If Cats And Dogs Were People [VIDEO]

Oh yes, perfect cat imitation! Not all kitty cats of course (my bengal cat Leo likes to great us right at the door when we come home in the evening), but still; awesome!

Weirdly, one of my cats seems to be much more like the dog for some reason.

Yep…that’s my cat alright. She does come meet me at the door most days…but other then that. The “wake up slap” thing is way to familiar.

Yep, mine too. Both of mine are pretty affectionate all told. But barfy.

This is an interpretation of a cat by someone that doesn’t understand cats. I know this is funny to a lot of people ‘because it’s true,’ but it’s true because people don’t know how to live with their cats, and it drives me a bit bonkers. Cats are friendly, social animals that are too often badly socialized because people believe they are naturally solitary and unfriendly, which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. A well socialized cat is affectionate, interested in its owner, comfortable with strangers, and only engages in bad behavior like knocking things off shelves if they are rewarded for it with attention (either negative or positive) and understimulated (i.e. they need more physical and mental stimulation – play with them!). Also, watching someone yell at a cat for vomiting is like watching someone yell at a baby for pooping its diaper. It’s an involuntary bodily function you signed up for when you adopted the critter; to punish it for that is cruel and irrational, and certainly doesn’t do the cat any good.

My cats are thrilled to see me when I come home; they’ll wait at the window and rush to the door to greet me. They follow me around to see what I’m up to, or find a comfy place to sit nearby so they can be around me, or curl up on me and give me a bath if that’s an option. They patiently watch me while I cook in the kitchen; my youngest has a perch on a chair he’s allowed to sit on so he can observe what’s going on at eye level. They get excited when it’s time for clicker training, and love going outside for a walk on a leash and harness. When I treat them well and meet all of their needs, they are “like dogs” – affectionate and lovely to be around. When I ignore them, they become what people think of as “like cats” – ill-behaved little monsters that will do everything they can to push my buttons so I’ll pay attention to them. The real difference between a dog and a cat is that a dog thinks you’re its pack-leader, while a cat thinks you are its momma / kitten. A domestic cat does not slavishly desire to please you, but neither is it looking for a slave. It’s a little kid that wants love and attention and needs rules, and will return your efforts with adoration.

So if you think your cat is “like a dog” because it’s friendly and loving… it’s just acting like a well-socialized cat!

….Um, no.

I work at my local SPCA with a TON of cats. Of all backgrounds and personalities. I have a kitty who is currently passed out on my lap and has been for the last two hours. The one thing you can say about cats is this: They have a ton of personality.

My friend has a cat she loves on like crazy and is a complete cuddle monster with her. But as soon as a stranger pops in? that cat is in HIDING man. Won’t come out for nothin’. My cat is very independent and loves to spend about 85% of his waking hours out on our screened-in porch, but he will swing in to check and vet new people out and will demand cuddles (when he feels like it). I know cats who even when given tons of love for their whole lives are grumpy and standoffish, and I know cats that had barely any human contact and yet are the most cuddly love bugs ever. I also know plenty of demanding diva cats who will get their claws out if you do something they do not like at that moment, but as long as you play by their rules they deign you with their attention.

In the video he has the “cat” walk over the people and sit right next to the owner, cuddling up while not looking TOO affectionate. My cat does this a lot when he is only in his semi-cuddly moods.

Basically, yes, this vid is reinforcing some animal stereotypes. But I could go on listing the number of dogs who aren’t like how they were portrayed either (with my dads dog being a demanding brat at points). But those stereotypes are there for a reason, and part of it is the evolutionary attributes that cats and dogs were bred for are COMPLETELY different, and then you add individual personalities into it.

