Those of you that have both huskies and cats, how do they get along? Did your dog grow up from a puppy with cats or were they introduced later in their life (ie. if you adopted an older dog)? I know most people crate their dog when they are not supervised, but if you don't, do you separate you husky and cat when you aren't there or at night when you can't watch them?

We are preparing for a puppy and have one cat. He's been around my parent's Brittany spaniel and does fine, but I would never trust them alone together, mostly because their dog hasn't been raised with cats. I know some people who leave their dogs and cats alone together, but the idea makes me nervous because accidents happen in two seconds, and a dog is always going to be a dog.

both my girls do good with my cat. Colby was an adoption and ignores her for the most part and Jinx loves to play with/lick the cat.

I've had one dog (a foster) who was good with cats and two dogs who are not so good. All dogs have been adoptions.

I would never, even if they were good, leave the two alone unsupervised. I would make sure a door or crate is keeping my dog away from my cats.

Some dogs are great and never have an issue- they even play with cats. However, some aren't good if the cats run-- it triggers their prey drive. Others are only good indoors with cats, outside they are fair game. It depends on the dog.

My cats and my huskies do very well together. My dogs do have run of the house, but they are blocked off from the kitchen and basement. The cats have a little kitty door to escape to those areas. The huskeroos cannot get through, despite trying a bajillion times. It has taken a lot of reinforcing, but Cato is finally getting and Delilah actually likes the cats. Any given day at least one cat is snuggling with her.

Cato's issue is that he loves to play with the cats, but he doesn't get that he can't play with the kitties like he can with Delilah. He listens rather well, but it does get annoying constantly reminding him. You do what you have to.

Cato we got as a puppy, Delilah we rescued at the age of one.

Quote :

It depends on the dog.

This.


Cats and dogs have always lived together in my family. The period I lived in an apartment was the first time I went without a dog for any length of time (Nothing against the people still in apts on the forums .... We just wanted a backyard and didn't have one in those places).


Generally speaking the ones raised from puppies around cats do much better not seeing them as prey, if you help enforce the cats position in your household. It also tends to give the cats a decent amount of time to accustom themselves with the new addition as a fearful cat will simply stimulate the dog's prey drive.

I grew up with Chows, I now have Huskies. Both can have extremely high prey drives for dogs. proper training and being proactive have allowed us to never have a problem, and a couple of my dogs have had free roam unsupervised around cats.

The cats always have/had an escape the dogs couldn't follow, and those dogs that didn't have 100% confidence in were not put in a position they could fail.


Even under all the perfect conditions however dogs will be dogs and cats will be cats. It depends on the dog in the end what will happen. Some just never get it, and kill cats even after doing everything you can to desensitize them.

Best bet: Contact a rescue and find a dog who needs a home that you know is already good with cats. Set up some meetings and check to see the dog is right for your household and the animals and people contained therein. Training a puppy up to be accepting is very do-able, but a rescue is almost a sure thing. They want these dogs to find their new home and would never lie to someone about cat prey drive.

~Chris~

My huskies do fine with the cat...Embry we got at 11 weeks and him and the cat were best friends, even rough housed together. Zoey we got at 3.5 months, she chases him if he's running around and will pounce on him but he just plays back with her. Ares we got at 5 months and he ignores the cat completely.

Zoey & Ash


Embry & Ash

It truly does depend on the dog, but it's also how the cats are introduced, how the cats react, and how diligent and tough you are. Most to all of my dogs have been fine immediately (within the first week) with the cats. Odin- not so much. It took a good 2 months for him to be able to come in/out of the cat area and not react at all. He will lay with one of them now and it doesn't even phase them.

BUT! My cats are very very dog savvy. They don't run from the dogs. They hold their ground and will hit/spit/bite if the dogs don't get it.

If I was to bring them around cats who would take off at the sight of them- they would chase. This doesn't mean my cats don't run around the house- they do. But they don't run from the dogs. It makes a big difference.

My two Husky puppies love to torture my cat's! They will chase them, bark at them, and even try to play bite them. They aren't being aggressive, just playing with them like they are their litter mates. I have to constantly yell at them to "leave it"! I leave my pups alone with my cat's all the time. I wouldn't for very long periods, just because I don't trust them 100%. If the cat's try coming into the kitchen, I seriously think they would be eaten. Outside the kitchen they are fine though (mine are extremely possessive over the kitchen and guard it, which is a terrible habit I'm trying to break).

I have encountered a couple of cats while walking Raven. Fortunately they have all been smart enough to hunker down and stay still. A lot of times Raven doesn't even notice them or react at all. If the cats ran though...oh boy

My cats are somewhat tollerant of Freya. Freya wants to play with them, jump all over them etc. Saxon my old boy (7), I think he understands that she is just a baby and is a little more accepting of her antics, but Julie isnt a fan at all.

