Question About Husky With Cats?

[nstack1228]

My wife and I are planning on getting a baby husky soon. We have a fenced in front yard and a dog park within 10 minutes from our house, we have a 5 month old Golden Retriever who loves to play with other dogs also so lots of time for the Husky to lose his energy. We also like to go on jobs and are pretty active in our lifestyle. My only concern is the Husky prey drive because we have 2 cats. One of them keeps to herself in our basement and the other is more adventurous and sometimes plays with our Golden. I am hoping if we get a husky as a puppy he will learn that the cats are part of family and not see them as prey but I have read that this is not always true.

 

Has anyone had or has a Husky that gets along with cats or any stories would be a great help.

 

Thank You

 

[musicalxheart]

Hello!  

 

My Husky pup is 9 months old and gets along well with our cats, we've had her since she was 8 weeks old. The trick is to have a safe place for the cats to escape to if they feel threatened or are just fed up with the Husky being rough. In our house our kitchen and laundry room are baby gated off from the rest of the house because we have a 3 year old, and also because we don't want our Husky in those rooms unsupervised. Our cats hang out in the laundry room for most of the day and they feel secure in there since our girl is still a tad rough with them sometimes, so that's where they escape to. 

 

Also, if your Husky pup gets too rough when playing with the cats or starts chasing them, immediately give a firm no and remove the pup from the situation. He/she will need to know that playing too rough with the cats or chasing the cats will get him/her in trouble. Our Husky was very easy to train with the cats, and for the most part they snuggle together and play well together, but I can't say the same for other Huskies. Just do lots of research and create a plan for how you want your Husky to be trained to act around your cats. It isn't impossible for a Husky and a cat or cats to live in the same house, but it will take a lot of patience and correcting to achieve your goal.

[nstack1228]

Hello!

 

My Husky pup is 9 months old and gets along well with our cats, we've had her since she was 8 weeks old. The trick is to have a safe place for the cats to escape to if they feel threatened or are just fed up with the Husky being rough. In our house our kitchen and laundry room are baby gated off from the rest of the house because we have a 3 year old, and also because we don't want our Husky in those rooms unsupervised. Our cats hang out in the laundry room for most of the day and they feel secure in there since our girl is still a tad rough with them sometimes, so that's where they escape to. 

 

Also, if your Husky pup gets too rough when playing with the cats or starts chasing them, immediately give a firm no and remove the pup from the situation. He/she will need to know that playing too rough with the cats or chasing the cats will get him/her in trouble. Our Husky was very easy to train with the cats, and for the most part they snuggle together and play well together, but I can't say the same for other Huskies. Just do lots of research and create a plan for how you want your Husky to be trained to act around your cats. It isn't impossible for a Husky and a cat or cats to live in the same house, but it will take a lot of patience and correcting to achieve your goal.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

We have a babygate that cuts off our kitchen/basement/sunroom that the cats can get away to and also a window that leads into our sunroom that our cats can jump thru if they need to be away. I am glad to hear they can be good with cats cause that is the only thing that has stopped me from really looking at getting a husky. We are training our Golden now and he is doing very well and I've always been good at being strict when needed.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Only thing I can suggest is never leave them alone together I've heard stories of huskies being good with cats for years then one day the owner came home to a dead cat :-( also you might want to hold off till your golden is abit older and where u want him in his training,, training two puppies one of which is a stubborn energetic husky won't be easy at all

[nstack1228]

Only thing I can suggest is never leave them alone together I've heard stories of huskies being good with cats for years then one day the owner came home to a dead cat :-( also you might want to hold off till your golden is abit older and where u want him in his training,, training two puppies one of which is a stubborn energetic husky won't be easy at all

 

Thank you and yeah I have read some stories about that with huskies being good with a cat and one day the drive finally kicking in. I would probably make it to where they can't be in the same room when I am gone especially when the Husky is older and can cause more damage. Our golden is actually almost done with his training and doing very well and I do plan on getting the Husky probably after or around Christmas so he will be older. I am hoping the husky can learn both from our training and by being around the golden and learning from observing.

[HuskyGuerl]

When echo was a pup he grew up with cats. Now he's almost 3 and has not been around a cat in 2 years..we got two kittens a couple weeks ago and he still does great with them and doesn't even acknowledge them in the house..now my two girls just turned a year old and have never been around cats..they are echos children but their mother had a HIGH prey drive! Larka has seemed to take up to the cats and try's to play with them but gets a little rough with her large paws so we have to tell her no...Meeka on the other hand does not care..she's killed a coon, squirrel, rabbit, bird, mouse, cat....all in a year..we are trying to train her to like them but we have to take it slow as she won't snap at them anymore when were holding them but if the are on the ground freely she thinks its fair game to kill....so we have a gate blocking the hallway from the bathroom to our bedroom of as that's were the kittens stay with their letterbox, food and toys..and the dogs get free roam the rest of the house..then when the dogs go outside or to bed the gate comes down and kittens get free roam house..and when dogs want to sleep with us we gate of bathroom and kittens stay in bathroom with dogs rest of house...it's not really about the breed its about the dogs intentions..at first it will probably try and chase it but that's where you come in at correcting plus if the cats old and big enough it may correct also if its quick enough

[Gooseman]

we have no issues between our cat and husky ... although Jack does play a little rough for him at times so as stated before he goes to a safe place to chill out for a bit but eventually comes back

[Andy]

If a husky enters the house as a puppy it will usually get on well with the family cats.

