Hi Everyone!!

I am new to the forum. I just had some minor questions regarding the breed. I feel in love with them when a neighbor got one. He was so friendly, playful and beautiful.

I have been researching the breed. I have read that they are VERY active and require lots of attention or they will become destructive. I live in an apartment and I have an 8 year old tabby cat. I didn't know how the breed would do in an apartment and with a cat.

If I choose to get a husky, should I get a female or male? My cat is female and I didn't know if the sex would matter. I want to lean towards a female since previously I have had problems with the boy dogs marking their territory inside.

Also a little about me, I have had TONS of pets from bunnies, cats, rats, dogs, hamsters and turtles. All shapes and sizes. My most recent dog was a male pug who could barley walk around the block. He was a fat guy, and not active at all. I am a runner and would love to have a companion to run with... hence the husky.

Anyways, before I start to really ramble on, if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to comment! Thank you! :D

My Mom, younger sister and I live in a 2br(approx. 850-900 sq. ft.) apt with 2 cats and our husky Phoebe, and they do quite well together. Our cats are Kiki(she'll be 9 this month) and Mikey(5 this month.)

Kiki in general has the attitude of as long as the dog doesn't bother her she's fine, she is indoor cat, and usually just keeps to herself.

Mikey on the other hand is whole other story, he's indoor/outdoor, and practically thinks he's a dog. If I'm outside taking the dog to go to the bathroom and he's out, within a minute he's trotting his way toward us and rubs on the dog. On walks he usually walks about 20 paces behind us but follows all the way to the end and back to the apartment(Imagine that! A cat who goes on walks). This past week I've caught him 3 times in Phoebe's cage either sniffing around or eating her food. He seems very comfortable but sometimes he can be too comfortable, if he gets too close to the dog when she is in a playful mood she likes to pounce and nibble on him and he'll just lay there crying until we intervene.

One thing that is a MUST is making sure your husky has a cage, it'll make your cat feel more secure and in control if the know that at times the dog is away and can't bother her.

About the gender thing we have had both boy and girl dogs I don't think it has ever bothered the cats, but I do think our boy Mikey has maybe bonded better with girl dogs.
Good Luck!

Oh and as long as you keep them(the husky) physically and mentally simulated, it'll curb any destructive behavior. But around 12:30/1 everyday she has to take a nap for about 2hrs even if she did absolutely nothing that morning, she's always tired then for sometimes no reason.

It's doable, I live in a small apartment with two cats and my 5.5 month old husky. I think the most important thing is to make sure you are prepared for the breed in general and then realize that living in an apartment will make it twice as difficult. You'll never be able to just let the dog out in the yard to go to the bathroom, if you get a puppy, that means every half hour to hour you will be putting your shoes on, carrying the puppy down the stairs, and waiting for him/her to go to the bathroom. Crate training is a must, as Keri mentioned.

My cats had never lived with a dog, so they detest Dizzy. I have trained him to ignore them, and so far, its been relatively peaceful. If they hiss at him, he turns around and goes into his crate.

Also keep in mind that if you are looking for a running buddy, you should look at adopting an adult. A puppy won't be able to run with you until he/she is at least a year old. If you adopt an adult, you will need to make sure that the dog was tested around cats.

Finally, potty training a puppy in an apartment is a challenge. Mostly because of finding a balance of protecting the pup from infectious diseases (parvo) and working to get the pup house broken because you don't have your own space that you know is disease free. Another challenge for me, was that we live on the 3rd floor, no elevator. He wasn't able to make it down the stairs without having an accident until he was about 4 months, so I had to carry him.

I don't really think gender will matter one of my cats hates all other animals, including our female cat. Our female cat is afraid of all other animals, so it wouldn't have made a difference if I had gotten a female puppy. I got a male puppy because I wanted a male puppy.

I think you need to do a lot more research on the breed before you decide whether or not you can handle owning one in general. I don't want to be a debbie downer, but they are intense and you should know what you're getting into. Your life will revolve around tiring your dog out and adjusting your lifestyle to the dog for a while. How much do you know about their trainability?

Also, what is your family situation like? Do you live alone, or will there be anyone that can also participate in care of the dog? What are your work hours? How long will your husky be alone during the day? How much of your time are you willing to devote to your dog? How much do you run and in what weather conditions?

I live in a condo too. No cats though. My main concern with our 7mth old, Gus, was his howling and crying when we left his house. After we adopted him, we realized he had separation anxiety... not uncommon for young huskies! We started with daycare while we worked on desensitization, and now have him staying at home by himself. We wrote a letter to all the tenants on our floor to let them know about his "issue", and to bare with us through the next couple months as we worked on this with them. They have all been very understanding and sometimes ask how he's doing. Gus really does love to talk. He howls when he's alone, he yells at you when it's dinnertime, etc. So that is something to consider if you live in a condo/apartment.

Our routine right now is wake up, potty break, play, leave for work, husband comes home at lunch to potty break and play, and then another potty break after work, and then another potty break before bed. We are hoping to just get a dog walker soon! But as of right now, our boy is still a bit too anxious to have to make the dog walker deal with his "welcome home" craziness!

