The prey drive question comes first
Whether a German Shorthaired Pointer can live with a cat is decided mainly by one inherited trait: prey drive. This breed was built to find, point, and retrieve game, and to dispatch small predators on some traditional work. Many pointers therefore look at a running cat and see the most interesting thing that has happened all day. Chasing is self-rewarding, grabbing can follow chasing, and with an animal this size and speed the consequences for a cat can be fatal in seconds.
That said, the range within the breed is wide. Plenty of pointers live relaxed lives alongside cats they were raised with, ignoring them completely indoors while still hunting keenly outside. The dog's individual history matters more than the breed label, which is why the honest answer to this question is always: this specific dog, this specific cat, managed carefully.
The safest starting points
The best odds come from a puppy raised in the breeder's home with cats, then introduced to your own cat from the first day under supervision. The puppy learns during its socialization window that cats are furniture, not game, and the cat learns the puppy is clumsy rather than predatory. Choose puppy lines whose parents live in houses with cats if this matters to you, and say so to the breeder early.
An adult rescue is a gamble unless the dog has a verified history of living peacefully with cats in a foster home, and even then, your cat is a different animal that may run more, hide less, or behave in ways that trigger chase. A dog that ignored a dog-savvy foster cat may fixate on a nervous one. Never rely on a brief shelter cat test as proof of safety.
How to run the introduction
Start with scent and separation. Keep the dog and cat in different areas with a solid door between them, swap bedding, and let both animals learn the other's smell for several days. Progress to a baby gate or cracked door with a barrier, rewarding the dog heavily for looking at the cat and then choosing to look back at you. Any stiffening, hard staring, whining that escalates, or lunging means you go back a stage, not forward.
First shared-room meetings happen with the dog on a lead and the cat free to leave, never the other way round. Sessions stay short and boring. The cat must always have vertical escape routes, a dog-proof room with its litter tray and food, and freedom from being cornered by an interested young dog. Supervision is absolute for months, and many sensible owners never leave a high-drive pointer alone with a cat for the dog's whole life.
Reading your cat's side of the deal
The cat's welfare is half the equation and the half people forget. A cat that stops eating, hides all day, over-grooms, or starts toileting outside the tray is telling you the arrangement is costing it dearly, even if the dog never lays a paw on it. Confident cats that hold their ground and swat an over-curious puppy often fare far better than timid cats that flee, because fleeing is the exact trigger for chase.
Outdoor cats and neighbor cats are a separate issue. A pointer that is safe with its own cat may still chase any cat outdoors, so secure fencing and a lead near roads protect both your dog and other people's pets.
Keeping the whole household on one plan
Mixed-species success usually fails through inconsistency, when one person lets the dog chase playfully and another enforces calm. For relatives supervising the animals on any given day, profile access can be shared using KinsLe Family Sharing, letting each person you select open the dog's profile directly.