Cats chase mice and eat them because they are food but why do dogs hate cats? Are they food to them?

Question

Cats chase mice and dogs chase cats. Cats eat mice but why do dogs chase cats? Is it because they see them as food or do cats simply irritate dogs?

Answer 1

There are many families that have both a cat and a dog and the animals get along great.

However, Huskies and Malmutes that have not been raised with cats from day one will eat cats or any small animal.

At the shelter I used to work at, overnight a husky broke out of his cage and then broke into a guinea pigs cage-we never found the the guinea pig or any evidence of him.

Answer 2

I have a dog and a cat. The dog is only irritated by the cat and wants to attack her when the cat is running around. If the cat is just walking and not getting scared from the dog, nothing happens....They both just smell each other and play a bit.
When we take the dog outside for walks the same thing happens...if she sees a cat and the cat starts to run away or get scared then the Dog goes CRAZY!! But if the cat just sits and stares then there's no problems...
I think it's just the fast movement..The dog gets excited and sees it as prey...but only when the animal is Acting like prey!!

Answer 3

I've never owned a dog that couldn't/ wouldn't get along w/ a cat. Dogs (most) have a friendly disposition and want to play, a cat is an animal that is not always in the mood to play. So the dog will chase and the cat will runaway.

Answer 4

Cats usually run. Dogs are programmed to chase running objects, and will chase the cat. If they catch it they might not kill it outright, but they will 'play' with it, which ends up killing it in the end. This happened between our shar pei and our outside cat of 7 yrs... Very sad.

If the dog is more aggresive, it will probably tear the cat to pieces. This has also happened to us. In general, cats are smaller than dogs and therefore are seen as food items or large toys. So no, dogs dont hate cats, they just love chasing things.

Answer 5

If they are raised together, there is no problem. But if not, first, it is a matter of body language between cats and dogs. Conflicting signals so to speak. If a dog wags his tail, he is happy. If a cat lashes his tail back and forth, he is angry. That is just one example. They are both predators as well, which means they hunt things smaller than them, by instinct. Especially cats. But both will chase something that runs from them if it is smaller than them.a myth. Dogs bark at almost all other creatures if you let them. Cats don't like the noise, but, if they are introduced correctly, they often become good friends.

it is a myth.One of my daughters has a cat and a dog. They act like they don't like each other, but at night, if she gets up and goes down stairs to check anything, she will find the cat curled up on the dog sleeping, and the dog always wakes up, but doesn't move to keep from disturbing the cat.

Answer 6

A little of both I think! I know that cats are iritating creatures (at least to me) but I put up with my brothers cats (from a distance seems how I'm allergic) but I digress...cats are famous for taunting dogs, and to the larger breeds they are probably looked on as a "snack" and it wouldn't happen as much if the cat didn;t taunt the dog in the first place...Which is why my dog likes my brothers cats, but not other cats...

Answer 7

Cats are predatory animals, so they chase after mice, as well as birds and insects.

Dogs are predatory animals, so they chase after cats, squirrels, birds, rabbits.

Not all cats chase after animals, and not all dogs do, either. Prey instinct is wired into the dog's or cat's brain, but they have to be taught to kill and eat the prey. So, not to many house pets actually follow through if they do catch their prey.

Answer 8

Both. In current times they are simply an irritant, but the ancient instincts of the canine will also show themselves. Dogs DID, and DO, eat cats. Not all dogs, but a few, and certainly most of their canine cousins, like the wolf and the coyote.

Answer 9

it all links back to ancient times
there was once a war between the cat people and the dog people
the cats had murdered the mice god and so declared war on them
the dogs were allied with the mice and were sworn to protect them so engaged war with the cats
the elephants were allied with the cats and hated mice so also declared war
the war raged for decades until eventually the lions told everyone that if they didnt stop fighting they would blast them all with their giant ray guns. thats y cats hate mice dogs hate cats elephants hate mice and the lions are the king of the jungle

Answer 10

not all dogs hate cats. animals are very territorial and therefore it may appear that they dislike each other when put in the same space. Cats can be pretty vicious to dogs too. But over time they can learn to like each other.