Hi there all,

I am new to this forum as I really want to get a Husky having bought a house. I am doing a lot of investigation and reading but was wondering if current owners with cats had tips on what to do from bringing a 8-10 week old puppy into the house? I am into the idea of crate training as well.

For info, there are 4 cats in the house (no plans for anymore though!!!)

Many Thanks,
David

That is a wholleeee lot of feline!

Huskies have a strong inherent prey drive, that is, they see little animals that scurry, and they realllly wanna chase them...and kill them... I am sure there are members on here who have huskies and cats living together. I don't have cats, so I really am not a whole lot of help in this field, however, i will say that if you choose the husky breed, be prepared to do a lotttt of structuring about what is and isn't okay with the cats. Training a dog to live with cats IS possible and should be easier than training it to live with rodents, birds etc. It would be important to introduce them together, and keep them together in the same space under very very strict supervision, as early as possible, if you want them to co exist peacefully. I would imagine there will be speedbumbs along the way, but I'm sure it can be done. With that many cats though, I honestly have no idea.

^^^All speculation, just trying to help

WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

I don't let my Huskies anywhere near our cats! The cat's I think sense the Huskies aren't cat-friendly, so they don't go anywhere near the dogs. I try to keep them as separated as possible and never leave the cats and dogs unattended. The dog's are always crated when I'm not home and the cats have free roam.

5 Cats, 2 Siberians, and a Border collie here. As has already been pointed out, Siberians have a strong prey instinct - if it runs, they will chase it, even as a puppy. So the best thing is to have cats that are used to being around dogs and that will stand their ground, rather than run. My cats grew up around the Border collie, so they knew enough not to run. A lot will depend on the individual puppy and the cat, I have a big Tom who actually played with the Siberians when they were younger and sometimes still will. I have an older female on the other hand who just arches her back and tries to claw them. Introduce them slowly, be prepared to intervine if it is needed and let the puppy know that it is not ok to chase the cats. Once you've had them together supervised for a good length of time, you will know when they are ok together and when they are not. Our female Siberian (uncrated) and the cats all sleep together in the same room without issue, and she is 14 months.

We have 2 cats in the house with Ghost, and they are totally fine. We brought Ghost home at 10 weeks, and immediately taught her that the kitties were not edible. We also crate the dogs when we are away for more than an hour or so, and the cats have areas that they can escape to where doggies can't get them. Ghost completely leaves my one cat alone, and she will play (supervised) with the other cat. She knows to be gentle with him, even though he gets pretty rough with her. Training and consistency are key, but it can easily be done.

We have 4 cats that live upstairs and our 3 dogs stay downstairs. We can close doors and/or keep up baby gates as a way to keep them separated. 2 of our dogs are fine with the cats. Paw Paw is not! He's already sent 2 cats to the emergency vet hospital. He would certainly try to kill all 4 cats if he was allowed. But we also brought Paw Paw into our home at 8 months old. I'm not sure if it would've been different had we rescued him as a young pup. The 2 cats he got to was obviously on accident. 1 cat wandered downstairs and got cornered. The other time, one of our young daughters didn't close the gate all the way, and Paw Paw pushed it open and trapped a cat in the curtains. Both cats are fine now, but we learned our lessons and are extra vigilant. Paw Paw is our only pure-bred Sibe, and he's also the only one who has killed wild animals in the yard. He's gotten birds, squirrels, and just last weekend got a duck while bikejoring, but that's a whole other story (and thread!). Ha. We love our Paw Paw, but we wish he wouldn't try to kill everything.

Good luck to you though! I know it can be done, because there are owners on this forum who post pics of their Sibes and cats laying together in peace.

My cat sits on my bed all day long, but when he does move, Storm chases him. As soon as the cat stops, storm is back to playtime but every time it happens it just about gives me a heart attack(I'm actually more worried about Storm stepping on the 12 year old cat then doing damage the cat can hold its own) But he loves to sit with the cat on the bed(which the cat hates). So the real question for me is, what kind of cats do you have(i.e. personality wise). I would think that 4 spazzy cats plus a husky would be a disaster waiting to happen but then again I'm not an amazing trainer(I fall for puppy eyes way to often).....

Hi and welcome. I am bringing a 9 week old puppy into my home in about 10 days, I have 2 cats and some plans on how to integrate the new pup into the household. Here's what I've got so far and I can update you once the pup comes home to tell you what's working and what isn't.