However neighbours cats may still be seen as prey.

[CARRINGTON]

I am going to be honest about my experience.... We rescued Balto from our local humane society when we was a little over three months old. I think he was 14-16 weeks when we got him. We have a cat named Cheyenne and she was here before Balto. When we first brought Balto home he did really well with her and didn't even seem to acknowledge her and our bedroom was baby gated off and she has a huge tower house thing that Balto cannot climb up and get to her that she loves, her food it put someplace high, they are never left alone in the same room, etc. At first Cheyenne was so scared to go anywhere near Balto and stayed hidden most of the time it took around 2 months before she would finally come out but she stayed places where he could not get to her and Balto would try desperately to get to her, so we rewarded for good and he went to time out for bad. If Cheyenne was down on the ground he would chase her, roll her, try to nip at her, etc. and he would go to time out each and every time or go on a short leash. It has been in the last month and we have had Balto for 6 months that Cheyenne will now get down on the floor and that is still a constant struggle, almost daily. He chases after her, runs her out of her litter box, but he is getting a little better. It is exhausting especially when I am trying to do my homework, kick counts, etc. To be honest if Balto were left alone with the cat or left out of his crate while we were gone my cat would be dead or house destroyed. Although they get along maybe 70% of the time he needs constant reminders and constant supervision and to be honest my cat now gets a whole lot less attention which isn't fair to her especially since she was abandoned in a house for who knows how long but long enough for her to have serious health problems when we got her (having to be declawed for medical reasons, having a kidney infection in which 75% of her urine was blood and the vet still doesn't know how she has no kidney damage, the lining of her stomach ruined to the point she has to have special food (she was throwing up odd objects for a week after we got her) having hair so matted it hurt to have it touched she we had to shave her, huge flea infestation, and she was so small she weighed a little under 4 pounds so they thought she was a kitten before checking her teeth and seeing she was a year) so to me that isn't fair to her and we try to have separate time where she can spend time with me without the dog but that is again hard to do. It is a constant battle with the two of them. Not saying you cannot do it but getting a husky when you already have a puppy and 2 cats may not be the best idea. Not only will it be harder to train the husky as they will have a friend that they are much more interested in then listening to you, but you retriever may or may not also decide not to listen and while juggling that and trying to keep him away from the cats while giving each undivided attention may be difficult. Also keep in mind you have two cats that will probably have to be baby gated in a separate room at first where will you put your golden if they need to be separated in the case of a fight? Just questions to think about and I am not saying huskies cannot get along with cats but I do know for me personally it is exhausting and not very fair to my cat who used to have attention at her disposale and sadly there are some nights I just can't give her attention (especially on nights when my husband works his second job and I am home alone, pregnant doing homework and trying to get some housework done, cook dinner, etc.).

[nstack1228]

When echo was a pup he grew up with cats. Now he's almost 3 and has not been around a cat in 2 years..we got two kittens a couple weeks ago and he still does great with them and doesn't even acknowledge them in the house..now my two girls just turned a year old and have never been around cats..they are echos children but their mother had a HIGH prey drive! Larka has seemed to take up to the cats and try's to play with them but gets a little rough with her large paws so we have to tell her no...Meeka on the other hand does not care..she's killed a coon, squirrel, rabbit, bird, mouse, cat....all in a year..we are trying to train her to like them but we have to take it slow as she won't snap at them anymore when were holding them but if the are on the ground freely she thinks its fair game to kill....so we have a gate blocking the hallway from the bathroom to our bedroom of as that's were the kittens stay with their letterbox, food and toys..and the dogs get free roam the rest of the house..then when the dogs go outside or to bed the gate comes down and kittens get free roam house..and when dogs want to sleep with us we gate of bathroom and kittens stay in bathroom with dogs rest of house...it's not really about the breed its about the dogs intentions..at first it will probably try and chase it but that's where you come in at correcting plus if the cats old and big enough it may correct also if its quick enough

 

The husky we actually might get tomorrow morning, we were talking to breeder today, suposably has shown no prey drive. They told us they had 2 females that would chase any small animals but the male would just lay and either ignore them or watch and stay laying. We already have a gate and setting up our plan for when we are not home.

[nstack1228]

we have no issues between our cat and husky ... although Jack does play a little rough for him at times so as stated before he goes to a safe place to chill out for a bit but eventually comes back

 

Yea we need to start doing that even with our golden cause he can get a bit rough but usually when he does I make him come to me and lay down for a bit and that seems to calm him

[nstack1228]

If a husky enters the house as a puppy it will usually get on well with the family cats.