As you can see from my avatar, Saxon is quite tolerant of Freya - To a degree.

Libby we got at 5 weeks and she never minded the cats, they would lay and snuggle with her, Lucy on the other hand, we got when she was almost 5 months and thinks that the one cat I have left can play like the other dog, so she pounces at her and did manage to bite her, she had a bad infection but has healed great. I do keep them seperated, just incase of the unknown.
I have tried the leave it approach, but the cat has claws and has given Lucy a bloody nose many times but that just provokes her more to want to chase and play.
In my mind I keep them both safe by keeping them seperated, I dont want another accident.
Good Luck

I have 2 cats and a 12 week old puppy.

Here is my experience:
Okami loves the cats, and although the cats were originally very curious and friendly towards her, they now hate her. Dogs are dogs. They will run around and have these spazzy moments. Okami accidentally stepped on our older cat one day, and it's been hell ever since. If one cat hears the other one's yowl, they immediately run down the stairs and gang up on Okami together! It was funny at first, but not anymore. It's starting to become dangerous since my cats keep aiming for her eyes. Since the cats have become aggressive towards her, it's also starting to stir up Okami's prey drive, as she'll give chase after being beaten by 2 tiny cats. Of course, I stop this, but because of this, I would NEVER leave them alone together. I don't know who will kill who, but someone will get hurt.

I have this pet gate with a smaller cat-gate at the bottom of it so the cats can come and go at will. This is a really useful way to separate them.

My partner seems to think that the cats understand that Okami is still a puppy so they will be kind to her... She also has this strong belief that Okami instinctively knows not to hurt the cats because they're little. That is a very human way to think (I love people who are good at heart, but don't neglect nature). If I were a cat, I wouldn't care if it was a baby or not. I'd only want to protect myself. Same with a dog. It requires training, and even so, you're forcing her to fight with genes.

I agree that the dog will play a big part in how this all goes, but I think it is also important to consider the cat's personality here. My cats have both been well socialized with big dogs. They are not afraid of dogs. They know how to behave around dogs. As such, when Saphire came home the first time I knew exactly how each cat would react. I knew they would put Saphire in her place without hurting her. Now everyone gets along.

I think its important that every animal has a "safe haven" in your home. For the cat's its the basement or my bedroom and for the dog its the crate. This way if someone is bothering them, be it another cat/dog or kids or something else, they have a safe place to be.

arooroomom wrote:

It truly does depend on the dog, but it's also how the cats are introduced, how the cats react, and how diligent and tough you are. Most to all of my dogs have been fine immediately (within the first week) with the cats. Odin- not so much. It took a good 2 months for him to be able to come in/out of the cat area and not react at all. He will lay with one of them now and it doesn't even phase them.

BUT! My cats are very very dog savvy. They don't run from the dogs. They hold their ground and will hit/spit/bite if the dogs don't get it.

If I was to bring them around cats who would take off at the sight of them- they would chase. This doesn't mean my cats don't run around the house- they do. But they don't run from the dogs. It makes a big difference.

I'm having this problem right now. The Husky only wants to play, but the cat won't get over himself long enough to let her. He runs from her and she gets him under the bed or my chair and talks to him, wagging her tail. He hisses back and is all dramatic. He's sort of learning not to run from her, but the poor thing runs away from everything anyway. I found him outside in a barn when he was really small, so he has the instincts to run away from everything that's not me. If he just walks out normally and hangs out with us, the dog completely ignores him. If he runs away from her, she chases him. I tried everything, including a shock collar after she made contact one day and ripped out a huge chunk of his fur. But now instead of learning to not chase the cat, she's learning not to go in our room because that's where she gets shocked (because she chases the cat to under the bed). Lost on what to do at this point other than hope the cat will eventually get used to her and quit running from her. She's never chased him otherwise and they even will curl up and take naps (almost) together. The cat even hisses, spits, and swats at her and she thinks it's a game. She gets excited that he's playing along, the problem is that he's not playing. I just hope they eventually work it out.

Our cat was 9 years old when we brought Evie home at 8 weeks. Of course the dog loves chasing the cat, but now that we've had Evie for 2 years, the cat has decided enough is enough and stands his own ground. He even instigates sometimes when he wants to play- when Evie is sound asleep on the floor, he walks right up to her and meows in her face. Then she goes crazy and a boxing match ensues. It's always play, but huskies play rough. They don't realize their own strength so I let them go to a point, but make them stop when she's getting too rough. Play is play to her and she doesn't differentiate between species. All the poor cat ever gets is a mouthful of fur. I never leave them unattended and the cat has escape routes upstairs and into the basement.

heather.jane19 wrote:

arooroomom wrote:

It truly does depend on the dog, but it's also how the cats are introduced, how the cats react, and how diligent and tough you are. Most to all of my dogs have been fine immediately (within the first week) with the cats. Odin- not so much. It took a good 2 months for him to be able to come in/out of the cat area and not react at all. He will lay with one of them now and it doesn't even phase them.

