5 ms·

Yeah, the title of this post is so odd. "Even dogs?" Of course dogs are included. Dogs and cats are often inseparable companions.

thaumasiotes 2y ago
The title is driven by the fact that, in American mythology, dogs are the natural predator of cats. In the same way that mice mythologically prefer to eat cheese.
- vbezhenar 2y ago
  It is not mythology. Dogs hunt cats. Just like cats sometimes live with domesticated mouses.
  - thaumasiotes 2y ago
    In Chinese mythology, early settlements were plagued with violence when men started fighting over women.
    - jncfhnb 2y ago
      Violence over mating competition? Certainly a myth.
  - AlbertCory 2y ago
    Right, it's not mythology. My dog barked when he saw a cat outside, and wanted to chase it. And he grew up with a cat. (And by the way, showed no emotion at all when the cat had to be put down, although I'm not for one second denying that animals grieve.) He ignored squirrels, oddly enough. Too many of those.
- cityofdelusion 2y ago
  Mythology? Dogs are a natural predator of all small mammals, cats included. Prey drive is a big reason that extreme caution is advised when introducing an adopted dog to a cat with an unknown history.
  - JohnBooty 2y ago
    Prey drive is a big reason that extreme caution is advised when introducing an adopted dog to a cat with an unknown history. Introducing pets is the least "natural" behavior ever. You are asking two predator animals to share a confined living space orders of magnitude smaller than their natural habitat. Conflicts there are most definitely not evidence of whom is a "natural predator" of whom. Dogs are a natural predator of all small mammals No. Even when a cat is much smaller than a dog, it's not going down without inflicting some nasty claw wounds... that's a lot of prone-to-infection wounds for not a lot of meat. And it's difficult to imagine a dog or a pack of dogs being able to catch a cat in the first place.
II2II 2y ago
Is it surprising the article would discuss that when it goes on to discuss cats been considered aloof, independent, and fickle in their affections? The cat/dog thing is yet another one of those stereotypes where many pet lovers could provide an abundance of evidence to the contrary.
- DidYaWipe 2y ago
  Yes.

thaumasiotes 2y ago

The title is driven by the fact that, in American mythology, dogs are the natural predator of cats. In the same way that mice mythologically prefer to eat cheese.

vbezhenar 2y ago
It is not mythology. Dogs hunt cats. Just like cats sometimes live with domesticated mouses.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago
  In Chinese mythology, early settlements were plagued with violence when men started fighting over women.
  - jncfhnb 2y ago
    Violence over mating competition? Certainly a myth.
- AlbertCory 2y ago
  Right, it's not mythology. My dog barked when he saw a cat outside, and wanted to chase it. And he grew up with a cat. (And by the way, showed no emotion at all when the cat had to be put down, although I'm not for one second denying that animals grieve.) He ignored squirrels, oddly enough. Too many of those.
cityofdelusion 2y ago
Mythology? Dogs are a natural predator of all small mammals, cats included. Prey drive is a big reason that extreme caution is advised when introducing an adopted dog to a cat with an unknown history.
- JohnBooty 2y ago
  Prey drive is a big reason that extreme caution is advised when introducing an adopted dog to a cat with an unknown history. Introducing pets is the least "natural" behavior ever. You are asking two predator animals to share a confined living space orders of magnitude smaller than their natural habitat. Conflicts there are most definitely not evidence of whom is a "natural predator" of whom. Dogs are a natural predator of all small mammals No. Even when a cat is much smaller than a dog, it's not going down without inflicting some nasty claw wounds... that's a lot of prone-to-infection wounds for not a lot of meat. And it's difficult to imagine a dog or a pack of dogs being able to catch a cat in the first place.

II2II 2y ago

Is it surprising the article would discuss that when it goes on to discuss cats been considered aloof, independent, and fickle in their affections? The cat/dog thing is yet another one of those stereotypes where many pet lovers could provide an abundance of evidence to the contrary.

DidYaWipe 2y ago
Yes.