This is not a Cat and Dog Pictures Blog but I love to see cats with other animals. Dogs are a lot bigger than cats normally so to see a cat relaxed with a dog indicates a lot of trust. We normally associate dogs chasing cats. This has been reinforced through cartoons and films. But this need not be the case.In fact cats can form relationships with just about any animal. You may have seem pictures of cats and horses as an example on the internet.
How can this come about? Apparently a cat's fear of other species (meaning species that are naturally able to cause injury) doesn't develop until the kitten is 7 weeks of age.
If during the first 6 weeks of life the kitten is introduced to other animals then a lifelong bond can form.
If the kitten is able to play with another animal, and I guess this is more likely to happen with a more naturally gentle animal such a Labrador dog, accompanied by lots of head and body rubbing (the transmission of the cats scent to the other animal) then it seems that this breaks down the natural hierarchy of the animals.
If this bond has been formed (as in this picture of a white rat on the back of
a cat), the cat's natural instinct to prey on an animal of that breed will be modified and the cat will not hunt this animal or treat the animal as prey.As to cat-on-cat relationships it seems that certain cat breeds are more likely to be accepting of other unrelated cats.
Siamese and cats from Asia (I can think of one, the Singapura, a very small cat) are less likely to accept other non related cats, while Persians are the opposite.
Photographs reproduced under creative commons:
Top: copyright ymktmk918
Bottom: copyright craftyfox
From Cat and Dog Pictures Blog to Cat Chit Chat
2 comments:
car is realy cool
funny cat
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