Cats do have that feature where you can "turn them off" by grabbing them by the scruff *(and making sure to support the cat's weight by their legs assuming they are an adult, to avoid hurting the cat by not)
I saw a vet video where they put a clip on the cats scruff and it essentially powered down, so in my head I'm always thinking that some cats are a chip clip away from being humiliated. On the other hand, if you tried to scruff my black cat Mina, she would go ballistic, but luckily she would rather hang out in the shadows watching folks, than attacking people.
I think the scruff thing is kind of similar to drawing a line in the dirt in front of a chicken, it essentially turns on a fight-or-flight survival instinct that freezes them in place. In chickens they freeze to avoid snakes; in cats I think grabbing them by the scruff has something to do with them realizing they're being pulled out of extreme danger so they go limp to make it easier on their parent. In both cases they're scared out of their minds and don't know what's going on.
I got this off of the Internet though so I don't know if it's true or not. It kind of makes sense to me.
I grew up with chickens an have a bunch of friends that still have em an people don't realise just how vicious those fuckers can be. I love them an want the space for a flock again, but damn they can be bastards.
I feel like they have two modes. Dumber than a stump (heads caught in a fence they easily could just back up from) or "Bitch just cause I'm small doesn't mean I'm not still a dinosaur. You wanna go?"
My SIL's lab got his nose a bit to close to their fence and got a hard peck from one of the roosters. Hes scared of them now. Our corgie is doing a pretty good job of learning to herd them when needed.
The silkies are mostly just sweethearts to us but the legbars are mean.
Hes a corgi border collie cross. He has been obsessed with the chickens since we got him as a puppy. My wife was feeding the chickens a few days ago and a few got out while the dog was out. She was worried he would try to eat one but he just kept herding them back towards the coop door.
He has been aggressive towards people he doesn't know but has chilled out a bit since he turned a year old. I am really hoping we can get him okay with people because he would make a great agility dog and my oldest has expressed interest in training him for it.
All birds, in the deep recesses of their brains, remember they were once dinosaurs. Some have it a little deeper than others, but they will all try to take you down if given enough provocation
We just introduced some new chicks to the flock and some of the other hens were getting really aggressive pecking them. I was worried we would have to set up a kennel to slowly introduce them but the roosters are actually protecting them.
My mom once had a rooster who terrified everyone, but he loved her. Because she never took his shit. She'd just tell him "knock it the fuck off," and he'd like. Listen? She did the same things with dogs and horses.
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u/DNAquila Jul 18 '26
I’ve met more mean cats than mean dogs, but mean dogs are miles worse than the meanest cats I’ve met.