I have a question and need some advice...I have a 14-week old husky who when we got him six weeks ago, was very jitterish and scared and would not let us pet him. He still acts scared, but he isn't as bad as he once was. Anyhow, my question is this: I have a large, declawed 30-lb housecat, 8 years old, that is not scared of the Husky. They chase each other around the house, but the Husky sometimes nips at him. Is my cat in danger once the Husky gets full grown?

I too have a Husky puppy and 2 large Maine Coon cats. At first I thought it was cute that my puppy was sort of "nipping" the cat and then I did a little bit more research.

Huskies have a BIG prey drive and have been known to kill cats (even cats they have grown up with). If you're pup learns to do this now and knows "hey its ok, mom/dad allow me to" then in a few month's when he's full grown and tries to do this, he may accidentally really hurt or kill the cat not meaning to or find it to be a game.

I stopped my pups "cute cat nipping" that I allowed only for the first 2 weeks of owning him and he is now almost 5 months and I'm still correcting it! Stay consistent and don't let it slide unless you don't mind you're kitties maybe one day becoming a Husky snack

Hayden_69,

Thank you I appreciate your advice. My cat, who has been around dogs his adult life (Beagles, Dachshund) but has never really gotten along with them. The Beagles used to chase him and howl at him, making my cat's fur stand up and making him nervous. With my Husky puppy, my cat swats at him and hisses at him, and this just seems to make the Husky more curious. Then there are times where it seems like my cat is actually playing with the Husky– they chase each other around the house and what not, then my cat gets tired of it and starts swatting again. I read somewhere that since I had the cat in the house first, that my Husky might identify my cat as a member of the pack. At the same time, I read other documents where a Husk puppy may get along with a house cat, but when the Husky becomes an adult, the situation may change. My Husky is an indoor dog, and will never be an outside dog. I take him running three times a day, so he gets plenty of exercise and isn't cooped up in the house all day. I just dread the day I may come home and find my cat dead, because my cat shows no fear to my Husky. Only time will tell I guess. Thanks again.

I would advise against leaving the two of them unsupervised for long periods of time... One day you will come back to a fat dog and no cat... Three will grow quickly and its not possible to predict how he will be with the cat when he is big enough to deal some damage.

Also, try not to run your Husky at that age, let him walk at his own pace on his lead and don't take him out for more than 20 minutes at a time. Its not great for his growing bones/joints. The older he gets the more you can exercise him but I wouldn't force him to run with you for any length of time until he is at least a year.

I agree with Erinc! Over exercising you're pup can end up doing more harm than good! When he gets old enough he will surely appreciate those 3 runs and you will more than likely tire before he does!

As far as you're cat situation, my cats grew up with Dalmatians & Yorkies and NEVER have shown aggression until Hayden came into the picture as well. Just make sure they are always in eye sight while together, because it is unpredictable how thing's will end up being. In my case, I'm thinking Hayden will more than likely try to hurt one of my cats eventually, so in that case I will NEVER leave Hayden alone with the cats! I just don't trust him, but I'm hopeful that it will change with time. Right now you're baby is still young, so just keep an eye out on the behavior and watch his body language

Hopefully they grow up to be great friends, but I would still always watch carefully.

I can't remember where I read this, but some lady was saying she had a cat and the Husky grew up with it and everything and put them together in the basement together while company was there or something and she opened the door to find the cat dead. ...

Just be very careful

My first two huskies were raised with the cat already in the house. When I added Blink (who grew to be 20lbs), Shania would pounce at him and Shadow became his BFF. In fact I really believe that Shadow was Blink's dog. The dogs passed away and Blink is still here with the new pups. Stormy chased him when he was younger but has pretty much stopped. In fact they sleep together at night. Sollie still chases and plays a little rough, but I stop her with either a "leave it" or a squirt bottle. Blink will sometimes initiate play with Sollie. BTW Blink is declawed also. Now the two cats that have adopted me and live outside, Stormy goes on full prey alert. I would never let him alone around them. I don't even tie him out unsupervised because of them even for a minute.