can a husky and a cat share the same household peacefully?
Author: admin | Category: Staging Coursesjust wondering because my husky is 2 1/2 and like most huskies has a bit of a prey drive (she killed one of my small parrots last winter but it had clipped wings and no defense). however i’d like to bring a kitten into the house…we would be careful with it in its smaller stages of course…but i was just wondering if it is a good idea or not and if a peaceful co-existence can be achieved.
Most huskies have a very high prey drive; any small animal is fair game to them and that’s not something they can "un-learn". Some can life peacefully with small animals, but usually they have to be introduced to small animals as a puppy.
Your dog has already exhibited a very high prey drive by killing a parrot. Getting a kitten is probablly not a good idea. Kittens like to run and that’s what often gets the dog’s attention. They also make cool noises, so the dog ends up thinking it’s a really cool interactive squeak toy.
Please reconsider bringing a kitten into the household. It only takes a second for tragedy to occur.
9 Responses to “can a husky and a cat share the same household peacefully?”
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February 24th, 2010 at 12:55 am
for the most part they should be fine and actually pretty good friends once they get to know each other my friend has a lab shepard mix and a simeese cat and they get along great and even look out for each other, if your playing with the cat and he gets mad at you the dog will come over and growl at you till you leave the cat alone!
they sleep to gether and play all the time
it should be fine as long as you take your time introducing them and are careful when the cat is a kitten.
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February 24th, 2010 at 1:05 am
i would be very very cautious of this. you should first expose your dog to cats or kittens before bringing one home. take the dog to a friend’s house/shelter or something. find out how the dog reacts FIRST before you buy or rescue a kitten.
if the dog is somewhat ok with the cats/kittens, continue taking the dog around them as much as you can before bringing one home to get it more accustomed to feline presence. after that it should be easier but this may take you some time. be patient.
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February 24th, 2010 at 1:41 am
Why not? Our pitbull and cat even play with each other.
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February 24th, 2010 at 2:27 am
The short answer is that it is possible, but not guaranteed. Every single case will be different.
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February 24th, 2010 at 3:02 am
If she already killed one of your pets, I would take it very slowly with her. It doesn’t matter if the pet was defenseless or not. When it comes down to it, a kitten is defenseless too. You should expose your dog to cats in a very controlled situation, including running cats. Running kicks the prey drive into high gear and chasing only makes a cat run more. You should also have a room blocked off by a gate for the cat’s safe spot. If you leave the house, I would lock the cat in a room with her litter box and food at first so the dog can’t get to her. It should definitely be supervised only for quite awhile. It could probably be done, as long as you do it slowly and have the patience. Have you considered adopting an older cat with experience around dogs? This might be better for your situation. Another thing is, at 2 1/2 your dog is still quite young and playful. She may mellow out a little more as she gets older. Good Luck.
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February 24th, 2010 at 3:07 am
Most huskies have a very high prey drive; any small animal is fair game to them and that’s not something they can "un-learn". Some can life peacefully with small animals, but usually they have to be introduced to small animals as a puppy.
Your dog has already exhibited a very high prey drive by killing a parrot. Getting a kitten is probablly not a good idea. Kittens like to run and that’s what often gets the dog’s attention. They also make cool noises, so the dog ends up thinking it’s a really cool interactive squeak toy.
Please reconsider bringing a kitten into the household. It only takes a second for tragedy to occur.
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15 years living with huskies, 5 years as a foster parent for husky rescue.
February 24th, 2010 at 3:41 am
it is possible for them to live in harmony. like you said, huskies do have prey drive, some are worse than others. if you do decide to get the kitty, be sure to supervise them & introduce them slowly…i think it can definitely work out, good luck
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February 24th, 2010 at 3:50 am
My friend had a husky and a cat living peacefully in the same house. The dog was a year old or so when they got their first cat. And while the dog was a little territorial at first one scratch on the nose from the cat was enough to tame that impulse.
Since you are thinking of bringing in a kitten I’d try to control their early interactions on until the kitten is old enough to start to defend itself if need be. So if you aren’t going to be home then it might be a good idea to lock one or the other in a room to be safe until they learn to be friends.
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February 24th, 2010 at 4:39 am
We have a Siberian Husky (Coby) and 3 indoor cats. They get along very well and it’s actually comical to watch them! It was very stressful at first, though, because we had heard all the stories about how Siberians will harm animals smaller than them, etc. This is simply NOT true. Siberians, for the most part, are very gentle, sweet dogs. When we first introduced our Siberian to the cats (we had the cats much longer than the dog) he seemed very curious and he would chase them around and try to smell them. They would simply hiss at him and bat at his muzzle with their paws. After getting cuffed a few times he learned to leave them alone. That was 2 years ago. Now, they pretty much ignore one another. He doesn’t chase them anymore, unless they get too close to his food and water bowls — then he will go up to them and bark, like he’s telling them to get away from his stuff! We have one cat who will, on occassion and for no particular reason, walk by the dog (if the dog is sleeping) and just cuff him on the head and then run away. I think it’s a game the cat is playing. We did have to move the cat’s food bowl (all three eat from a communal bowl) up to the top of one of the counters in the kitchen because the dog seems to really love cat food and would eat it before they got a chance to. Other than that, our household is very peaceful and non-combative. Good luck to you!
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