Husky good with cat?

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Inferno - 23 Nov 2003 15:19 GMT

I currently have a 1 and a half year old Maine Coone/Tabby mix male cat.
He's very friendly and playful(with way too much energy for me sometimes).
I am looking to get a dog in the next few months and would like a Husky
Shepard mix. Does anyone know if they are good with cats? I am going to
get the dog very young(1 month-4month) so that it is almost my cats size or
smaller to start with.

Thoughts?
Eric

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Orchid - 23 Nov 2003 15:36 GMT

>I currently have a 1 and a half year old Maine Coone/Tabby mix male cat.
>He's very friendly and playful(with way too much energy for me sometimes).
>I am looking to get a dog in the next few months and would like a Husky
>Shepard mix. Does anyone know if they are good with cats? I am going to
>get the dog very young(1 month-4month) so that it is almost my cats size or
>smaller to start with.

Huskies have a reputation as cat-killers because of their high
prey drives. Unfortunately, a purebred husky can be raised with a
cat, love the cat, sleep with the cat, groom the cat and then one day
the cat does something that sets off that prey drive and the cat is
dead. However, this is not to say that it is impossible. A better
bet for you than a puppy might be an adult dog with a known,
cat-friendly temperament. Are you totally set on a husky? There are
many other breeds that do much much better with cats like Labradors,
GSDs, and Golden Retrievers.
Also, is your cat dog-friendly? Does he have plenty of places
to go that a dog or puppy cannot follow? Cats need their space
sometimes, and the ability to get away from other animals in the
household. He should have cat trees, etc, to give him an escape
hatch. This is especially important should you decide to go with a
husky.

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Alan Sandoval - 25 Nov 2003 06:15 GMT

> >I currently have a 1 and a half year old Maine Coone/Tabby mix male cat.
> >He's very friendly and playful(with way too much energy for me sometimes).
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> hatch. This is especially important should you decide to go with a
> husky.

I had a really dominant tiny cat and she just loved our Lab, as long as she
was in control. It worked.

The cat made her own space, if the Lab had a place she wanted, she simply
took it away from him. This bewildered the Lab but they really got along
great. I'm sure no expert in animal behaviour and your experience may vary.

It was kind of fun seeing a 10 lb cat kicking a 90 lb Lab off his favorite
sofa.

The Lab was cool, he'd find a new place, and the cat would go there and take
that place away from him.

This might all sound mean-spirited but I assure you it wasn't at all. Loved
pets, who loved each other in their own way, played out their own scenarios.

Roscoe and Kate were a joy to us and to each other. A never ending circus
between a small cat and a large dog. Kate (the cat) saw herself as the one
who kept charge of the house. Roscoe (the dog) saw himself as the clown who
provided comic relief.

The interaction never ended and was never ending. Both are gone now.
Neither will ever be forgotten.

/)_

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fraser - 25 Nov 2003 06:54 GMT

>>>I am looking to get a dog in the next few months and would like a Husky
>>>Shepard mix. Does anyone know if they are good with cats? I am going to
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>>many other breeds that do much much better with cats like Labradors,
>>GSDs, and Golden Retrievers.

Dobermanns are also ok with cats, providing they are taught to respect
the cats at an early age. We have had 2 dobermanns living happily with
up to 6 cats... in fact, the cats seem to enjoy having the dog around.
When the dobermann is not sleeping on it's bed, you can bet the female
cats will be sleeping on it. They are attracted to it like a magnet. I
don't know why, but they seem to love rolling about in the dog bed,
covering themselves in dog smell. Perhaps they think it adds some sort
of protective scent to them if they can make themselves smell like a
dobermann? It is only the females that do this, never the males. Any one
have any ideas on this?
Here is an old pic of one of our cats (since deceased by a few years)
enjoying the company of a dobermann :)
http://mouserspage.cjb.net/picture38.html

Fraser

******************
Please visit my cat at his webpage - http://mouserspage.cjb.net - cat
photos and cat webcam...

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Sabrina's Mom - 25 Nov 2003 15:07 GMT

>I had a really dominant tiny cat and she just loved our Lab, as long as she
>was in control. It worked.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>It was kind of fun seeing a 10 lb cat kicking a 90 lb Lab off his favorite
>sofa.

Yes, I've got Sabrina the cat and Chloe the dog. Sabrina was a 20lb
cat prior to her cancer amputation. She's now a 13lb cat. Chloe is
a 45lb dog (mix of hound/lab/cur).

Sabrina was adopted by us when she was 4 yrs old, she's currently 7.
Chloe's age is unknown because she was a rescue I found, but we guess
she's about 2 yrs old.

Even now, after the surgery and Sabrina is a 3 legged cat and does not
have claws in her front paw. And she can still open a can of
whoop-a.s on Chloe when necessary. She's my black knight.

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m. L. Briggs - 25 Nov 2003 21:48 GMT

>>I had a really dominant tiny cat and she just loved our Lab, as long as she
>>was in control. It worked.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>have claws in her front paw. And she can still open a can of
>whoop-a.s on Chloe when necessary. She's my black knight.

I -- and I am sure everyone else -- would love to hear more about
how Sabrina is getting along. She had a really tough time and we all
are interested in her. MLB

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Alan Sandoval - 27 Nov 2003 05:50 GMT

> >>I had a really dominant tiny cat and she just loved our Lab, as long as she
> >>was in control. It worked.
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> how Sabrina is getting along. She had a really tough time and we all
> are interested in her. MLB

Roscoe, the Lab, had cancer on a rear leg. The vet said the only option was
amputation. We asked about how he would get along and the vet told us the
dog would do fine, the only problems he ever had with this was the pet
owners. We assured him he wouldn't have a problem with us, and sure enough,
Roscoe hardly noticed his missing leg.

He was up and around the day after the surgery. He didn't even have a
problem with the doggie door. Roscoe lived a long time after that and
continued to be a loving member of the family.

Best wishes to all

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JP Hobbs - 04 Dec 2003 11:56 GMT

Hi I had a black Labradour many yrs ago, he was
almost human, I aready had a black cat but my son had
lost his to RB, so I bought him a tiny white burmese
as I opened the door, I put the kittenon the floor to
surprise my son, Ralph , the dog was sitting in the
furthermost corner from the door with one leg drooping
open the way male dogs sit and the kitten ran straight
over to him and sat down in the crook of the open leg
and from that day on they were inseperable they also
left us for RBwithin a couple of months of each other.
J.P.

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