Will a husky grow up with a cat without harming it?

1. 41

   Troyangelukposted 11 years ago

   Will a husky grow up with a cat without harming it?
   
   If it was brought up in the house from a puppy?

   replyreport
2. 89

   LCDWriterposted 11 years ago

   Usualy if they are brough up together they will be fine.  Just make sure to supervise them while they get to know each other.   The puppy will need to learn its boundaries.  Does the cat have claws?  If so it will be able to defend itself if the puppy gets too frisky.  If not, pay extra attention until you are sure they are friends.

   replyreport
3. 0

   Sarra Garrettposted 11 years ago

   They should do just fine together when they are brought up with each other.  If your cat is older he may not appreciate a new dog in the house but generally they will get used to each other.  I have always had cats and dogs together and have never had as much as a hiss or scratch.  A lot of it depends on the owner as well, if you are a boisterous and loud person and don't pay attention to your animals they tend to be aggravated easier.  If you are a laid back person and take time with your animals they will feel your love and return it back to you and any other pet in the household.   Make sure you introduce them slowly, puppies tend to want to inspect everything and may get his nose wacked but he'll learn as long as you are there to tell the pup 'no' when he tries to bully the dog.

   replyreport
4. 96

   DrMark1961posted 11 years ago

   No guarantees with a Siberian Husky. They will usually do okay and tend to ignore your cat but as they get older (usually about 2-3 yrs) they are a lot more likely to challenge the cat. If the cat stands up for herselft, things will probably be okay; if the cat runs, the game is over.
   When I was a kid I had an old semi-feral cat that I found in the woods and she never ran from my dogs. My dogs never tried to chase her either but they would go after, and kill, everything else.
   Have you already purchased a husky puppy? If you really want a dog and a cat, there are a lot of other great breeds. If you go to my profile page you can find an article on dog breeds that like cats.
   Do you already have a cat too? There are some breeds (Ragdoll, Maine Coon, and Siberian) that are very self-confident. They do well with dogs.

   replyreport
5. 41

   Troyangelukposted 11 years ago

   Ive got a black cat yellow eyes, i dont actually know the breed to be honest, I guess will just have to be very carefull all the time with them.

   replyreport
   1. 96

      DrMark1961posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wise move, and dont forget to keep your cat and dog in separate areas of the house when you are out!

      replyreport
6. 66

   tsadjatkoposted 9 years ago

   
   
   Sure, but this depends upon various factors. Most importantly the key imprinting period for puppies occurs between 3 & 12 weeks of age. The earlier in this process you can introduce them to a cat the better remembering that from 3-7 weeks they also will be imprinting how to interact with puppies and adult dogs, & picking up the social cues necessary to coexist with other canines. If other canines are present who are not socialized to cats this can pose a problem.
   
   Temperament also comes into play for an adolescent dog's temperament may change due to environmental factors or hormonal changes as they mature sexually but usually imprinting at the critical time will work.
   
   I sold a Husky pup once to a couple who used him for skijoring. He was raised with a cat. I visited him when he was two years old and the owners put a small bowl of spaghetti on the kitchen counter and said, "watch this." Immediately the cat appeared from nowhere, leaped onto the counter & pulled a string of spaghetti out of the bowl, dragged it to the edge of the counter & hung one end over the edge right above the Husky who was quietly sitting on the floor by the counter's edge. While the other end was still in the cat's mouth the Husky snapped piece by piece up the hanging spaghetti standing up until his nose and the cat's nose met, then he bit the cats head right off.
   
   NO! actually NOT, I'm just kidding. They touched noses, he sat back down and they repeated the procedure until all the spaghetti was gone. Both were totally calm through the whole show and appeared to just love it and each other.
   
   So it can be done, on the other hand I also had a Husky I bought as an adult that was great with my three adult cats but after a couple years one cat had kittens, later the Husky had a litter. The Husky was fine, kittens were gone except one I kept about 14 weeks old. One day, first time the kitten and dog were alone together & no one else was in the room, we wound up having to make funeral arrangements for the kitten. A bad thing.
   
   A good thing (?) the kids had their first experience with life and death.
   
   Environment (&/or breeding) in this case overcame imprinting because months before this occurrence that Husky got out of our invisible fence & killed the neighbors rabbit in a backyard pen. I suppose the prey instinct was awakened at that time & well, kitten, rabbit what's the difference.
   
   Which leads us to the problem Huskies can have with invisible fences, that for another time & place.:-)

   replyreport