{"id":12673,"date":"2022-01-04T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T15:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/?p=12673"},"modified":"2023-11-09T07:59:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T13:59:02","slug":"dogs-cats-hate-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/culture\/myths\/dogs-cats-hate-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"Debarking Pet Myths: Dogs and Cats Hate Each Other"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to another installment of \u201cDebarking Pet Myths,\u201d our monthly series that addresses common myths, misconceptions and old wives\u2019 tales about dogs, cats and their nutrition.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a common belief that cats and dogs hate each other. Certainly, it\u2019s what a lot of television shows and movies have led us to believe. But is this really true? Do all <\/em>cats and dogs hate each other, or can some of them set aside their natural instincts to at least tolerate, or in some cases love, each other?<\/p>\n

Dog: Let\u2019s Play Chase<\/h2>\n

Hardwired behaviors can have a big influence on the relationship between cats and dogs. For example, dogs love<\/em> to chase. Balls, leaves, squirrels, birds \u2014 basically, dogs will chase \u00a0anything that moves (including cats). And cats love to run. The flight option of the fight or flight response kicks in for most cats when they\u2019re threatened, and that means run!<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s not surprising that a lot of dog and cat encounters start with a game of chase and end with a dog barking at a cat that\u2019s escaped to a tall tree. Of course there\u2019s the occasional brave kitty that will stand their ground and, with a quick swipe to the nose, have the dog running, but generally speaking, dogs chase cats. Which is really not a great start to a relationship.<\/p>\n

Cat: I Need My Space<\/h2>\n

The social personalities of dogs and cats can also influence who they get along with, including members of their own species. Typically, dogs are social animals who love being part of a pack (including a human pack). Cats, on the other paw, are generally solitary animals that join the party when they<\/em> want to.<\/p>\n

So when you have a friendly, social dog that\u2019s all, \u201cHello! I want to play. Can I lick you?\u201d that isn\u2019t going to go down well with most cats. But this doesn\u2019t just apply to cat and dog relationships. There are plenty of cases where one cat is not<\/em> happy that another cat has joined the family. Similarly, some dogs just don\u2019t get along, particularly if there\u2019s a large age difference. It all depends on the personalities of each dog and each cat.<\/p>\n

Best Buds for Life<\/h2>\n

The important words from our discussion so far are most<\/em>, typically<\/em> and generally<\/em>. Because while most <\/em>dogs love to chase cats and cats typically<\/em> prefer to be alone, there are certainly a lot of exceptions to those rules that put holes in the \u201cdogs and cats hate each other\u201d myth. Particularly if the dog and cat have known each other since they were young.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true, dogs and cats can be best friends. There are plenty of cute photos and videos of dogs and cats snuggling that prove this. From dogs who took on the role of a parent when a kitten was added to the family to others that took a little convincing that the new addition was acceptable, there are plenty of dog and cat friends out there. Or at least dogs and cats that tolerate (but don\u2019t hate) each other\u2026<\/p>\n

Introducing Dogs and Cats for the First Time<\/h2>\n

If you have a dog and are considering adding a cat to the family (or vice versa), it\u2019s important that the introduction is slow and safe. Cats need a safe place to retreat to and at least two escape routes to get to it. It\u2019s also important to know each animal\u2019s posture, facial expressions and other cues that signal stress, fear or aggression so that you can quickly intervene. Our post on introducing kittens to dogs<\/a> has a great chart for reading your cat\u2019s mood, and we have a similar a post for signs of stress in dogs<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The answer to whether dogs and cats do<\/em> hate each other depends on their personalities and their life experiences. Introducing dogs and cats to each other in a safe and controlled setting can go a long way to help them develop a loving \u2014 or at the very least, amicable \u2014 relationship.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

RELATED POST: Paws in Translation: Reading Your Pet\u2019s Faces<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to another installment of \u201cDebarking Pet Myths,\u201d our monthly series that addresses common myths, misconceptions and old wives\u2019 tales about dogs, cats and their nutrition. It\u2019s a common belief that cats and dogs hate each other. Certainly, it\u2019s what a lot of television shows and movies have led us to believe. But is this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Do Dogs and Cats Really Hate Each Other?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Unravel the myth of cat-dog hostility. Understand their behaviors, explore how personalities influence relationships and discover tips for peaceful introductions!","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[158,275],"tags":[100,12,382,383,134,10,54],"class_list":["post-12673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-myths","tag-cat","tag-cats","tag-debarking-pet-myths","tag-debunking-pet-myths","tag-diamond-pet-foods","tag-dog","tag-dogs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}