It's been nearly two years since my cat Oscar went to join the star clan. I've had cats in my home all my life on and off, but this two year gap has been one of my longest times without one. I've been considering possibly getting another one but before I do I was wondering if anyone out there had any helpful advice on bringing a cat into my husky's life. I've read lots of different articles and books on helping dogs and cats adjust to living in the same home, but I'd also like to hear a little from someone with first hand experience.

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With Yuki I've pretty much known since she was 4 months old that I wasn't going to get a cat, her prey drive was strong and I didn't want to try to train out whats in her nature. Now that I have Link, I definitely know I'm never getting a cat. If he sees a cat out back he focuses on it so insanely that I have to drag him inside while he's barking and crying. I really have no advice as some sibes are okay with cats and some have such incredibly high prey drive like Link that they can't even see one without making a scene.

I've heard it's a lot harder to bring a cat into a home with a husky already living there but I'm sure it can be done..with a lot of hard work. Especially if he/she isn't used to cats to begin with (high prey drive kicks in). I have a 9 year old cat and 6 months ago decided to bring home my wonderful Selena and to this day I still have to break them apart because Selena is too rough with the cat. I didn't really want a puppy to begin with, I wanted an older dog but because of having a cat I decided to go with a puppy so we wouldn't have any bad spills! I've been told if you want a cat and a husky, the easiest way is when the husky is still a puppy so he/she can learn to accept the cat as a pack member and not prey. My pup definitely knows the difference from our cat to feral cats outside. She plays with our cat verses chases/hunts ferals.

On a second note, I brought home a second husky a few months back and let's just say the only thing she wanted to do was EAT my cat. She just about put a hole in one of my doors to get my cat by the throat. So I would definitely say it all depends if your pup is cat friendly or not!

If you chose to get a kitty I wish you the best of luck, no home is complete w/o one!!

If the husky was a small puppy id say no problem but an older husky may be trickier. We had our kitten one week before the pup got here and they grew up together. I'd suggest either figuring out a way to introduce the cat as a pack member or you could try letting your husky stay somewhere else for a few days (maybe a family members house) and then bring the cat in to get him aquainted. Then, bring the husky back to your house with the idea of introducing him back into your "pack" with the cat. By then, the cat will have his/her smell on a few things and you can even have you or your roommate/significant other hold the cat and welcome y'all home. That might help signal that the cat is part of the pack and family. Not game.

laura56083 wrote:

If you chose to get a kitty I wish you the best of luck, no home is complete w/o one!!

It really doesn't lol. I got the idea of him maybe doing ok with a cat when there were kittens at petsmart, and he did really well when he saw them and didn't try anything at that point in time. Granted it was public space and not his turf, thank you all for the suggestions and tips. I'll surely think long and hard about it before I decide on if I want another kitty or not.

Best of luck! Keep us updated on progress!!

Btw is that dragon in your picture there? I know its a bit off topic but oh man he's grown! They grow up so fast.


Also, Will do! I still haven't decided exactly how I want to go about it yet.

SkylerWest wrote:

Btw is that dragon in your picture there? I know its a bit off topic but oh man he's grown! They grow up so fast.

That's him!! He is so big haha (65 lbs) and he thinks he still a little pup. I come across pics on my phone when he was really little and fit in my arms and it just makes me wanna cry! They are like kids haha.. growing up so fast :[

I think Anakin might be a smaller male. He's around 40lb at the moment.

I love his coloring.. I keep thinking about a red for our next "pack member" 40 lbs is actually supposed to be normal I think. Dragon's sire was 75 lbs so I think that's why he is so large :/ he's a horse though.. I'd take the 40 lbs anyday!!

I was expecting him to get to about 20in and 50lb but he is lingering around 18in tall and 40lb.

I would agree with what others have said. It is much harder to bring a cat home to an older dog. We got Pongo after our 2 cats and he gets along with at least one of them. The other he gets to run away for fun. That being said, I still had to train him as a puppy to "leave it" when he got too rough. He still gets carried away today and has lived with them for 4 years now. I think he just forgets how big he is sometimes and wants to pounce on them but ends up squishing them lol. I would also have to say it depends on how high the prey drive of your dog is. maybe go to a friend's house who has a cat and see how it goes?