Hi all,

We have just rescued a 2 1/2 year old little girl siberian husky called Mishka. She came from a farm and unfortunately escaped and managed to kill a goose and a small sheep The owner wanted to have her put down because he thought she was too aggressive. She isnt. She is the most gentle, affectionate and well behaved dog but there is just one problem. Our pet cats.

We have had Yuri, a big 2 year old siberian husky since he was 8 weeks old so he has grown up with our cats and there have never been any problems (although we still dont trust him 100%). Mishka on the other hand is still extremely interested in them. We have let her sniff the cats and she has had a few wallops from them but it hasnt put her off. If she is watching one of them, she has a look in her eyes that just say "As soon as you make a run for it, im gonna get you" and its a horrible stare. I have held one of the cats so Mishka can come up and say hello but she actually tried mouthing the cat and snapped her jaws

We're not quite sure on how to get her used to them and for her to realise they're our pets too. We have had her for about 2 weeks now and she is slowly getting better, but still will not leave them alone. One of the cats Tabitha usually sits on one of the dining room chairs, if Mishka knows she is there her head will be under that table, tail wagging looking at her hungrily!! We have the conservantory/out house as the dogs area, and the kitchen is for the cats so they are never left together unattended, but we want Mishka to be like Yuri in time, but I just think her prey drive is just too high!!

Any tips?

Poor Mishka her previous owner obviously did no research on the breed before buying her!....But you will never be able to trust her with your cat or any non canine animal, sibes are a primitive breed and have a very high prey drive, shes already killed livestock so please never allow either of your sibes off lead unless its a secure area. Ive c&p'd this from the SHCGB......

Not a one-man dog- any human will do- this may be seen as a lack of loyalty.
He will not guard your home or property.
Strong desire to run. If he gets free he will run so far he will be lost, if not hit by a car or train, or shot by a farmer.
Cannot be relied on to return to you on command. He will decide whether or not to return for himself, knowing that you cannot catch him.
Too independent and strong willed generally to be a candidate for obedience training/work.
Keen and efficient hunter and killer. Cannot be trusted with non-canine pets or livestock of any sort. On occasion been known to accept into the pack a cat that he is brought up with, but all others will be regarded as fair game. Please note - huskies have been known to kill cats, that they have lived happily with for many years, for no obvious reason.
Like any dog- must be exercised to keep him fit and contented, but this must be done ON lead.
Can be very destructive, especially when young and/or if left alone for a long time.
Needs company, either human or canine, and is miserable without it.
Needs a safely enclosed exercise area. Your garden must be fully fenced and secure. Six foot high fencing USUALLY enough. Check neighbours will not object to high fences. Take care he cannot dig his way out beneath it, and do not leave dustbins etc near the fence or he may use them to get over the top. Keep the garden gate locked, otherwise there is a risk that visitors, window cleaners etc may leave them open.
Your garden is unlikely to remain neat and tidy with a Sibe, rampaging happily within.
He needs correct feeding- breeders will be able to tell you which foods suit Sibes and which can cause problems.
Moults twice a year. The quantity of fur shed can surprise you, especially in spring when the winter coat is replaced by a shorter, thinner summer coat.
You need an understanding and experienced veterinary surgeon. Sibes are sensitive to some drugs, particularly anaesthetics, sedatives and tranquillisers. This is due to their relatively low metabolic rate and lack of body fat. Also the bulk of their fur can lead vets to overestimate their weight and so overdose them. Sibes should always be weighed accurately beforehand to avoid this

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"If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes."
L David Mech

We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself." -Farley Mowat

There has just been a thread on the cat forum in which a cat has died as a result of putting together a cat and a dog, not used to living with cats, a dog with a high prey drive which mauled the cat when the cat appeared unexpectedly and the owners took their eye off the ball for just a second. They claimed it was an accident. As I said on that thread, there are no such things as accidents only human beings who make careless mistakes and do not use their common sense. I am not having a go but this is an 'accident' waiting to happen. As much as you may love this dog, if you love your cats too, you will rethink what you have done.

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I would be looking into Husky rescue I think.. and probably would be keeping the dog muzzled in the house around the cat.
Huskies arent a breed that you could rehabilitate with small animals to the point you could leave them unattended I dont think, and cats are prone to running and jumping at random moments...too risky IMHO..

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SUMMER...JUST SAY NO!

I love my furkids.
dogs-Adam, Hannah, Heidi.
cats-Banjo, Bess, Eric, Tootsie, Blossom, Gracie.
Syrian Hamster-Inigo Montoya.
Rats-Ezri, Audrid, Emony.
Corn Snake- Kiora.
Kenyan Sand Boa- Kushti.

RIP- Winter, Autumn, Leela, Spring, Gandalf, Summer,Jet, Pip, Moo, Lilac, Wild Thing, Patrick, Frisbee, Echo.

Huskies are smart though. You could teach her a leave command?

