Most Greyhound people know what cat testing is generally but often they don't know what really happens. I recently cat tested Velocity and thought you might find it interesting to describe to you what I do when I cat test.

Step one is to secure the cats in their chain link kennel. They have a crate to hide in if a dog makes them particularly nervous.

Step two is bring in the leashed and muzzled greyhound. The greyhound sees the cats through a fence.

We then watch to see how the hound reacts, in Velocity's case he was curious. Ears up and eyes bright. His interest was moderate. When he showed increasing interest I corrected him with a collar pop and a firm "NO!" He lost interest and began to avoid looking at the cat. I then brought the cat out from the kennel and again corrected him for increased interest. Again he lost interest. Part one of his test was done.

A couple of days later I retest a dog who I corrected. After thinking about it for a couple of days some dogs decided they really ARE interested in the cats. They respond by being turned on as we come into the cat zone. If this is the reaction they are failed and labeled not cat safe. In Velocity's case he glanced at the cats but showed no reaction to them. When the cat was brought out of the kennel he again looked at it but lost interest. After about 5 minutes of not responding in a negative way to the cat he was then labeled "cat correctable" which means he may be able to live with a cat with proper introductions and supervision.

When I cat tested Run she went into hunt mode almost immediately and the cat knew it. He immediately hid in his crate and would not come out. Cats seem to have a sense for if a dog is dangerous to them or not. Run earned the title of not cat safe in a matter of seconds, the whole test was less than 15 seconds. For the next two weeks she ran to the door we went through to visit the cats and checked to see if she could get to them. Run is gamey, meaning she goes into hunt mode easily. Some dogs don't seem to have any reaction to the cat at all. In fact I have seen my cat go from hiding to actually coming out to rub against the fence by the dog who isn't reacting.

When cat testing greyhounds the safety of the cat and hound are paramount. The greyhound is never off lead and is always muzzled. Even IF the cat comes out of the kennel the dog is carefully restrained and the cat has a place to hide. I personally never use the term "cat safe" I believe greyhounds have been bred to hunt for so many generations we are just not going to override that completely. In addition our testing is not limited. It does not test the greyhound loose with the cat or outdoors. A cat streaking across the yard is very different than the same cat curled up on the couch. There are lots of cats living happily with greyhounds...but that may have something to do with the cats having nine lives thing.