However neighbours cats may still be seen as prey.

 

 

I have actually not seem any cats walking around our neighborhood at all we do have bunnies sometimes on the outside of our fence so that would be the only big worry.

[nstack1228]

I am going to be honest about my experience.... We rescued Balto from our local humane society when we was a little over three months old. I think he was 14-16 weeks when we got him. We have a cat named Cheyenne and she was here before Balto. When we first brought Balto home he did really well with her and didn't even seem to acknowledge her and our bedroom was baby gated off and she has a huge tower house thing that Balto cannot climb up and get to her that she loves, her food it put someplace high, they are never left alone in the same room, etc. At first Cheyenne was so scared to go anywhere near Balto and stayed hidden most of the time it took around 2 months before she would finally come out but she stayed places where he could not get to her and Balto would try desperately to get to her, so we rewarded for good and he went to time out for bad. If Cheyenne was down on the ground he would chase her, roll her, try to nip at her, etc. and he would go to time out each and every time or go on a short leash. It has been in the last month and we have had Balto for 6 months that Cheyenne will now get down on the floor and that is still a constant struggle, almost daily. He chases after her, runs her out of her litter box, but he is getting a little better. It is exhausting especially when I am trying to do my homework, kick counts, etc. To be honest if Balto were left alone with the cat or left out of his crate while we were gone my cat would be dead or house destroyed. Although they get along maybe 70% of the time he needs constant reminders and constant supervision and to be honest my cat now gets a whole lot less attention which isn't fair to her especially since she was abandoned in a house for who knows how long but long enough for her to have serious health problems when we got her (having to be declawed for medical reasons, having a kidney infection in which 75% of her urine was blood and the vet still doesn't know how she has no kidney damage, the lining of her stomach ruined to the point she has to have special food (she was throwing up odd objects for a week after we got her) having hair so matted it hurt to have it touched she we had to shave her, huge flea infestation, and she was so small she weighed a little under 4 pounds so they thought she was a kitten before checking her teeth and seeing she was a year) so to me that isn't fair to her and we try to have separate time where she can spend time with me without the dog but that is again hard to do. It is a constant battle with the two of them. Not saying you cannot do it but getting a husky when you already have a puppy and 2 cats may not be the best idea. Not only will it be harder to train the husky as they will have a friend that they are much more interested in then listening to you, but you retriever may or may not also decide not to listen and while juggling that and trying to keep him away from the cats while giving each undivided attention may be difficult. Also keep in mind you have two cats that will probably have to be baby gated in a separate room at first where will you put your golden if they need to be separated in the case of a fight? Just questions to think about and I am not saying huskies cannot get along with cats but I do know for me personally it is exhausting and not very fair to my cat who used to have attention at her disposale and sadly there are some nights I just can't give her attention (especially on nights when my husband works his second job and I am home alone, pregnant doing homework and trying to get some housework done, cook dinner, etc.).

 

Thank you for your story I do wanna hear the good and bad. I definitaley could see how it can be tiring with all the looking after each cat. The good thing is only one of our cats is usually up and about. Our older cat is kinda an old soul and likes to lay down in our basement and it is really her domain down there so we rarely see her unless they need food. We have a babygate so the dogs can get nowhere near basement, mainly cause that is where our golden likes to have accidents if left unattended. I do plan on doing training 1 on 1 at first with the husky and establishing a connection with the dog before trying to do any type of training with both dogs in the same area. I have done a ton of research, I'm 23 wanted a Husky since I can remember, and know all the ups/downs/and difficulties of this breed as put on paper. I do know that paper and experiance are not the same thing, being a RN a lot of what is in books isn't what happens in real life, so I do look forward to the challenges in a sense.

[Andy]

I have actually not seem any cats walking around our neighborhood at all we do have bunnies sometimes on the outside of our fence so that would be the only big worry.

Yeah, Rabbits would definately be classed as prey.

Keep a tight hold on them when going near those areas.

If they see one they can dash forward very fast and pull out of your grip.

[nstack1228]

Yeah, Rabbits would definately be classed as prey.

Keep a tight hold on them when going near those areas.

If they see one they can dash forward very fast and pull out of your grip.

 

Yea we usually see them in the morning when getting home from work and they are outside of fence, not saying a fence will stop a Husky at all, so definately will make sure to have a hold of the husky if I see anything around

[frankmayfield]

My last husky, Zeke, was a cat killer, but he had zero exposure to them growing up.  Maverick has grown up with Hobbes (cat).  He has only shown the inclination to play with him.  The cat can walk under his legs while he is eating and rub up against him.  I was uncomfortable with the idea of a cat and a husky at first, but it has worked out fine for me. (and Hobbes).

[Elyse]

Personally I wouldn't risk it. I know mine would kill any cat on sight.