First of all, I live in an apartment, so i'm a bit more limited in space in what I can do. What I have done, is gate off our alcove and make it Dizzy's room (Dizzy is the puppy). The door to the alcove looks out into the living room, so i'll leave the door open and a baby gate up so he can see what's going on if I need to confine him for any reason. The other side of the alcove opens up to where our bed is, and I have a gate there. His crate is also in this area about 6'x8'. It's almost like an indoor dog run. The cats haven't figured out how to get over the gates yet, and I'm hoping they won't want to once Dizzy is here. This is important because the cats need to feel like they have their own safe space where the dog can't get to them and I don't want them to pick on him when he's crated during the day.

Second, until I assess the situation and see how they interact, Dizzy will be on a leash. Even if it's not in my hand, i'll have him on a leash so i can grab it quickly if I need to.

In the beginning I will need to protect the puppy from the cat. One cat can be aggressive, and both have claws, so I want to make sure that the aggressive does not feel threatened. My biggest concern is that the aggressive cat not redirect aggression towards the other cat. That is something you will have to think about in your house. What is the interaction like between all your cats? Bringing in another animal could upset the balance/tolerance they have for each other and cause some unexpected issues within the cat pack (if you could call cats a pack, mine are more of the mildly ignoring each other intermixed with glares in the others general direction).

Third, while the puppy is little, I will teach him never to chase them. I actually feel confident that the cats could do more harm to him, then he could to them, even as an adult, however, I don't want Dizzy to think chasing the cat is a game. Not only for the safety of all the animals, but for my own sanity, I really don't want my home to feel like a tom and jerry cartoon.

Forth, there are plenty of areas for the cats to get up high and away from the dog and lord over their domain, like cats love to do.

Fifth, make sure the puppy can't get near their food or litter box. Dogs like to eat poop, plain and simple. Don't really want to deal with that. And I know he wouldn't hesitate to eat their food in one bite if he could. Hello puppy diarrhea.

The introduction - I feel like this will make or break the situation. Either I'll screw it up and everyone will be pissed and traumatized for weeks or months, or I'll hit a home run and everyone will be annoyed, but safe for weeks or months. My plan here is to make sure and wear Dizzy out before I bring him into the apartment. I will lock Miles (the big aggressive cat) in the bathroom, the second cat, Martini, will most likely hide in a closet, so I will let her do that, then I will bring Dizzy in (in a sherpa bag, so he doesn't come busting through the door) and put him in his area and let him explore a bit. Once he settles down a bit I'll let Miles out of the bathroom and leave him be. He'll go check out Dizzy and Dizzy's room when he's ready. I need to make sure that my attitude is relaxed and non-nonchalant about the whole thing, like its no big deal. I'm not going to force interaction in any way, I think that would be dangerous.

Sixth, webcam. Yes, I'm that person lol. A normal work day for me is 7:30 am - 4:30 pm. The first week I'll be off and the second week I'll be working half days. The third week, will be a normal work week for me. I'm going to set up a puppycam to make sure he's okay and safe in his crate/area during the day. It's pretty cheap and easy to do this.

Seventh, dog walker. Once I go back to work full time I'll be hiring a dog walker to take him out for a relief walk and a play session midday, starting at 30 min, but increasing if needed. It's way too long to leave him alone with no break/stimulation, so the dog walker is a must!

Eighth, training and manners. Aside from the normal training a puppy should get, I'm going to work extra hard to teach him to be calm and not annoy the cats, and never bust in the door. Dizzy bursting through the front door scaring a cat would be akin to an international incident in cat terms and might just set off world war III. Training also helps exhaust some mental energy, which is really important to keep sibes out of trouble.

Ninth, exercise, exercise, exercise... This is probably actually THE number one most important thing to do, but its down the list, because it doesn't really take prep like the other things do. This pup is going to get 4-5 appropriate length walks a day, that will get longer as he grows up. You have to be careful when it comes to the length of time/distance you walk puppies, since they are growing and developing. I also plan on exercising the cats, they have this bird thing they like to chase around.

Tenth - jalapeno infused tequila for me and lots of catnip for the felines. I tried that feliway stuff, and it did not make one lick of difference to my cats.

There are probably a couple more things i'm not thinking of, but I'll add them as I think of them. Also, I promise I'll update as things unfold after D Day. (Dizzy Day) 5.4.13.

*Edit - also I probably way over thought all of this, but really want things to go well for all involved.

Have your cats ever been around dogs before? Dog-savy cats are usually the best with Huskies. My cats don't care about the dogs and the dogs don't care about the cats. If you have a super skiddish cat you're going to run into problems until the cat realizes they shouldn't do that. Personally I think it's best to start with the puppy in the crate and the cat loose. Let the cat investigate and smell the dog without needing to worry about the dog freaking out and flying after the cat when/if they run. Do multiple sessions of that throughout the day, as many as possible. You can also have the puppy on the leash and begin to teach him the cat is completely off limits. You want the dog to be used to the cat moving as young as possible. You should never totally isolate the 2 of them from each other during this time. If you're around- they need to be together and you need to be working on their interaction.

