Cat + Husky = Death?

[Midna793]

Ok. So I have seen everywhere that if you have a husky that you should not have a cat. Because huskys have a high hunting instinct and will likely hurt smaller animals. Is this true? Does any one have a cat as well? Also what are good ways to get your husky to not hunt that cat later? Right now my puppy is 8 weeks old. I'm hoping that they will be fine.

[Andy]

If you raise a \husky from a puppy in the same house as cats then they SHOULD be ok with your cats.

However the neighbours cats are still fair game.

 

Bringing an adult husky into a house with cats, unless you can keep them separate

cats may get eaten.

[Removed #5]

As Andy said, bringing an adult Husky into a house with cats is asking for a really bad experience.  Cat sees dog, cat runs, dog chases.  We all know that's a fact of life, when you're talking about a normal dog with normal fur the cat has 20 good reasons for the dog to leave it alone - with the normal Husky fur, such is not the case and of the Husky catches the cat, regrettably, normally it's history.

 

Again, as Andy said, if you bring a Husky puppy into the house with an adult cat, the cat has a chance to instill some good, natural fear into the Husky that should last as he grows up and gets bigger.  Sarah, I believe it was, found that such is not always the case. 

 

If you have the two of them together you must give the cat safe places that it can get to that the dog can't.  A door part way open that it can get through that the dog can't, a set of shelves that the cat can get on top of but Husky can't reach - you get the idea.

[stormchaser09]

As everyone said already, it takes very careful management and a strong cat who won't run. Our cat comes on walks with us at a safe distance ( he seems to know how long their leads are) and in the house he sits still and lets them sniff and if they get too close they get a warning scratch on the nose.- no blood drawn yet. BUT we never, ever leave them unattended.

[Bambi92]

Agree with everyone you do have to be careful with them.

Sasha (husky) and delta (cat) have free roam of the house even when we are not home not saying this is a good idea they have been together for 4-5years now and the only one that's had a bit of blood drawn on them was Sasha because she got to close to delta and she whacked her on the nose. They chase each other around the house delta has advantage because Sasha won't go into two room of the house because of the vacuum and my sons bunk bed and delta knows this somehow.

That's what mine are like though a lot of huskies would of hurt or possibly killed delta by now.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Even if u raise them together there's still a chance that when the husky is older the instinct will take over

[Talaboo]

Although I extensively researched huskies before I got Tala I didn't believe how wired in their hunt/chase responses were! Literally every walk we go on she catches something ranging from 2 shrews in one go and a very close call with an adult female deer. Its insane to see her hunt but also admirable. A cat wouldn't stand a chance.

[sparrow63]

Yeah just the other day Aurora caught a bird. They have also come VERY close to catching the squirrel that lives in our backyard. Aurora will look out the side window before she goes outside to see where the squirrel is so she can run towards it. Aurora and Pasha have also started working together with Pasha running to where the squirrel is and Aurora running towards another area so Pasha can scare the squirrel toward her. Its pretty interesting to watch (and quite funny). I will have to see if I can get it on camera one of these times!

[Talaboo]

When tala catches something its pretty much injured to the point of needing to be "sent on its way to our lord" so until whatever it is stops squealing, I let her play with it which doesn't last long before she drops it for me. The other day however she caught a huge rat and she gave me a long hard look before bursting it with her teeth and swallowing it whole!!!!!! The look on her face when she had blood pouring from her mouth was scary!! The look on her face a few hours later in the garden when it made its way through her was interesting!

[valkyries]

can't add as never had a cat but i know if i did it wouldn't be safe with my 2 

[Stephanie Gonzalez]

I do agree that you have to be really careful, but i think as long as they grow up together it should be fine (:

Altho i guess it might depend also on the dog and the cat? Because whenever i walk Shadow and we encounter a cat, he doesnt go after it. He either keeps walking or just stares then walks. Most cats we pass dont really move from where theyre at either. and even for those cats who walk away, Shadow still doesnt try to go after them [emoji12]

[valkyries]

it does depend on the dog as i doubt even if my Loki grew up with a cat it would still become dinner lol 

[NOBELHOWLUC49]

I have a cat who was there before Husky and German shepperd arrived (oh and 4 rabbits and 4 guinea pigs).  Husky looks at cat--- cat spits and hisses and  chases Husky up the garden......  Lots of photos of Husky and Cat (Ben) sleeping on the bed together.   German Shepperd (Bella) and cat..... if she could only see him it would not end well for the cat........