Or long line and harness her and every time she harasses the cat - remove her from the room. This takes lots of repetition but she should learn.
I however think you cannot ever trust her alone with the cats. You never know if your older boy may take to instinct..

I have also seen/helped clean up the aftermath of when one husky has led the others and the victims were a litter of kittens due to go to their new homes - because the door wasn't shut/locked properly.

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yes huskies are very smart, but they are very efficient killers who have lost non of their hunting instincts...those instincts are innate so hard wired into them, even with the best training Mishka can Never be trusted, even sibes brought up with a cat from a pup should never be left unsupervised, i have friends whos cats paid the ultimate price because they always got along fine before

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"If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes."
L David Mech

We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself." -Farley Mowat

As noushka has said, even sibes brought up from pups with cats who are accepted as part of their pack, have later been defeated by their instincts and sadly have killed or maimed cats. So as good as your boy has been I would never ever become assured that its 100% safe and deffinately wouldnt leave even him with them unattended with, or where they could get access to each other when out.

Once a Sibe knows he can do something its even worse, Once they know they can jump and escape for example without even tighter security and vigilance they will do it again and again. Same once they have exercised their hunting instincts, its there anyway but once finely tuned using the skill it will make it
even more of a temptation.

Normal way to introduce a dog/cat is to crate train the dog, then introduce the cat in short sessions with the dog in the crate, so that the cat will feel more secure and not bolt stimulating the chase instinct more in the dog, and the dog can be controlled so it cant chase, and instead be rewarded and praised when it doesnt focus and get excited about the cat. You later then build up the sessions timewise that they are in the same vacinity as they relax more in each others company.

From there next step would be to have the dog on lead, starting again with short sessions of introduction with the cat in the room, praising and rewarding the dog as he learns to remain calm in the cats prescence, then building up to longer and longer sessions, until both are calm with each other.

That though as said is the normal way it can be done, In this case you have a Sibe with hard wired hunting instincts whos also exercised them to the full.
I would also repeat No Siberian however, saintly and unconcerned as they may seem with a cat should never ever be trusted unsurpervised, I wouldnt even pop to the loo and leave one even if its been OK for years. Sibes always have the element of surprise up their furry paws in reserve, and will do things out of character sometimes even after years that they have never done before.

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Thank you all for the replies.

We got Mishka from the breeder we got Yuri from, as she was fostering Mishka until she could find a suitable home. My mum has told her about her worries - Mishka managed to jump over our 6 foot garden wall a couple of days ago aswell but was luckily found within a couple of hours!

She is however, very well behaved - even better than Yuri who we have trained for 2 years. She is extremely affectionate and gentle and because of our love for animals, we dont want to part with her and have to put her into kennels because of her personality. We would like to give her a chance.

You are right though, I would not put it past her at all to kill one of our beloved cats if she got the chance. And we know deep down, Yuri our gentle giant would also do it aswell. Our 2 cats are both 12 years old, Ollie the tom is always out and about anyway and is rarely in the house. Tabitha however, is a house cat and she will either be up on my bed away from the dogs or sitting on her favourite dining room chair in the kitchen. We feed both cats and dogs seperatley in different rooms also.

Only someone who has never owned a Husky or a Mal would say you could train the prey drive out of them but unfortunately you can't and I feel very concerned for your cats under the circumstances.

I had to take back one of my pups (Mal) at just over two years of age and he was completely fixated with my cat. I tried many methods to get him to leave the cat alone and in the end resorted to a 20ml syringe filled with water, when he even just looked at the cat I would squirt him just once - he didn't know where it came from and the element of surprise worked, I only had to use it five or six times and he actually would look away from my cat. I re homed him and he lives with another Mal and a cat, they get on famously together. Drastic measures I know but my cats safety was of paramount importance but Mals are not as bad as Husky's in any case.

I wouldn't have considered it with a Husky and not likely with a Mal who wasn't one from my dogs who I know are very tolerant of cats. I think I would re home your girl as cats are so mobile and can appear from nowhere in an instant, the way they leap about is also very tempting to a high prey dirven animal. You simply can't constantly have your eye on the situation and just one slip could mean the death of one of the cats!

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

If shes jumped and been out you deffinately wont be able to leave her unattended in the garden, bored or if she feels the inclination she will be off,unless you can do something about the security. Is she spayed? One I rescued was just coming into season and she was even worse at trying to escape then usual because of the hormonal implication, wasnt quite so bad after and when spayed but couldnt be trusted at all before. The first few weeks/ month or two Ive found they can be worse for trying to escape too, before they have settled and "belong".

If Ollie is mostly out that maybe not such a problem although you will still have to watch his entrances and exits of course and in the garden. If you can make your other house cat a comfy room and make one to one fuss time with her maybe it can work if they have separate existences. Having said that cats especially if moggs can go on for ever well into late teens and even boyond so it may be a long duration.

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