working saluki x greyhound into my  house. Cat thinks new dog is a cushion and wants to wash her ears! Dog doesnt know what to do but hasnt shown any signs of really wanting to eat ihim!

It is totally possible, and mostly depends on the cat, a cat taht runs or fights is probably 'prey' a cat that moves slowly, is silent and doessnt antagonise the dog is not 'prey'.

Em

Greyhound and two 16 year old cats here.  Depends entirely on the individual dog.

I agree entirey with dazza.  Amongst other dogs, we had a greyhound and 2 cats.  If anything, the cats were the ones who were mean.  The grey never looked twice at them.  Then again, there are some who would kill a cat in a second.  So it all depends on a dog.