Never allow any sort of mouthing, biting, or invasive sniffing (when they really shove their face into the cat or become obsessive about it) at ALL. Creating clear and defined rules about the cat now will keep their interactions safe in the long run. I don't allow my dogs to be loose with the cats when i'm not home. They have never given me a reason not to trust them but I want to keep everyone safe.

arooroomom wrote:

Have your cats ever been around dogs before? Dog-savy cats are usually the best with Huskies. My cats don't care about the dogs and the dogs don't care about the cats. If you have a super skiddish cat you're going to run into problems until the cat realizes they shouldn't do that. Personally I think it's best to start with the puppy in the crate and the cat loose. Let the cat investigate and smell the dog without needing to worry about the dog freaking out and flying after the cat when/if they run. Do multiple sessions of that throughout the day, as many as possible. You can also have the puppy on the leash and begin to teach him the cat is completely off limits. You want the dog to be used to the cat moving as young as possible. You should never totally isolate the 2 of them from each other during this time. If you're around- they need to be together and you need to be working on their interaction.

Never allow any sort of mouthing, biting, or invasive sniffing (when they really shove their face into the cat or become obsessive about it) at ALL. Creating clear and defined rules about the cat now will keep their interactions safe in the long run. I don't allow my dogs to be loose with the cats when i'm not home. They have never given me a reason not to trust them but I want to keep everyone safe.

For me, neither cat is dog savvy, one will flee, and one will either stand his ground or be aggressive. Dizzy met the breeders cat last week and after a swipe on the nose, he wanted nothing to do with it. I realize that will change as he gets older, so I need to really focus on working with him on not chasing the fleeing cat and working with the cat to feel comfortable. She was raised with a dog, but it has been years since she lived with one, so I do have hope she will stop the fleeing when she realizes I will protect her, actually her best buddy in the world used to be a huge dane mix. The reason I prefer the baby gate separation vs. putting Diz in a crate for introduction is because cats can be mean and scary and I want him to feel like he can get away as well. I don't want him to get scared and feel trapped in the crate, and connect being in the crate with a traumatic experience of being cornered by a cat. I know my cats, and I know they will be curious enough to approach the baby gate, and Dizzy is curious about everything. So they will be able to check each other out from either side of the gate, without being able to hurt each other, and both have an escape route and safe place. But, that's just my situation. I feel like if you do have dog savvy cats the crate is a smart way to go. Since I'm in an apartment I really need him to be cool with being in his crate and never have a bad experience so I have to be really careful about environmental stuff that happens while he's in there, including the cats. But that's only my situation, and it may not work for someone in a big house where the cats could hide and chose never to approach the dog.

wpskier222 wrote:

arooroomom wrote:

Have your cats ever been around dogs before? Dog-savy cats are usually the best with Huskies. My cats don't care about the dogs and the dogs don't care about the cats. If you have a super skiddish cat you're going to run into problems until the cat realizes they shouldn't do that. Personally I think it's best to start with the puppy in the crate and the cat loose. Let the cat investigate and smell the dog without needing to worry about the dog freaking out and flying after the cat when/if they run. Do multiple sessions of that throughout the day, as many as possible. You can also have the puppy on the leash and begin to teach him the cat is completely off limits. You want the dog to be used to the cat moving as young as possible. You should never totally isolate the 2 of them from each other during this time. If you're around- they need to be together and you need to be working on their interaction.

Never allow any sort of mouthing, biting, or invasive sniffing (when they really shove their face into the cat or become obsessive about it) at ALL. Creating clear and defined rules about the cat now will keep their interactions safe in the long run. I don't allow my dogs to be loose with the cats when i'm not home. They have never given me a reason not to trust them but I want to keep everyone safe.

For me, neither cat is dog savvy, one will flee, and one will either stand his ground or be aggressive. Dizzy met the breeders cat last week and after a swipe on the nose, he wanted nothing to do with it. I realize that will change as he gets older, so I need to really focus on working with him on not chasing the fleeing cat and working with the cat to feel comfortable. She was raised with a dog, but it has been years since she lived with one, so I do have hope she will stop the fleeing when she realizes I will protect her, actually her best buddy in the world used to be a huge dane mix. The reason I prefer the baby gate separation vs. putting Diz in a crate for introduction is because cats can be mean and scary and I want him to feel like he can get away as well. I don't want him to get scared and feel trapped in the crate, and connect being in the crate with a traumatic experience of being cornered by a cat. I know my cats, and I know they will be curious enough to approach the baby gate, and Dizzy is curious about everything. So they will be able to check each other out from either side of the gate, without being able to hurt each other, and both have an escape route and safe place. But, that's just my situation. I feel like if you do have dog savvy cats the crate is a smart way to go. Since I'm in an apartment I really need him to be cool with being in his crate and never have a bad experience so I have to be really careful about environmental stuff that happens while he's in there, including the cats. But that's only my situation, and it may not work for someone in a big house where the cats could hide and chose never to approach the dog.

