Learning the body language of another species has to be tough. But then, what percentage of dogs who have been skunked, get skunked again? Do they not learn to leave that little black thing with a white stripe on top alone?
Surely there has to be some amount of learning that goes on for every wild creature to be able to recognize and hunt for food. And to recognize when another creature is thinking to turn YOU into food.
Many cats just don’t believe that the dog is going to play nice.
And often they are right. Most dogs still have predatory instincts, and small furry creatures are prey until their alpha human makes it clear they are not. Or until some small furry creature like a skunk, porcupine, or cat makes it clear that the dog was mistaken. And sometimes a big dog can absorb a face-full of claws and chomp the cat right in half. So the cat is right to be distrustful of the dog.
Worse, my daughter once owned a huge mutt rescued from somewhere (he was black, bigger than a Great Dane or a timber wolf, and could pull hundreds of pounds, like a cross between a Malamute and the Hound of the Baskervilles). That dog would chase a skunk every time it crossed our yard and never learn from the spraying. That only stopped when he took the spray full in the face but still caught the skunk! There’s one thing that smells worse than a skunk-sprayed dog, and that’s skunk shreds scattered all over the yard – but the other skunks never teased that dog again.
wiatr over 5 years ago
Different culture and different language(s).
Liverlips McCracken Premium Member over 5 years ago
Learning the body language of another species has to be tough. But then, what percentage of dogs who have been skunked, get skunked again? Do they not learn to leave that little black thing with a white stripe on top alone?
Surely there has to be some amount of learning that goes on for every wild creature to be able to recognize and hunt for food. And to recognize when another creature is thinking to turn YOU into food.
morningglory73 Premium Member over 5 years ago
They weren’t properly introduced. Kenny got too nosy. Cats prefer a mannerly protocol.
bookworm0812 over 5 years ago
Cat “wags” are actually a sign that they are very unhappy. Should’ve let kitty be.
cuzinron47 over 5 years ago
Dog’s wags are happy, cat’s wags are a warning.
tigerave Premium Member over 5 years ago
A twitching tail on a cat is similar to a twitching tail on a rattlesnake. In both cases you better RUN!!
daleandkristen over 5 years ago
Poor Kenny. A cat waving it’s tail is a cat to avoid. Now it’s too late.
markmoss1 over 5 years ago
Many cats just don’t believe that the dog is going to play nice.
And often they are right. Most dogs still have predatory instincts, and small furry creatures are prey until their alpha human makes it clear they are not. Or until some small furry creature like a skunk, porcupine, or cat makes it clear that the dog was mistaken. And sometimes a big dog can absorb a face-full of claws and chomp the cat right in half. So the cat is right to be distrustful of the dog.
Worse, my daughter once owned a huge mutt rescued from somewhere (he was black, bigger than a Great Dane or a timber wolf, and could pull hundreds of pounds, like a cross between a Malamute and the Hound of the Baskervilles). That dog would chase a skunk every time it crossed our yard and never learn from the spraying. That only stopped when he took the spray full in the face but still caught the skunk! There’s one thing that smells worse than a skunk-sprayed dog, and that’s skunk shreds scattered all over the yard – but the other skunks never teased that dog again.