Me, being a cat lover, knew I needed to always have a cat in my life. Well, from what I've read about Huskies, they usually like to chase cats rather than get along with them. We decided to get a kitten and raise them together. Currently, Alki doesn't care about the cat. He'll bark at him when the kitten starts hissing...and that's it. The kitten though, HATES him. He starts hissing and starts swatting. We're trying to not let the cat get too close to the dog when he swats because he's only 9 weeks and not declawed. We'll be getting him declawed as soon as he's old enough though. Anyway, here's a picture of them meeting for the first time.

And, now time for his first bath! He decided to play in the mud at my parents house. Haha. Needless to say, he did not like it at all. -.- I'm hoping he ends up liking it in the future.

Awe, so cute! Neither of mine like baths....and still to this day!
I haven't bathed my puppy tho, and I'm kinda scared to try...lol
she's a brat.

Hahaha. Aww! Yeah, he put his paw on the side a couple of times. AND, as you can see, he raked my wrist with his nails. He only whine/barked a couple of times. He was actually pretty good. Although, when we got him out, you could almost see the relief on his face. haha.

If you don't mind my asking, why are you getting your cat declawed? It's usually a last resort when nothing else works. There are a LOT of alternative solutions to try before going through the amputation.

As far as the cat goes, you should let them interact as much as possible (supervised of course). Alki will soon learn to leave the kitty alone and stay away from it. Thats how ours learned, they got smacked and scratched a few times but then they learned their lesson. Now they are tolerant of eachother. The big fat cat even plays with Tika, Ripley just ignores them. They will grow into their relationship, no matter which way it goes.
You can also work on Leave It with Alki when he gets too close and the cat hisses, and reward him when he relaxes or ignores it. It will help the cat get used to his presence and will make him realize he isn't going to hurt him.
There is no reason to get the cat declawed IMHO for the sake of the dog. He will either learn to stay away or dodge the paws. If it turns out like our fatty, he will eventually learn to play without claws. If he smacks, its very rarely with the claws out.
My 2 cents anyways.

I've always had my cats declawed. It really doesn't bother them. My parents have a declawed cat and he still climbs trees, catches rabbits and anything else you can name. Declawed cats, in my experience, always make up for not having front claws. I have the scars to prove it, hah. We started doing it years ago, after having to purchase a new couch. No matter how many scratching posts or what kind, the cat always preferred the couch. Every alternative method we researched, didn't work with her. We were EXTREMELY hesitant to do it, after hearing so much flack about it. Afterwards though, we realized it was the right thing to do. We switched to a more sensitive litter as to not irritate the surgical area. Declawing saves my skin, my carpet, my couches, my other animals and if handled correctly...is humane. Trust me. If I legitimately thought it was hurting my pet in any way, I wouldn't do it. We never double declaw though. To me, THAT is inhumane. Everyone has their own opinion though and I respect you having yours. I'm just sharing mine.

Kellyb wrote:

There is no reason to get the cat declawed IMHO for the sake of the dog. He will either learn to stay away or dodge the paws. If it turns out like our fatty, he will eventually learn to play without claws. If he smacks, its very rarely with the claws out.
My 2 cents anyways.

I'm not declawing him for the dogs sake, purely! I figure, the dog will learn. Haha. He already knows to stay his distance. He's so skiddish already, that one slap was all he needed!

I'm new to huskies but I'm a old hat when it comes to cats. I understand that it has worked out well for you so far and that they get along well without them. Cats are survivors they will adapt this is true, but think if it as someone cutting off the first joint section of each finger. That's basically what declawing a cat is doing. Just like dogs cats can be taught to do good positive behaviors they respond to treats just like dogs do.

we were going to have our cat declawed b/c he really likes attacking our legs and feet and is a pro at furniture destruction. Then we got Kiba and decided we would rather let him defend himself with the claws intact and just live with the Sh** furniture .

Cute bath pictures!!!!!

I have two five yr old cats, neither of which is declawed, and all my furniture is fine. Provide a place for him to scratch, a post, or one of those card boards things with cat nip in it work well for my cats. If you catch them scratching where they aren't supposed a simple squirt from a water bottle will stop it. Then they learn where they are not supposed to scratch.
Huskies have a high prey drive, and should not be trusted alone with a cat. Even if they are raised together, one day when the cat runs it could lead to disaster. It would be much safer for your cat still have claws to defend itself.

We used plenty of different kinds of scratching posts and none worked. Tried the water bottle, didn't work.

Yeah, we never leave them alone. We always supervise when the cat is out and about and so is the pup.

I'm sorry guys, I hear what you're saying but every declawed cat I've had has been able to defend themselves quite well. They use their back claws just like their front.

This was not meant to be a debate. As I said before, we all have our opinions. I just wanted to show you pictures of the stinker in the bath and show you the newest addition.

I'm not judging. I've had three cats in my life. Busters the first that we haven't declawed. He also couldn't care less about his scratching post. All our furniture was crap to begin with though . That's what happens when your young married and have no money lol

That's how we are. Haha. We currently have an old love seat but we were looking to expand our furniture for guests and such. Also, my fiance is allergic to cats...mostly if they scratch her.

Get claw caps then, I'm sorry but declawing is a horrible and inhumane thing to do for any reason. Your cat will never be able to stretch properly, work certain muscles and they will always feel unstable and in pain and that's if the proceedure goes well and it frequently doesn't. There's a reason that most countries have outlawed the practice as being inhumane and there are SO many alternatives, doublesided tape on the furniture, tinfoil, spray bottle, scratching posts, clipping thier nails yourself.
If you want to have a cat and it needs to be declawed try to rescue an already declawed animal before doing it yourself, there is simply no justification for it in my opinion.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html read that please before you do that to another animal, it isn't a simple thing, they aren't just removing the nail but the first FULL joint of the bone must be removed.