My boyfriend and I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, 1100 sqft and we have both a kitten and husky. We took in the kitten when Anna was around 10 months old, they are both females. We followed advice on another forum on introducing cats and huskies slowly. Sahara of course was scared of Anna, and Anna's attention could be drawn away from Sahara even in the beginning. We made sure to give Sahara lots of escape routes just in case, such as cat trees and I put up gates. Sahara gives Anna baths and they play together. Sahara will meow, very loudly, if Anna is ignoring her. They both want to play with each other. But they do very well together but Sahara is a kitten. Sahara is a kitten so she loves playing so I think it depends on the cats personality as well. But not all huskies are like Anna, so I would look into either a puppy or a husky in a rescue who does well with cats.

Now we also went through separation anxiety with Anna. We lived on the corner, on the bottom floor, so we only had neighbors above us. But when we moved in I told her about Anna and how she had anxiety. I also told her to tell me if Anna was ever too loud or if it bothered her and we would have to figure something else out. I think she appreciated me letting her know ahead of time. But she never complained. So I would advise you to let your neighbors know. Potty training was easier for us because we were on the ground floor. We also moved in when she was 4 months old, so most of her potty training was at our previous house.

I agree with Jen above about looking for an adult if you want a running buddy, just make sure it is good with cats. They are a lot to handle, and I mean our lives revolve around Anna. We do everything with Anna, she needs constant playtime and constant attention. I trained her by myself and I make sure she gets her mental stimulation everyday. Huskies are stubborn, Anna is stubborn and if she doesn't want to do something she won't. It is like dealing with a child. Just make sure you do tons of research and understand it is not easy. They need physical and mental stimulation all the time, and if they don't get it they will make sure you know it.

Make sure your apartment accepts huskies! Even when places say they are pet friendly, doesn't mean they are husky friendly. We are moving in a couple of months, and started to put feelers out for places that allow huskies and no one has yet accepted them, so keep that in mind for now, and how hard its going to be in the future to find a place.

And I agree with everyone else, my life 100% revolves around my dogs, although I love it that way, it takes a lot of patience and sacrifice to have huskies!

Ellen,

I will be in a similar apartment. It’s 2 bed and about 1100 sq ft. I already have a few cat tree houses for my cat because she loves to look at the birds outside. I was thinking about getting the extra tall baby gates that have the cat hole at the bottom so she could run freely or run from a dog if she needed too.

The neighbor next door has a husky and I’m sure if I let them know we were getting a dog they would be okay with it. But I would always let them know to call me if there was a problem.

I wouldn’t make a puppy run long distance with me. I would wait until they were grown.

And as for time, I have all the time in the world for my animals. I don’t have kids so they are my kids.

Erica,

I checked with our complex and they are totally fine with it. We have 3 huskies already that live there and one is next door. As for future living arrangements, the next place will be a house with a yard. That’s in the works and will happen in less than 2 years.

I think it takes a lot of patience for any animal you have. Some are just more high maintenance than others. But I really look forward to having a dog. I miss having them... The last one I had was a pug and the ex took him and then before that I had a border collie, Australian shepherd and rat terrier.

To clarify, a puppy shouldn't be running with you at all. A good rule of thumb for walking is 5 min per month of age, 6 month old puppy = 30 min walk. No structured running period (romping around/playing on grass or in the house is different). It will cause joint damage and long term health issues.

We actually decided on a gate without the cat door because some people said their dogs could get through there. And considering Anna got her head stuck in a recliner we decided it was best with no door, she would be the dummy to get stuck. We got a really tall gate that kitty jumps over. And it is in a spot where Anna has no room to run and jump over. So it works for us.

Jen,

Just to clarify, I wasn't planning and making a puppy run. I know they have hip problems and stuff. I wouldn't want to make that any worse. But for future runs.... months and months and months out it would be nice to have a running buddy.

Ellen,

I have a very lazy fat cat. she is about 18lbs and I doubt she would be able to jump over a tall gate. So I will have to try and see what works best. Even if that means keeping them separate which may in the long run be best.

Loki is getting better with my cats, but it is work and I have feeling he will always be crated when we leave. After 2 months he still watches them and occassionally follows or them. He likes to lick them a lot and it makes me nervous. I got him when he was like 13 weeks. I probably would target 8-10 weeks though doing it again. He was 25lbs when I got him and more energetic. If you go to breeder maybe you can find one who has cats so from birth on there is exposure.

My female shepherd mix has always been tolerant of cats and very gentle. Loki and my lab are males and more into chase with higher prey drives. From what I have seen in my limited experience and read, maybe females are easier with cats. I think it took 2-3 years to teach my lab not to try to retrieve cats. He as a puppy was worse then I think loki is but we are older now too and working with him more.

Jessica,

I had read that females are better with cats than males. But then again you never really know. I plan on getting a puppy early on.... as soon and they are able to part with the momma.

I have never had a dog that didn't get along with cats and vice versa. I shall see what happens if I decide to get a dog. Thank you for the input!