People have a tendency of identifying themselves as either a cat or a dog person, depending on which pet they prefer. But for the person who is both, he’ll tell you that such a claim is a misnomer. In fact, cats have us all fooled. We make such a distinction between them and dogs that we think of them as two completely different animals. But cats are really a lot like dogs. Domestication might have had a hand in that, or maybe the intermingling of the two species in the household has passed along traits they now both share, but they’re not as different as you think they are.
Cats are known as being aloof and standoffish, but are they really? If you have a cat of your own, think about it. When you’re up during the day, you see your cat lying around and sleeping all the time. She may only get up to eat or to use the litter box. That’s because cats are nocturnal by nature and come alive at night. When you’re asleep, your cat may be doing all kinds of things. She’s probably hunting for that sneaky mouse that got into the house somehow or is staring out a window at a bat flying by. She could be patrolling the grounds or getting into mischief, but she is definitely up and about. This is her active time. While dogs are passed out in bed beside their pet parent, a cat is in active mode during the night.
I stay up late and often go through the house after midnight. This is when I catch my adopted cat on the move. During the day, she’s a window potato, stretched out on the window sill, snoozing. The laundry room is her claimed territory, which has several windows for her look out on the world. She hardly ever leaves her domain during the day and guards it aggressively—yes, aggressively. But at night, she’s on the prowl. She moves about the house in search of mice that sometimes manage to sneak in and does what her ancestors did with them. It isn’t uncommon to hear something fall over or off a shelf in the middle of the night because she’s not the most graceful of cats. But at least she’s mobile. I’ve also caught her lounging in the dogs’ preferred spots at this time, places she wouldn’t be caught dead during the day.
Because of cats’ nocturnal nature, people don’t usually see the type of play they engage in. In truth, cats have the same urge to play as dogs do, and they often play the same way. They love games mimicking hunting and chasing things, and even tussling. These are the same types of games that dogs engage in. Both dogs and cats come from a history of predators, which is the basis of the type of games they play. Their ancestors hunted to survive, which is an instinct that is ingrained in both of them to this day. They satisfy this instinct by playing games that mimic such behaviors.
Just like a dog loves to hunt squirrels, a cat loves to chase mice. Mice are ideal for a cat to go after. Low to the ground and small, a mouse is excellent prey for a cat to hunt without incurring any risk in doing so. And after catching their prey, dogs and cats rarely eat their prey. A domestic cat will generally play with a mouse until it’s dead. Some cats even leave their catch for their pet parent to find as a gift or a display of their prowess. I’ve found this same behavior in my dogs when they’ve captured a small animal of their own.
Cats crave validation from their pet parent just as much as dogs do. If you think your cat is ambivalent to you, you’re being conned. Your cat is emotionally dependent upon you. She may lounge around and act like she doesn’t care, but that’s because she’s satisfied with the attention you give her. However, if you take that attention away or turn it onto another animal that you’ve brought into the house, your aloof cat will begin to fret and stress. She’ll exhibit odd behavior that you’ve never seen in her before. She may even stop using her litter box to do her business elsewhere. My adopted stray cat began this bad habit when we brought our Napoleons home. Before that, she only had the dogs to contend with, which she was used to, but she was highly offended when we brought our two other cats home. It took a lot of work with her to get us back in her good graces again, but it did happen.
Like dogs, cats are territorial. First and foremost, they don’t like it when another animal comes into the home, no matter what that animal is. Cats think your home is their own. They believe they are the rulers of said domain and are not pleased when change happens without their approval. However, when there’s more than one animal in the house, you’ll notice that each one has their favorite spot. This is a place they gravitate to for relaxation or to hide. There will even be animosity shown when another animal tries to take that spot. Our adopted stray has taken over the laundry room. It’s where her food and water are, and only she can eat from them. If the dogs or another cat comes into her domain, she displays her displeasure to them. This behavior can be found in our Napoleons and dogs to some extent when they want to protect their favorite spot from an encroacher.
Cats respect a hierarchy among themselves, just like dogs do. Dogs are pack animals and abide by a pecking order when there are multiple dogs in a family. Cats tend to be the same way. Currently, we have five dogs and four cats, and I can tell you the exact order of their ranking within the family. Dogs tend to be more defined in their ranking, but cats tend to follow a similar ideal. Just watch how they act among themselves. You will soon notice how one dominates the others. It’s not necessarily because one cat is bigger or meaner than the others; it’s the position of its ranking. As for our dogs, our Chihuahua, by far, is the most dominant over the others. She lords over the others, even my large husky/shepherd. Our adopted cat takes the lead over the cats, probably because she’s been with us longer than the other ones have been in the home.
Grooming is another similarity between dogs and cats. I’ve noticed that dogs either love to be brushed or tolerate it, but they hate being bathed or their nails being trimmed. This is the same with cats. My adopted stray loves a good brushing but puts up a fight when the bath water is drawn. My Naps are much better-behaved when it comes to bathing, since they’ve been bathed once a week since I got them, but they are by no means thrilled about it. The same goes for our dogs. Even my husky/shepherd, who loves playing in water, gripes when he has to take a bath.
After a lifetime of living with animals, I’ve noticed a lot of things; and there’s no doubt in my mind that cats are more like dogs than people think. So if you’re reluctant to take a cat into the house when your significant other wants one, fear not; you’ll be giving a home to a dog by proxy.
Catherine Rudy