Need advice on Husky mix with cats

I have no Siberian husky experience.  I'm used to pitbulls and rottweilers, the ones we had will treat cats like their siblings if they're raised together.

We currently have a cat.  We're looking to adopt a dog, and have been informed that she is a Siberian husky mix.  The woman from the rescue cautioned that full Siberian huskies can be raised with cats, and then as an adult can still give into their very strong prey drive and kill a family pet that they were raised with, which apparently accounts for a large number of surrendered adult huskies.  The dog we are considering is NOT a full husky.  They're not sure who the dad was, possibilities are a pitbull or a lab.  The woman said that a mix has a better chance of peacefully coexisting with a cat, but she wanted to let me know that the potential was still there.

Does anyone have experience with this?  The cat in question can be skittish.  She's a sweet dog, and seemed very calm when we interacted with her even though she is still a puppy (about 20-something weeks) but her demeanor around other people and dogs doesn't mean she'll be calm around cats.

Not expertise here but just dog park experience.  Huskies like to mix it up.  They can be rough.  Not necessarily viciousness but domination oriented. 

I think the advice is pretty standard. I love Malamutes and Huskies and was told by rescues that it was very risky.

Morganna said:
I think the advice is pretty standard. I love Malamutes and Huskies and was told by rescues that it was very risky.

 So we should not risk it even with a half breed?  

I’d rely on experts but anecdotally, we had a Husky mix. She loved the cat and they even invented their own games. She also loved the guinea pigs. On the other hand, she hated strange men.

In the neighborhood where I used to live, there was a devastating incident in which two loose Huskies broke into someone's porch and killed the family's cats.  I had no idea that the prey drive of this breed is so high.  That being said, purebred Huskies, as well as mixes, have lived successfully with cats.  However, it may not be an acceptable risk.  Here's an interesting discussion about the issue:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/81839844@N00/discuss/72157594170435110/

I knew someone with huskies and they were crazed when they saw cats. I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t chance it. Too much of a risk in my opinion.

with all the dogs in the world needing adoption, why would this one even still be a consideration with the advice you’ve been given? Let a cat-free family take this one, you’ll get the next one.

I once had a S. Husky.  He belonged to my ex-wife while we were living together before we were married.  He was the best and most well behaved dog ever.  He really wanted to play with my cat, but not in a threatening way, just kind of like "let's have some fun".  But my cat was having none of it, and went on the defensive.  It all worked itself out because the dog was very old and died before we were married.  But I think S. Huskys are sweet and harmless based on my experience.  YMMV.

We've decided to not adopt this particular dog.  I've never had a dog that was a danger to cats after being integrated into the family.  When I was younger we once adopted a collie mix that did try to kill the cat the first day we brought her home from the pound (she had been living on the street so she probably saw the cat as a food source) but as soon as my mom made it clear that the cats were off limits, Lady never went after them again.  My sister adopted a pit mix that had also been living on the streets, and also tried to go after her cats.  Again, rules were quickly established and that dog would lunge after cats out on the street when walking on leash, but understood that the cats in the house were off limits. 

What spooked me about this dog is the description of huskies and mixes being raised with a cat, and then suddenly giving into their prey drive as an adult and killing a cat that they had previously lived with peacefully.

I had heard of huskies and cats having issues, but I had always assumed that it was dogs going after neighbor's cats, or a new cat introduced to the home.  I didn't realize they could turn on cats they had been raised with.

This dog might be able to get along great with our cat, but she might not, and I don't feel comfortable taking that risk. A dust up is one thing, but risking the dog killing the cat months, or even years, down the road is just scary to think about. 

spontaneous said:
I have no Siberian husky experience.  I'm used to pitbulls and rottweilers, the ones we had will treat cats like their siblings if they're raised together.
We currently have a cat.  We're looking to adopt a dog, and have been informed that she is a Siberian husky mix.  The woman from the rescue cautioned that full Siberian huskies can be raised with cats, and then as an adult can still give into their very strong prey drive and kill a family pet that they were raised with, which apparently accounts for a large number of surrendered adult huskies.  The dog we are considering is NOT a full husky.  They're not sure who the dad was, possibilities are a pitbull or a lab.  The woman said that a mix has a better chance of peacefully coexisting with a cat, but she wanted to let me know that the potential was still there.
Does anyone have experience with this?  The cat in question can be skittish.  She's a sweet dog, and seemed very calm when we interacted with her even though she is still a puppy (about 20-something weeks) but her demeanor around other people and dogs doesn't mean she'll be calm around cats.

 Our family dog growing up was pure husky but her Dad was more wolf than the usual domesticated Husky.... Sooo she ate almost every pet I had...she did not get along well with others! But I feel like every husky is different? Just my two cents!

Having the dog mix with cats as a puppy might be in your favor and if she isn't pure Husky.

Hope this helps some!

jurassicpark13 said:

 Our family dog growing up was pure husky but her Dad was more wolf than the usual domesticated Husky.... Sooo she ate almost every pet I had...she did not get along well with others! 

I've only had two pets killed by other pets, and in both cases the murderer was a cat.  The first victim was a mouse, Alexander, that was killed by Cat (I didn't name him, my sister did).  Alexander had managed to escape from his cage one night, and Cat did what cats are known to do.  It was a pretty gruesome find in the morning.

The second pet who was killed was a parakeet, Pio.  I used to let her fly around my bedroom during the day.  My bedroom was on the attic level of the house, so all the windows on that floor were dormers.  I always kept my bedroom door closed.  Our cat, Denchi, went up to the third floor to the front room and got out of a window that was left open, went across the roof to my window, and actually managed to scratch open the plastic side vents of the window air conditioner to get into my room and killed poor Pio.  Denchi was a cold blooded killer, she used to kill and eat blue jays, and would ignore the other jays dive bombing her while she munched on her poor victim.  Most cats avoid blue jays because of their numbers, but she would just keep her head down and ignore their attacks.

My take on huskies is that their owners are a devoted bunch, but that they do need someone who is willing to accept their numerous "quirks."  Every dog breed has things they are known for, good and bad, it isn't just huskies.  But after learning more about the breed I don't feel that a husky, or even a husky mix, would be a good fit for us.

Spontaneous - ‘Cat’ was a nickname - her name was actually Catastrophe 

Scully said:
Spontaneous - ‘Cat’ was a nickname - her name was actually Catastrophe 

 His name, not her.  Cat was a boy.  Kitty was the girl.  Puppy was a boy.  And you guys should never have let a toddler name the pets   

spontaneous said:

Scully said:
Spontaneous - ‘Cat’ was a nickname - her name was actually Catastrophe 

 His name, not her.  Cat was a boy.  Kitty was the girl.  Puppy was a boy.  And you guys should never have let a toddler name the pets   

Actually Cat entered our lives when your father and I (and your newborn sister) lived in South Orange. 

We found him covered in black sticky stuff (tar?) on Mischief Night. 

A lot of his fur had to be cut off (But grew back fine) so we named him Catastrophe and called him ‘Cat’ for short.

Later (toddler named) pets were Puppy and Kitty   

The gender confusion was probably a throwback to my grandparents to whom all cats were ‘she’ and dogs ‘he’