Relatively new Akita owner here. I adopted Meiyo from her previous owner in May. Found her through Pet Finder as I was looking for a dog who is good with cats. I wasn’t specifically looking for an Akita and was aware of their high prey drive and other issues. I did verify her history of successfully living with a cat and the reason her owner put her up for adoption. Turned out they were moving and couldn’t take her with them. They were also rehoming their cat, but I couldn’t take her as I already had three. Meiyo is a very friendly dog-she took to me immediately. She likes meeting people on our walks and doesn’t react to people coming in the house. She is reactive to other dogs, which I expected. She respects the cat’s boundaries and they are assertive of their boundaries. They do have safe spaces around the house that Meiyo cannot access.
Welcome and congratulations! Just remember that dogs can have a different attitude towards your cats inside the house versus outside the house. I don't know if your cats go outside, but if so be aware. I have found female akitas to be a bit "more" than the males. The males are just big goofballs while the females like to be in charge more. The best advice I can give you is to use positive based training with her. Redirection and reward will work in most situations. Having safe places for the cats is great. I have three baby gates in the house. Litter boxes are behind the baby gates as well as cat food and water. I bought the gates that open like a door so I don't have to climb over them and they have small doors within the big doors for the cats to use that the bigger dogs can't get through.* This works great as the cats don't have to try jumping the gates to avoid the dogs. *I should mention that my dad's second akita thought he heard my dad outside (my dad was on a trip) and tried to go through the small cat flap in the door. He AND the entire flap with frame went through the hole in the door to the outside. So note that not much will stop an akita who is determined.
My cats don’t go outside, so that’s not a big concern. I do use positive based training and it seems to work well with her.
Meiyo gets along pretty well with one cat. The other keeps his distance from her. It’s hard for her to tell them apart as they’re identical twins. Fortunately the cats have plenty of spaces around the house that the dog can’t get into. If she gets too excited, they just disappear for a awhile until she calms down.
