How long do I keep her muzzled at night for?

[binka]

We've had Bonniw since Tuesday and so far she's shown no interest in the cat. The rescue said not to be complacent though as when she starts feeling less nervous in the house she may come out of her shell and decide the cat is for chasing!

So at night I'm still muzzling her. Have just put the muzzle on and she's trying to scrape it off and I feel bad. How much longer do you think?

[Lisa]

Can you not segregate the cat at night Is she left alone at night with the muzzle on or sleeping in with you?

Please find a way of seperating when they cant be supervised. I hate the idea of dogs being muzzled long times in the house

Alot of the members here own cats and most would tell you they never leave their greyhounds with their cats overnight or when they go out during the day still.

[binka]

There's no way I can segregate them. I'm leaving her alone with the muzzle on at night. The rescue said it would be fine and that they're used to having their muzzles on for long periods. She's asleep now with it on.

[binka]

Oh dear, am really worried now that you say most people still won't leave cats and greyhounds together unsupervised. I thought afetr a few weeks they'd be OK. Just wasn't sure how many weeks. Thats what the rescue said.

The cats not shut in the same room as her and can go upstairs or out the catflap but the house is openplan downstairs so I can't shut Bonnie in a different room.

[annar]

can you not take the dog or cat to bed with you so she gets to have tiome without her muzzle? annax

[Lisa]

Please look for an alternative to overnight muzzling. This is why Gap wont home dogs to homes with cats unless we are sure they are okay.

If god forbid she was sick in the night she couldnt get it out of the muzzle there is a risk she could choke or she could get it caught up somewhere without you hearing her.

Have you not considered trying to crate her? In my opinion short term crates are much more humane than long term muzzling and much safer.

[binka]

OK, will get her a crate tomorrow morning and risk not muzzling her tonight. Any idea how long I'll need to use the crate for if she carries on not showing any interest in the cat? How long before I can think she's cat friendly?? Thanks for all the advice.

[Deleted]

You will probably find that she likes the crate as it will become a den & she will want to sleep in there anyway. Make it nice & cosy & put a throw over the top to make it private (they like that ;D ).

A muzzled greyhound can still cause injury to a cat & a cat can do serious damage to a dog if cornered so a crate really is the safer & kinder option all round.

[lurcherlot]

Nov 9, 2008 14:51:19 GMT -5 binka said:

OK, will get her a crate tomorrow morning and risk not muzzling her tonight. Any idea how long I'll need to use the crate for if she carries on not showing any interest in the cat? How long before I can think she's cat friendly?? Thanks for all the advice.

I don't think many, if any, folks would ever risk leaving a greyhound and a cat together unsupervised.

[janet12000]

My greyhound Beatrice was described as 'cat friendly' when we got her and she showed no interest in my 2 cats for about the first 2 weeks. When she got used to being in a home and started coming out of her shell a bit, she began to show more interest and i was worried for the cats' safety.
I put a baby gate across the kitchen doorway but the cats just kept jumping over it!
On advice from the RGT i used a water spray bottle when Beatrice showed any unhealthy interest in the cats. I never sprayed it in her face...just into the air.
I wouldn't say they are the best of friends, but after just a couple of days of the water sprayer Beatrice got the message that the cats were not dinner. I binned the water sprayer long ago.
I have the occasional situation when Beatrice will bare her teeth at the cats, but this is usually because they are trying to jump on top of her when she is sleeping!
Beatrice and the cats now quite happily sleep together under my bed and I leave them all together during the day when I am at work with the free run of the house and Beatrice un-muzzled.
The cats do however have a 'hidey hole' which they can go into which Beatrice cannot fit in.
It has worked for me and I hope this helps.
A word of advice though.....despite being fine in the house together they are most definately not ok when in the back garden together. The cats seem to be fair prey out there!
Also worth pointing out is that although Beatrice is fine with my cats, any other neighbourhood feline drives her wild and she would happily get her teeth into them!

[Flaperoo]

Much can depend on the cat but a crate really is an excellent idea when Bonnie is unsupervised with the cats. Greyhounds like comfy, safe crates with a few personal belongings in it.

When we visit and stay over night with friends who have cats our greyhounds are muzzled during the day. At night they will sleep in our room without muzzles.

Seperating them by use of a crate really is a greyt idea. I have one greyhound who I trust to be cat safe, but because he is part of a pack I muzzle him too because if the others were to kick off, I know he would join in.

Mx

[blugirl]

I have a stairgate and my cats have the run of the stairs and spare room at night and when we are out, I could not leave a dog muzzled all night as I think its mean. Our odgs do not take any notice of the cats but better safe than sorry.

[alexandsteve]

Hiya,

I don't have a greyhound but do have a whippet x and a whippet - I have had Cerys since March and Baxter for just over 3 weeks and generally they wouldn't even dare to look even look at the cat, they go from day to day walking past each other and generally taking no notice of each other at all....
but.... there has been the odd occasion when the Cat will have a mad five minutes which will sometimes spark the dogs interests off and I have to go back to shouting and reminding them on to "LEAVE IT", its always been something that I have been very strict with (Steve would say its the ONLY thing that I've been strict with ).

Even though Cerys has been here for 8 months now and has always been tolerant of the cat, if the Cat has a mad moment in the middle of the night this can really wind Cerys up so the dogs sleep in the bedroom with us with the door closed and the cat has the run of the house.

In the day if the cat doesn't go out whilst we are at work the cat stays in our bedroom with a littler tray (not ideal i know) and the dogs have the run of the down stairs as our house is open plan too.

I would love to think that nothing would ever happen (touch wood) as they have both been good with the cat 99.9% of the time but I will never truly trust them to be left alone with a cat that may decide to have a funny five minutes whilst I'm out.

We took Lisa's advice and crated Cerys at night, she used to sleep in a crate in the living room and it really helped, we made it like a den and she was more than happy to spend the night there. We used the crate for about 3 months.

Not sure if any of this helps,

Alex xxx

[Palm]

i hope the crate has worked for you. it may sound mean but i know someone who crates their cats when left alone with the dog. its just for short periods or overnight. i think you do need to create a barrier between them. im conviced your greyhound would grow to love a crate as an alternative to muzzling. just make it really snug and you will need a shoehorn to get her out!

[smurf]

Hope the crate is working ,much better than an overnight muzzle.
I've had my lurcher for 18 months now and still won't trust him with the cat. Nor does the cat trust him They are always seperated when I'm out..
He's fine at night and sleeps by the side of my bed and on the whole ignores the cat who always sleeps on my bed at night but even so he'll still have a go if he thinks he can get away with it
Good luck I'd do know that there are people with Greys and cats that coexsist peacefully.