This is an age-old question with all sighthounds, and the answer isn't as simple as a "yes" or "no. Are the Stardust Silkens safe with cats? They must be, as we have a household of them. It helps that our cats are very confident with dogs- they run the roost and we encourage it. Pepper is the first to approach dogs and check them out and say hello. Milo and Harlan don't quite like rowdy dogs, but they tell them off rather than run. Natasha loves dogs more than other cats and will rub all over them.

That's what you want if you're cohabitating a sighthound and a cat. The cat needs to be over-confident and friendly, and the dog needs to respect the cat. Any fear from the cat, any fear running will scream "prey!" to a dog that's behavior is to chase a fleeing animal. The dog must see the cat as friend, not prey.

This is so clear in my dogs, and many other silkens (other sighthounds, too!), that they can differentiate an outdoor/feral cat (full of fear/running/acting 'sneaky') versus a confident house cat that seems equally a predator as them.

That's not to say that there isn't non-cat-safe Silken Windhounds. There has been stories of groups of silkens killing a house cat that they once got along with. Often what causes this is one dog is very prey driven, goes after the cat, and the others get excited and join in - they are a pack. It is not a malicious act, but purely instinct-based.

My dogs: I would trust alone in a room with my cats. Others? Not so sure. I had planned for ages that the dogs would ALWAYS be crated and never be allowed to be alone with the cats. I have found that none of mine have that drive, they respect the cats immeasurably, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. 

Always use your best judgement!

"When I was six years old, my mother brought home a kitten. He was tiny and sweet and darling to me, but we also owned two very large German Shepherds. For them, he was a toy, and even the smallest amount of play would have broken him; he was confined to my bedroom, but this was no life, so he was returned to the shelter (where he was adopted by the owner and lived his best life.)

Six years later, for my twelfth birthday, I received permission to get myself a new cat. I chose the most frightened orange kitten in the corner, and I loved him with all my heart. To the GSD, who still ruled the house for 7 more years, he was once again off limits. Because of this, I firmly believed that sweet Milo would never be allowed alone with a dog in his life.

Now at 16 years old, declawed since I got him and living with three hounds, I trust him locked up with them day in, day out. Would I feel the same with anyone else's dogs? Absolutely not. But these ones are special.

I know that not everyone has the time or dedication to create such dependability, but thanks to endless training that morphs and grows with our needs, I have seen these 3 blossom into not only the most loyal companions, but incredibly intelligent working dogs.

I have seen them called off of prey no matter how focused- rabbits, birds, herds of deer- no small feat for a creature with centuries of breeding behind their pack hunting instinct. Despite their prey drive, they can differentiate between friend and foe, and they can be stopped with no more than a word. Hell, we even call them off their dinner in the middle of eating and command them to sit and burp. They only resume once given the ok, and never do they have to be touched.

It is my observation that dogs can be taught when to engage their instincts and when to hold back, and only through repeated exercise can this skill be honed. If never given the chance to choose between right and wrong, they can never be corrected nor encouraged. It is also my firm belief that to live their fullest live, all animals should have the chance to exhibit their most natural behaviours, in whatever way works for you.

It may be hard for some of us to see nature in action, but that furry friend laying at your feet with always wish to hunt. I love every creature on this earth- even the moths and spiders and leaf hopping bugs that I stop the lawnmower to allow to escape. Even the roadkill I pass as I drive that earns a thought and a memory in honour of the life it once lived.

I love animals so much that my whole life is about them, and I love even the sides others would rather not see. I love them for the perfect beings they are, for the jobs they've been designed by nature and by us to do, and so with every species I own, I learn- their diet, their habitat, their behaviour and more. No matter what, an animal will always exhibit its core tendencies, so rather than stifle them, I choose to encourage their expression in an appropriate form.

Would everyone wish to see this from their dogs? No. But they did their job [hunting a groundhog], and they are happier for it- the thrill on their faces and the ease with which they hunt shows me just what they were made to do. And I thank them for that- as does my foundation."