BUT! My cats are very very dog savvy. They don't run from the dogs. They hold their ground and will hit/spit/bite if the dogs don't get it.

If I was to bring them around cats who would take off at the sight of them- they would chase. This doesn't mean my cats don't run around the house- they do. But they don't run from the dogs. It makes a big difference.

I'm having this problem right now. The Husky only wants to play, but the cat won't get over himself long enough to let her. He runs from her and she gets him under the bed or my chair and talks to him, wagging her tail. He hisses back and is all dramatic. He's sort of learning not to run from her, but the poor thing runs away from everything anyway. I found him outside in a barn when he was really small, so he has the instincts to run away from everything that's not me. If he just walks out normally and hangs out with us, the dog completely ignores him. If he runs away from her, she chases him. I tried everything, including a shock collar after she made contact one day and ripped out a huge chunk of his fur. But now instead of learning to not chase the cat, she's learning not to go in our room because that's where she gets shocked (because she chases the cat to under the bed). Lost on what to do at this point other than hope the cat will eventually get used to her and quit running from her. She's never chased him otherwise and they even will curl up and take naps (almost) together. The cat even hisses, spits, and swats at her and she thinks it's a game. She gets excited that he's playing along, the problem is that he's not playing. I just hope they eventually work it out.

I would try to leave a leash on the dog for the next few weeks and work diligently about not getting up to chase the cat when it runs. Once they're in chase mode even shocking doesn't really make them "get it" which is why invisible fences really don't work with Huskies.

Yeah, I'm learning that. What's bad is I literally have only shocked her a total of 3 times. But that was enough to make her not go near our bedroom now. She was doing pretty good for a while, she got to where she would jump up but stay put and not chase. But then a couple of random circumstances made me decide to just see if they could work it out for themselves, that's when she nipped him. So now she's been shocked for it only 3 times and still doesn't get it. We'll just go back to where we were I guess. I'll try leaving the leash on her, I think that will help. It'll also help alot when the cat calms down and learns not to run. They have alot of really good moments when the cat just hangs out and sits there or casually walks by, she couldn't care less. Definitely has a strong prey drive, I just don't want her accidentally hurting him one day.

Does she know the "leave it" command? That is the only thing I taught Selena that actually worked. I still have to give a loud "LEAVE IT" to this day but she instantly knows to back away from the cat and let her go about. My cat isn't scared of her one bit, she is just used to playing with a chihuahua and not a 30 pound husky so she gets pissed when Selena tries to attack her neck so I also use the "easy" command if she is being too rough and I know the cat is up to playing.

She doesn't know "leave it" yet but she does a pretty good "wait" and "stay." She gets so focused on him though that I literally have to throw something (small and harmless) at her or go up and touch her to get her attention. Doesn't matter what I say or how loud I can't break her concentration. I am mostly worried about how rough she is, I know she's not trying to eat him; if she was he'd have been dinner the night we brought her home. I just don't want her to accidentally hurt him. I guess "leave it" will be the next thing I teach her.

Been there done that LOL! Soon as you see her going at the cat or whatever go up to her, give her a nudge on the side right in front of her leg then say leave it. I have to almost yell it I have to say it so loud for her to listen lol stubborn huskies ! But after doing that a million times, all the time she got the hint and now I can be in another room and just say leave it which I think is pretty good for a 5 month old Good luck!!!

Another update- although Mila has chased the cat a few times, they actually are coexisting beautifully now. Mila will be sprawled out on the floor and the cat will come and sniff her, SQUEAK in her face because he doesn't know how to meow yet and then run away lol. But they hang out together and do fine, only a couple of instances lately. We are getting much better! Really and truly the problem the whole time was the cat. He's finally gotten over himself it seems. But I will say, she still is the single most STUBBORN dog I have ever met!!! But I definitely love her anyway, it's kind of hard not to!

Mishka wants to play with our cat but Caine will only take so much before he runs away from the dog. He's actually doing better with the dog than I ever thought but I'm trying to get Mishka to learn to leave the cat alone. It's not easy, that's for sure.

No, definitely not easy! Poor Mila really needs a friend. We're having the discussion now, my husband's scared cause he knows I'll come home with a whole herd complete with elephant, giraffe, and polar bear hahaha. Poor Baby Cat he's gonna have a heart attack.

Lycus grew up with 2 cats and he's really good with them. Although, he will have the urge to run after them if they're running across the rooms but I just yell "Hey!" and he knows to stop.