Hello, my name is Misty and last week my husband and I purchased a purebred husky. Luckily I seen a post someone placed on Facebook before it was deleted. The woman's brother had an akc registered Siberian husky that they had purchased as a puppy two years ago (he turns 2 on December 22) but because of legal blindness and limited movement he knew Zoey deserved better. The first few days he was hyper and constantly wanted to go for walks as he got familiar with his new neighborhood. Over the last couple of days he has really quieted down. He still has his moments of wanting to play but only for about 5 to 10 minutes. He does bug us for a walk but only when he sees us up. It has snowed and he loves walking in the snow and colder weather. ZoZo, as we call him, loves to get on the kitchen counter and we are working on trying to get him to stay down. Unfortunately we do have a cat that I inherited 8 years ago when my grandma passed. I'm nervous about what could happen so right now she is shut in the part of the house we rarely use and he is in here with us. I have been slowly taking him in the other part of the house to see her and vice versa. Is there a chance I can get him to not hurt her? I worry because the previous owner didn't stop him when he chased and caught squirrels and birds.

I'm not a fan of huskies and cats unless the husky is a puppy and the cat is an adult. Others here do have cats and huskies that either coexist or actually play. Me? long long LONG time ago, my first husky killed my kitten before I could stop it.

Hi Misty!! Most seem to calm down - at least some - after they begin to feel comfortable in a new home so that's not too unexpected, though with only a week under your belts he may still have surprises in store for you.

I brought two kittens home and have three Huskies in residence so, like you, I was concerned. I live in a trailer so it's a "straight shot" from one end to the other and I out up a gate that the cats could get through - to safety - that the dogs couldn't. The kittens would gradually come to the gate and then run when a dog came up on the other side - - now they all have the run of the house and it's not unusual to find a cat curled up in front of the fire with one of the dogs ...

BUT ... different strokes with different dogs. If you just dump them in together, then the cat's gonna run and, naturally, the dog's gonna chase. If you can let them sniff (and scratch) without getting hurt you stand a good chance of them being friends. Cats that are recognized as part of the family aren't as apt to get chased (killed) as a stray or squirrels and birds ...

On the other hand some Huskies just naturally consider cats as toys - and the gate gives them a chance to get away. Add to that that a cat has some good defense mechanisms that dogs don't seem to like and at the very least they can be taught to co-exist.

I probably wouldn't ever trust a husky unsupervised with a cat. I have two huskies, a mutt, and a cat. Mutt is fine with the cat but the huskies haven't been. Big male might in time come around but he definitely would like to chase her. Bottom line it depends on the dog and it depends on the cat. A cat that will stand its ground and swat will have a decent chance of drawing the line in the sand, unless the dog is very obsessive. My female hard core stares cats down. She has a high prey drive and she will never be okay with a cat. A dog that can look away and get bored and give up after a while may come around.

Thank you everyone. Our cat is an old cat and has lived in this house longer than us.  She was my grandma's cat and we added onto the house to care for grandma.  My grandma passed away 8 years ago and we bought the house.  I let them meet only holding the halter when ZoZo gets nose to nose.  The cat is not a runner, she will turn and do this quadruple boxing punch with her front paws (she is declawed).  They were not separated the first night because she tends to hide in kitchen window but when I found ZoZo front paws on the counter and the cat frozen behind curtain I decided time to separate.  I wondered if ZoZo can smell the cat's scent and knows that she has been here for a long time. Lord knows that cat has peed enough around the house and while I have cleaned it with special cleaner I'm sure there is still a smell there no matter how small.  It's actually funny because since the cat punched ZoZo he acts interested in her but does not get too close especially when she does that low growl.  While ZoZo has not acted aggressive with her I'm still not going to trust it yet.  Especially since he keeps stealing my water bottles when I am just in the other room.(His former owner informed me empty water bottles were his favorite toy)  It's amazing how quiet and sneaky he can be for such a big dog.  While he is not destroying the house he is the nosiest dog I have ever owned.  He even stuck his head in my mom's purse and nosed around until he seemed satisfied to know what it was or contained.  I have been warned that he has been known to open doors, windows, and refrigerators, but so far we have not experienced it yet.  I must say I worry about him getting enough exercise since it is cold.  My sister is a runner and plans to run with him in warmer weather because with a wind chill of 10 degrees it is understandable why she's waiting.  I was raised to just let the dogs out to run around the yard (my parents live on 2 and a half acres and we had Great Danes or Old English Mastiffs), but everyone of my friends and family who owns a husky give me this look and say, "Don't do that!"  So twice now my husband has taken ZoZo out to a country road put him on the cable and drives along beside him while he runs.  While I was hesitant at first because I am a worrier of everything that could go wrong, it turned out my hubby had really thought it through and was safe.  And ZoZo seems to love it.  I was shocked at how fast he can run, but he does stop just under a mile.  I do have a power chair because of my limitations but have not used it because I do not push it.  But since the power chair can go up to 30mph I figured it could keep up with him, so I will be getting new batteries for it.

A lot can go wrong running a dog next to a car. I would not do it no matter how safe it might seem. Takes one time, one slip, and the dog will be dead on a tire. It's also very difficult to tell if a dog needs to stop or slow down while you are trying to watch the road and could end up doing damage to his joints and paw pads if you don't catch the signs of needing to stop. It's safer for all involved to just put in the time and walk him on your own two feet or next to something quieter, smaller, and less apt to kill him if he sees a squirrel and dart in front/under it. For running it's best to use a bike and let him pull it at his pace. You can hear if something goes wrong for him on a bicycle/cart/motor chair. If you are limited on your exercise ability it maybe worth looking into doggy daycare to take him to on occasion to help burn off some energy and to keep him socialized with dogs, or even see if there are lure coursing events or barn hunt near you that you could get involved in to assist in keeping him stimulated.

Thank you for that concern. I completely agree and our neighbor has offered is golf cart until either my sister can get out and run or I get my chair running. I wish I could let him run around my mom's property but it is surrounded by farm ground and easy for them to get turned around and lost. And with what I have heard huskies are explorers. My friend owns two and she not only offered a playdate but also suggested a local dog park that they take their dogs to and says it is very good. As I said when the weather warms up a little my sister will be taking him running with her and I think he'll enjoy that because she did it before with her own dog but her dog is too old to keep up, he can barely move sometimes.

As for cat - dclawd cat is not saf arond a hsky, sorry to say. Dfinitly kp sparatd.

As for th farm grond - I wold worry lss abot hsky gtting lost and mor abot hsky sing som crittr and taking off aftr it.

Damn kyboard has two (woops, mak that 3) non-working kys. Hop yo can mak this ot