Do you wonder if bringing home a cat will stir up your perfectly imperfect balance at home? Huskies are natural-born hunters, so they have a high prey drive. If you plan on leaving your Husky alone with a cat, they should be supervised at all times if they try to harm the cat.
However, Huskies are considered a friendly breed and are typically good-natured. While they are usually not aggressive towards humans, they tend to be aggressive towards small animals like cats.
Do Huskies Get Along With Cats?
Once a Husky sees a cat, its chase instinct is activated due to predatory aggression. Huskies might not intend to harm a cat but will likely chase it down and try to chew on it gently. Since the prey drive is a heavy survival instinct for a Husky, there is no amount of training to suppress the appeal of chasing small animals.
You may be able to teach your dog to look at you instead of chasing the cat, or you can teach him that he will be rewarded for not chasing the cat. However, Huskies are challenging to train due to their stubborn nature. While it might seem impossible, there is still a chance that your Husky can get along with a cat.
Start Training Early
Start training your Husk as early as possible. It is best to train your Husky as a puppy to respect a cat. Socialize your Husky puppies with cats and other small animals to increase your chances of getting along. If your Husky is older, training will be more challenging.
It is wise not to have high expectations and to make safety your top priority. To train your Husky to get along with a cat, you should start by introducing the cat to your dog when he is in a crate. Keeping your Husky in a crate when introducing the cat will ensure that the cat stays safe and will give your pup a chance to become familiar with it.
Reward Your Husky for Good Behavior
If you notice your Husky does not chase after your cat, especially throughout training, reward your pup. Your dog can learn to listen to your commands when he sees a cat instead of chasing the cat.
Reward your Husky for ignoring the cat; over time, he will learn that the cat is something not worth chasing. You can reward your dog by giving him a treat each time he ignores the cat or taking him to his favorite place when he expresses good behavior.
Final Thoughts
While your Husky might eventually learn to get along with a cat, training him to fight the prey instinct is a process.
It is important to remember that if your Husky gets along with your cat, it does not necessarily mean he won’t go and chase a stray neighborhood cat. Always keep your dog on a leash, just in case he decides to go after a small animal.
Siberian Huskies have a strong pack instinct and get along great with other dogs and humans.
The difficult conditions that their ancestors experienced are responsible for their strong prey drive, causing them to go after small animals, like cats, instinctively. Be patient when training your Husky to get along with cats because it will take a lot of time and effort.
