We receive numerous enquiries from families with cats, who wish to adopt a cat-tolerant greyhound. There are many instances where dogs and cats live together harmoniously, and this certainly includes greyhounds and cats.

However, for many of the greyhounds in our program, just like other dogs, the potential for a hostile relationship between hound and cat can be too great.

There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. All dogs have a natural instinct to chase small, fast moving creatures. A cat’s natural instinct is often to run away from predators such as a tall, scary looking dog! This can lead to a chase response with very unfortunate outcomes.

2. This prey-drive can be heightened in greyhounds, who have been bred for thousands of years to chase. Our hounds have only recently retired from racing, an environment which encouraged them to chase a lure. They need time to decompress and desensitize.

Wherever practically possible, we assess whether the greyhounds in our program have the potential to live with cats. We do maintain a waitlist for families wishing to adopt a cat-tolerant greyhound. However, please be advised the waitlist is long, due to the reasons outlined above.

For more info on adopting a cat-tolerant greyhound, download the GRANT Handbook.

GRANT is located within the Northern Territory. We will not rehome a cat-tolerant greyhound interstate due to the associated risks, which we cannot effectively manage interstate.