I find that having the dog baby gated can be unsafe for certain more eager puppies as well as I have seen them "bully" the cat through the gate since they can run up and spook the cat more. Having them in the crate for the initial meeting confines the dog and restricts their movement which is a big issue for cats just getting used to a dog. I used to do my interactions through our laundry room door (which is a pained glass door) but found that the dogs having more movement available to them usually made the process take longer. I also find it easier to drop treats into a crate and gives the cat more room to assess the situation. If they get swiped and my dogs fear the cat- i'm more than happy with that! lol

Ha ha, that makes sense. It will be an interesting situation, I can see how movement would make a big difference, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks! Maybe I'll use the sherpa bag, so if something scary happens, the association is with the bag and not the crate. Do you think he would generalize the sherpa as the same thing as the crate? I definitely want him to have a healthy fear of the cat, just not a scary experience inside the crate, if that makes sense.

Since dogs don't generalize well it should be just fine. Usually the excitement of the cat, positive association of the cat, and getting treats from the heavens is usually enough to overwhelm any perceived negative association with the crate. I can't see that happening unless the cat is really and truly fearless, pounces on the crate, and terrorizes the dog within while screaming and howling. lol! I wouldn't worry about any negative association, but that's just me

I'm probably over thinking it, but that is exactly the scene I've been picturing. Miles (the cat) is 17 lbs, and tends to attack the things he scared of, well I should say objects, ie vacuum cleaner, especially things he's got a size advantage over. Lol. We'll see how it goes, I think the most important thing is to keep myself relaxed so I don't stress them all out. Treats and catnip lol.

Our dog and cat get along fairly well. Its true for our husky that if the cat stands its ground then Kiba won't be very interested in it but if it runs away she wants to chase. We've used baby gates with success for separating them. It allowed our cat to have "safe" areas in the house where he can use the litter box and eat without the dog bothering him. Gradually we're taking them away as the cat has learned how to deal with the dog. He seems to know that if Kiba's bothering him he can jump somewhere higher to get away if he needs to. They actually play together sometimes but always under supervision.

Just make sure your cats have safe places they can get to if they dont want to be bothered or are scared. make sure the dog knows that the cats are in charge because you dont want it the other way around. a 40lb husky bullying a 10lb cat is a bad thing. good luck

Thank you!

I have 14 indoor cats and 5 dogs and soon, one puppy. All my dogs are breeds or mixed breeds that are high prey drive. I've never had a problem. If the puppy is playing with the cat too rough, the cat will take care of itself. I just played referee and made sure the cat didn't hurt the puppy. That would make the puppy retaliate in a negative manner. My dogs are 4yrs old up to almost 8 years old now. One thing I did was spend a lot of time on the floor with the puppy and my cats and when the puppy would get too playful, like chewing on kitty tail, before the cat could smack the puppy, I would grab the puppy and put it in my lap and pet the cat and say "gentle" and "nice baby, don't hurt the baby". That is what worked for me. Now, it's not unusual to find all the cats and dogs sleeping together at night. One of my dogs is a german shepherd that was brought back to the rescue where I got him from. They told the rescue that he hated their cats and their horses. I have no idea what he did but I was the next in line for that dog if he ended up coming back so the rescue called me and I got him. They knew how many cats I had and that I have horses also. I brought him home. I have NEVER had a problem with him with my cats or my horses. I was cautious at first though for the first week and left a 6 foot leash on him at all times. But he didn't do anything wrong. Even when my cats came to his food bowl while he was eating, he never did anything...no posturing, nothing. Some of my cats even smacked him when he sniffed their butts too enthusiastically, nothing. With my horses...he loves them. My horses are extremely good with dogs. So good that when my horses lay down around 2 in the afternoon, there is nothing strange about looking out and seeing one of the dogs sleeping with that horse. For some reason, he's scared to death of cows!

We've got 3 cats and while they were bought up with a labrador (Wispa) they really don't like the husky (Sky)

Wispa doesn't really notice them and they don't mind the occasional sniff from her but Sky is all "oooh what's that?" in their faces and they've warned her off with a growl, stood their ground and she has bolted the other way BUT if she manages to surprise them they bolt and she chases

We always make sure the cats have somewhere Sky can't get to.. until she manages to clear the baby gate