my husky severely mauled my cat ?!?

Question

i have a 2 year old male husky and a 3 year old male cat. Generally the male cat would tease the husky sometimes, but the husky wouldn't mind most of the time. However yesterday evening the husky suddenly attacked the cat when he was teased. I quickly separated the cat but by then he was already injured severely and was crying in pain.

I took him to the vet and the vet said that the cat suffered serious injuries and it would take several months to recover at least.

The cat generally showed dominating behavior to husky but husky never retaliated before. The cat would often touch the husky's nose with his paw and display similar behaviors.

But i'm clueless and still not able to understand why husky beat the cat so badly yesterday. Can anyone tell why the fight occurred and how to avoid it again?

The dog was generally very easygoing and laidback, so its still hard for me to realize what he did.

The cat has been admitted into vet facility for now.

Answer 1

That's a husky. Prey drive is so strong no matter how well they contain it for how long a time it can take them over in a heartbeat.

Answer 2

Cat's and Huskies don't usually mix.

In some cases they will if the Husky is introduced into the house as a puppy with the cat already being there. Sometimes not, as you have now learned.

The prey drive is strong in a Husky and it can't be trained out of them. You will need to keep them separated from now on, though the cat most likely won't be teasing the Husky after this.

Huskies are not high strung as one posting said. They do have a zest for life, and will play ROUGH! They are not normally aggressive, although they will take up a challenge if presented.

If for any reason you decide to remove the Husky from your home, get him into a rescue. Turning him in to the pound is an automatic death sentence in most localities. The pound by law have to keep strays a length time and will adopt them out if possible for a short time after that. Owner turn ins are generally put down immediately.

As to the A/H who said to put the Husky down .... may the fleas of 10,000 Iranian camels infest your pubic region. Yours is the most idiotic and heartless answer I have seen.

Answer 3

Out of all of these answers, you only got a few that were actually correct:

The Siberian Husky is a primitive, prey-driven breed. They will kill cats, small animals, and sometimes even small dogs.

I file this under "it was bound to happen sometime." It wasn't because "he was tired of being teased", and it certainly wasn't because he's a killer and should be put down. It had nothing to do with the cat being "dominant" over him. It was because his instincts kicked into play and he followed them.

Why now? Why not last week, or a year ago? Hard to say. If the cat ran from him, his instinct to chase and pounce probably got the best of him. Or maybe he momentarily forgot himself, if you've raised him to respect the cat.

I can tell you now, however, that he will likely continue to see the cat as a prey animal now that he's attacked it once. You will need to keep them separated.

Answer 4

The dog finally had enough. Plus, he's mature now, perhaps he tolerated it more as a puppy. Sorry your cat was hurt, but the best way to keep it from happening again is to keep them separated. Northern breeds tend to have a high prey drive, and while the cat survived this time, the next time he may not be so fortunate. Hope your cat does OK.

Answer 5

This is normal. The cat never took the hint and had to be taught a severe lesson.

You can expect a marked change in behavior from both animals when your cat gets home. The dog will now be more dominant and the cat will tread carefully around him.

It shouldn't happen again. The lesson has been handed out and will have been learned.

Answer 6

Dont put the dog down like the first idiot said!!

The dog had just had enough and he snapped. It does happen but the only thing you can really do to make sure it doesnt happen again is to keep the cat away from the dog, because the dog has done it once the chances are it will happen again eventually and next time the cat may not be so lucky.

Answer 7

Huskies don't really like small animals and seeing that your cat would often try dominate the dog he must of got to a pint where he just had enough of the cat.my mom has a cat that is extremely tempramental and teases the dogs and she also came off on the wrong side,that's cats for you.as to avoid it from happening again, if the dogs bit the cat once he WILL do it again.try keeping them seperate when not undersupervision.

Answer 8

Loki pretty much said it all and I'm not sure who said Husky's are high strung but that is incorrect. The combination of one too many times and prey drive was just too much. Please don't blame the dog, it is a miracle he tolerated it this long. I'm sorry this had to happen but you'll never be able to leave the cat alone with him. Good Luck!

Answer 9

Do not put the dog down, the cat teased one too many times, I am sorry your cat was hurt so bad,,,but sometimes you just cant mix the two....please do not have the dog put down, and anyone that would suggest that is an idiot...

you need to start socializing your dog more, but since he has shown he will not tolerate cats, you will need to keep them separated when the kitty comes home......the cat should not have been allowed to continue tease the dog, I know it seems cute at first, but in the end, the animals suffer,,,,no, I am not saying you did anything wrong, because you did not, but you will have to start working with your dog alot more.

hope kitty gets all well and gets to come home...but please keep them apart, they wont forget this little battle and it will continue.......good luck

Answer 10

Huskies are notorious for being cat killers,as they have a very strong prey drive.Your dog cannot be trusted around the cat again,so you will either have to keep the cat in a seperate part of the house,or rehome one of them.