[Sarah]

short answer, no  i learnt the hard way, she was 10 and lived with my boys for 6 years  

 

[wesburwj]

My dog and cat grew up together, but I still keep them separate. Kitty in the big bedroom set, and puppy takes the living room and yard. They got along fine, but we can't face the possible consequence. We got two furry angels, fact is they never meet each other

[Stormy]

[TheSimms]

Our Kira is 18 months old. She came to us 6 months ago and had been brought up with small kids and cats in the home. Even though she'd been brought up with cats she was obviously still curious of the three cats in our house. The cats were absolutely horrified when the dog came!

 

At first we kept Kira caged for short times while we were out and at night to allow the cats to roam in safety and for all to get used to each other. Once they all became a bit familiar with each other we allowed them all to roam free. It took about 2-3 months to get to this point. During this time there was the odd dog-cat chase.

Two out of thee of the cats weren't really bothered by the dog so the dog was able to get used to them much quicker. The third cat was very shy and when he did make an appearance he would see the dog and make a dash for it. Obviously Kira would chase him but now they sit near to each other.

I suppose always be cautious, maybe we are just lucky that they all tolerate each other.

[DamirNYK]

They can get along, but it's not an easy process.

I have two cats and Kira and it took us several months before I could be relaxed with them together. Now they just sort of ignore each other, sniff a bit from time to time and are cool.

 

The even more important thing is that Kira is that way ONLY with my two cats (and one neighbors but he's scared of her anyway), every other cat is being chased at first sight!!!

[Alicia Doyle]

Alans dad had a cat, and we started renting his house, he moved out so we could move in, but the cat stayed, this wrecked my head, he expected us to keep feeding it, i hated this cat and i love cats, penny of course had moved with us, lets just say the cat was lucky to last a few months, penny sorted out the cat problem, not that i would wish that Upon a car

[Austinville]

It can be done, but you need to be confident that you can read your husky - that you will know exactly what the reaction will be to the cat. I've had cats and huskies for over 25 years.  You must be able to predict what your husky will do in every situation, and what your cat will do in every situation. Corrections must be made each and every time boundaries are crossed. Any instances without correction are an invitation for the action to continue.  Without exception. You must be willing to take and accept the risk and should the absolute worst happen, realize it was YOU who put both cat and husky in the situation.

 

That said, I have two huskies currently, and one cat. Said animals may interact within my home. Never outside (all rules change when you are outside!) Huskies are crated during the day when we are not home. Cat has free reign of the home with escape routes. Strange cats are 'free game' - rules don't apply to those the huskies don't live with.

 

Unless you have complete confidence and are willing to put in the time it takes, I wouldn't recommend it. Accidents do happen (as in Sara and Marcs instance). There was no one to blame, but that was a horrific situation that Sara/Marc will never forget - and that was six years together.

 

A year and a half ago, I rescued a little female husky. She is eager to please and well-behaved. She plays with the cat every day. Despite that, I would never allow them to have roam of my home without supervision. The rescue has a tendency to get out of hand if I don't pay close enough attention. My four year old, on the other hand, is another story. She is too dignified to stoop to playing with the cat at this point. But that too has an issue, because if the cat would attempt to play with the husky's toy - all h*ll would break loose.

 

Situation, reaction, correction, personality........all play a role.

[akane]

We have Japanese Spitz breeds. Prey drive through the roof and bred to hunt any and all game. We accomplish breeding hedgehogs, rabbits, and chinchillas plus had cats and have chickens again. My husband is allergic to cats. Never ever ever let them chase what you want to keep alive. Ever. Keep them leashed and spend hours upon hours teaching them how to interact. Then expect some to still not be safe in a room with a loose small animal. Haru has chicken killing down to an art form. Azami though can be trusted supervised. Sometimes loose and sometimes on a long leash. I just showed Niji a dwarf rabbit and chinchillas today. The bold rabbit was a little scary and she treated the chins like fluffy tailed puppies she wants to play with. It's a good start before she is big enough to do much damage. I don't think I'll ever be able to bring in an adult dog. Especially since we keep getting Spitz. We have to so carefully raise them.