Cats and dogs can live in harmony

Are you thinking of raising a little puppy to be friends with a pet cat but worry that they will bite each other like . cats and dogs?

New research is also the first to solve this problem by Tel Aviv University has found a formula to help you succeed. Accordingly, if you have a cat before you start a dog and if they are raised from a young age (kittens less than 6 months old, and a puppy of 1 year or less) it is likely that the two pets you will get along well.

Research results have recently been published in Applied Animal Behavior Science.

Professor Joseph Terkel of the Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University said: 'This study involves about a third of the US population who owns a cat or dog but is thinking about raising more children. the second species of the opposite species'.

Understanding language

After interviewing about 200 breeders of both dogs and cats, then filming and analyzing the animals' reactions, Tel Aviv University researchers concluded that cats and dogs can coexist. If you ensure certain conditions. Professor Terkel and graduate student Neta-li Feuerstein found that two-thirds of their families surveyed reported a positive relationship between their dogs and cats.

But things are not always smooth. 25% of families say cats and their dogs are indifferent and indifferent, while 10% of families say two animals are very aggressive and biting each other.

Do you want your two pets to get along?If you have a cat before you have a dog, and if they are raised from a young age, they will get along very well.(Photo: iStockphoto / Mehmet Salih Guler)

One reason for the scuffle between the two animals is probably cross-species signals.Dogs and cats are unable to read each other's body signals. For example, cats often whip their tails when they get upset, while dogs growl and brace their backs. The cat purrs when they are happy, and the dog wags its tail. Cats turning away are a sign of aggression, and the same head position for dogs shows submission.

In families with a rather calm relationship between cats and dogs, Professor Terkel observed a surprising activity: 'We found cats and dogs learned how to speak each other's languages. Surprisingly, cats can say 'dog voice' and vice versa '.

But there is a particularly interesting thing. According to Professor Terkel, both dogs and cats seem to evolve through their instincts. They can learn to read each other's body signals, suggesting that the two species probably have more in common than people think.

Animals that live peacefully can set an example for people

Once you get used to each other's presence and body language, dogs and cats can play together, greet each other by rubbing their noses, even sleeping together on the couch. They share each other with water bowls, some of them even brush each other. The significance of research on cats and dogs made by Tel Aviv University can also go far beyond the boundaries of the world of dogs and cats, extending to those who are not getting along well, such as neighbors and colleagues. or world superpowers.

Professor Terkel concludes: 'If dogs and cats can learn to get along well, people will surely have the same chance.'