So this topic is not about declawing. All my cats have been declawed and have been fine. Heck, my parents cat still climbs over everything and still bounces around just fine. If you disagree with it, don't declaw your cat. But don't come on here and try to force your opinion on me. I respect your opinion, respect mine. You don't see me trying to convince you to go do it, so you should have enough respect to not so the same with me.

We're on the internet, nothing I could do would force my opinion on you. I wanted you to know what actually happens when they declaw a cat and how debilitating it is forever. It's a terrible practice and should be ended here like other countries are doing. It isn't and it's your cat but please don't do this.

Well, maybe all of my cats are exceptions because they were all just fine. Actually, by you telling me that what I do is wrong, that's forcing your opinion onto me. I understand that some are for it and some are against it. For me and my cats, it's worked fine. If you're against it, okay. I can understand that. But I wouldn't come on to your post (that, as I said, wasn't even about declawing in the first place) and tell you that what you do is wrong and inhumane. First off, that's rude and second, just because my opinion doesn't match yours, doesn't mean it's wrong. That's life!

OMG two babies and both so adorable! I gotta say that kitten is adorable, and of course the puppy is adorable too.

Glad the first bath went so well for you! Balon still screams like the water is murdering him lol. Everyone gets wet when Bay gets a bath lol.

Good luck on both your adorable babies!

Haha. I had to change clothes afterwards. He kept jumping up and splashing. Thank you! I was surprised it went as well as it did. I know a lot of pups go insane!

Haha, my male screams like bloody murder when we bathe him....my female she'll whine, but then realize the less crying/whining she does the faster we can be done.

It almost looks like if she's telling my male to shut up already...

That is too funny! She probably gets so annoyed with him. Man. I can't even imagine bathing two of them! Bravo!!! Haha.

She does....
If you think 2 is a lot too handle...
try 3!!! My pup is way too young right now, and I wouldn't bathe her anyways...but I can just see it now!! lol

He looks like he handled the bath better than my Mishka! She freaked out!
Great pics!

Just wanted to say that when you post on a forum, anything and everything you say is open for discussion. Declawing is a very serious hot topic, and if you are not comfortable with being challenged on that, then you shouldn't of posted it on a forum.

To me, by you saying that Dan posting that he doesn't agree with declawing and him providing links to back up his "side" is rude, I think you are being rude actually. Whether or not your original post was about declawing or not, he wasn't the first person to comment on that fact. I don't agree with declawing and I think it should be outlawed and put in the same category as tail docking and ear cropping. That is what I think and of course what I think is the right thing to do. That being said, I am not trying to force my opinion down your throat, and I really don't think Dan was either. We all get passionate about certain things. That comes with the territory of animals.

I am kind of confused with your comment of telling him he shouldn't be trying to convince you to do something. Isn't that what we all do on here? Whether it be from not keeping your 8 week old puppy in a crate for 8 hours, or teaching leash manners from the get go, to not using a choke collar, to not using a head harness...it's what this place is for. We all have opinions on what we think is right, and for you to tell somebody that they DON'T have the right to give their opinion is rude.

You don't have to agree with him, or me, or anyone else on this topic who said declawing is wrong. They ARE your animals and you have the right to do what you want with them. It's the same thing that if you were posting about wanting to breed a dog you got from a BYB..we would all try to convince you what you're doing is wrong. On the flip side of that, if you were asking questions about oh I don't know..wanting to start agility or something with a very healthy, sound dog, a majority of people would try to convince you to go ahead and try it.

You have to remember that this is a forum on the internet. Anything and everything is open for discussion whether you intended it to be or not.

BUT anyway..
I think those pictures are adorable and it looks like he certainly look it better then Sheba did on her first bath. She tried to climb up me like a cat and she literally sounded like she was dying. It was so pathetic. As soon as I got her out of the tub, she made a beeline for the door and tried digging her way out .Kennedy has been the only dog who doesn't cry, doesn't try to escape, OR doesn't shake out all her water on me. With Kennedy, I put a towel up and she knows that it's time to do her little shake out!

I hope your puppy and kitten become best friends!! They look very similar..did you plan for that?

I honestly didn't know it was a hot topic, or I wouldn't have even mentioned it. I think it is. I guess because my experience has never been inhumane or haste results that these sites against declawing say will happen, I don't see anything wrong with it. I was very nice actually, until the last couple of messages. I got tired of all the posts NOT being about positive things. I love my animals, so surely you can see how I could be upset about someone questioning what I'm doing. You also have to understand that you are not right and neither am I. Opinions are just that. Everyone has one and we are no one to judge others. Some things ARE flat out abusive. But in my personal experience, declawing my cats has not hurt or hindered them in any way. I take excellent care of my animals and I WILL be rude to anyone that suggests otherwise. I've done my research. I know what happens. My point is not to ask your opinion, so I don't know why people are sharing it. I'm always open to suggestions on things I know little about...but I usually ask for it or at least expect it to be given in a mature and adult fashion. The PMs on this site are most useful for that. I could sit here and compare this situation to ones that might help you understand my point of view but unfortunately, I feel like that would be pointless. You have your beliefs. I have mine. You can't change mine, nor I yours. As I said before, if I knew it was a hit thing, I wouldn't have mentioned it! But I did and here we are. Now let's all be adults now and leave it be.