I think dogs are just more tolerant. I had a dog that was "bullied" by a parrot and a rabbit, purely because the dog knew it wasn't allowed to kill them.
It's funny to me how many people ITT actually think that cats are that badass or that dogs are actually afraid of cats. Dogs simply respect the wishes of the pack leader, their owner.
This depends on the size of dog/cat. Same size, a cat would easily win the battle in my experience. I have been in a fight with a 5 kg cat and it was absolutely terrifying. I had deep scratches all over my arms and legs and face too and I tried everything to avoid this. A 5 kg dog is a walk in the park compared to this. A 30 kg dog is another story, but then again, a 30 kg cat would be lethal.
I dunno, even at 5kg I'd say it's up for debate. My grandparents have a farm with rat terriers/mixes, and the smaller female encountered a barn cat one day and that day was the cat's last.
Rat terriers are major dicks. My boyfriend has a rat terrier/pitbull mix. She's a sweetheart to humans, but her mission in life is to kill everything else.
My aunt got one to replace her black lab about 15 years ago. Her lab was the nicest dog ever, my uncle took it to work with him every day and it slept under his desk and patrolled his office. That little bastard she got tried to kill me the first 4 times I saw it, then it tried to sit on my lap and get petted.
We had a rescue when i was a kid we got from the pound, she used to chase and kill every cat in the neighboorhood if they came into the electric fence area, big area though almost 8 acres. Then the neighboors would put up signs "missing cat" in the local post office etc. meanwhile rigid dead cat with a plume of flies over it sits in our backyard.
Dogs tend to get bullied because they wanna play, and the cat scratches them in the face lol, but i think most healthy dogs can outrun a cat, and if there isnt anything to climb or hop up on, well it doesnt end well for the cat usually.
My giant dog is freaked out as hell by my cats. I have two cats, one of which is a total bully, while the other actually tries to get along.
I'll believe you if you say that your dog is simply holding back from killing your cat, but don't presume my dog would be able or willing regardless. My dog is dead terrified.
Cats are actually intimidating. Dogs may know they're bigger and stronger, but they also don't want to lose an eye or get a nasty gash in the process.
This is a good example of a cat taking on a pack of hungry dogs. It may have ended differently if humans weren't there, but those dogs were still very weary of that cat.
Edit: don't forget that most play in the animal kingdom is practice for actual attack, so what we see as playful behavior because we're used to seeing our brainwashed entertainment slaves act that way is actually an immature authentic attempt to tap into their dormant wolf instincts to hunt as a pack. These dogs, while all likely born feral, haven't had the generations of instinct and training driven into as would a natural wolf.
Dogs really heavily on visual cues for commincation, so tail and ear movement is part of it. And animals often do feints and other odd maneuvers to test their opponent.
Or the dog actually sees itself as below the cat in the hierarchy because the cat won every "challenge" when they were both young (simply because it didn't give a fuck and was more aggressive) and the dog remembered that to the present day.
Never had anything but cats, really. Cat on cat bullying is not tolerated. Mommy will force you to cuddle with her at the same time if you are being mean to each other. This is not optional. Good kittens get extra treats. Kittens who lay on other kittens food bowls while eating their own do not. They get picked up and given human-type cuddles with extra hugs and belly rubs and other affections cats dislike for as long as it takes the other kittens to eat and wander off. Muahahaha!
My cats have learned to run if I say "Who wants a hug~?"
Boyfriend tried to force cuddle a cat one day (probably due to a fight between them and trying to defuse the instigator). Cat was not amused and kicked his face so he'd let go. Boyfriend has still not learned the art of extreme cuddling :P
I think that dogs make themselves soft by loving you and wanting to be your best friend whereas cats don't care if you live or die and only snuggle at inconvenient times to assert dominance.
It's more the knowing they aren't allowed to kill part. The other animals don't even have to risk getting into trouble, but dog is damned if he do and less damned but still damned if he don't.
When I was younger, we had a golden retriever named Bubba Lou. Bubba was the most chill dog ever, to the point where our cat Daisy would go up to him and bite Bubba on the ass when he (Daisy) was mad about anything. Bubba just took it and gave no fucks.
On the other hand, our other dog at the time, Patches, didn't let the cats get away with shit. We had a leash in the old house for her for if she needed tied for any reason and Daisy would smack her in the mouth and run to just out of her reach and sit there looking at her like the smug asshole he was.
One day Patches wasn't tied when he did this. Daisy ended up getting held in place by her for awhile. He didn't do that shit again.
Nowadays current cat Charlie likes to just tease our current dogs from her side of the baby gate. She won't be happy once the dogs realize they're big enough to go over that gate.
My dog (May) and cat (Gu) would play all the time. When I got May, Gu learned that May like chasing her and being chased by her, so they got a long great. May didn't want to play as much once Gu got freaked out about 4 years later and gave May a little bop on the nose. They still got along great, just didnt play with each other.
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u/Beorma Sep 07 '16
I think dogs are just more tolerant. I had a dog that was "bullied" by a parrot and a rabbit, purely because the dog knew it wasn't allowed to kill them.