I doubt we’re in complete disagreement here. I’ve owned and raised about 40+ cats in my life, have been very close to about half of those, and have just three now, so I’m not totally inexperienced either. :)

Maybe there is some confusion about the terms I used. When I say a cat is affectionate, I mean the way in which that cat shows affection, which humans are not always good at interpreting. Actually, I think this is the biggest thing this video gets wrong because it portrays the cat as dead-pan and uninterested. When a cat is sitting next to you, batting at a newspaper that is being read, and tapping at your face, it is highly interested in you! For some reason people read a dog’s wagging tail easily enough, but a cat’s pricked ears and erect tail don’t signal excitement to us in the same way. Sharing space means they’re happy to be with you, playing with your paper means they want to play with you, and the face-tap is a kitten’s way of telling Mama that it wants to be fed (the same is true for the leg-trip with which all cat owners are familiar). Sadly, a lot of people think cats are just being pissy jerks when they do this. A cat does not have to be a “cuddle monster” to be a highly affectionate cat! Similarly, a lot of “grumpy” cats are either not grumpy at all, or grumpy because their owners don’t know how to read them properly and repeatedly interact with them in ways the cat doesn’t like. Really, the ‘cat’ in this video should look just as happy and excited as the ‘dog’!

They definitely do have personalities, and that will dictate things such
as *how* they show affection, act out, how much personal space they
need, and such. But there are general rules, which is true for any pet: The more handling and socialization with strangers they receive while young, the more likely they are to enjoy it while older, and in the ways they learned it as kittens. They are capable of learning verbal commands, tricks, desired behaviors and what they shouldn’t do – how well depends on personality, but most young cats are capable and eager, if taught properly. And ‘teaching properly’ means using language THEY understand – not yelling, nose rubbing, or hitting. The majority of “Diva” behavior is caused by being spoiled, and can be corrected with proper boundaries and training, but people don’t realize this because they’ve been led to believe that cats can’t be disciplined or taught. I’ve seen spoiled elderly cats break bad habits almost overnight when given boundaries.

When I say that a cat is well-socialized, I don’t mean that it’s just been treated nicely and loved. I mean that it’s been actively taught, in a structured way that it understands, how to interact with people. This is something I’ve only come to understand in the past few years, because there is so much cultural myth about cats not being friendly or being capable of learning. I will argue that any cat that runs from the sight of its owner coming home is not well-bonded with her (or, is being playful and inviting a chase), and any cat that is knocking crap off shelves is acting out for bad attention, the same way a toddler will throw a fit in a store if they’re sure they’ll get a candy bar out of it. A much more normal response for this video, imo, would have been a cat running up to greet its owner (I’ve had very few that wouldn’t!) and a cat knocking something down and then eagerly looking at its owner to see if they noticed and if they’re paying attention to them.

The video sets up the dichotomy that dogs care very much about their person, while cats don’t care at all, which makes cat lovers look like martyred masochists. And many cat owners think they are. *snort* :)

Also, though it’s less important, domestic cats and dogs have not been bred for *vastly* different reasons. Both are primarily scavengers, primarily dependent on humans for survival, and have been kept around for reasons of companionship as well as practical purposes.

Ah, definitely in agreement then! I think the thing that pushed my buttons the most was how you said that if a cat is well-socialized/treated well by their owner, they will naturally be affectionate, as I know cats who have been loved by people who get them, but they aren’t what most people would see as affectionate- if that makes sense.

I do think though one thing which trips up people about cats is that they are usually very alert to their surroundings- so when they are showing their affection by proximity/sitting on you/etc, it’s not as common for you to have 100% of their focus.

As for the dog tail wagging thing- that isn’t always a sign of affection and happiness, hilariously enough. People get that wrong too- it’s a sign of excitement, both anxious or happy. Which is why some people report on a dog wagging it’s tail and growling. XD Really, I think we just need to reboot the whole system of how we portray cats and dogs in the media. Yeah, there are some truths to it, but it does make me sad when I see someone own a cat they say is soooooo not affectionate, and yet when I spend a minute coaxing it it will be a big love bug. Too many people act like a cat is just furniture. :/

(And then get mad when the cat jumps on furniture. X( Ugh, stuff that people return cats for… they are not small dogs, people! :P)