Why Dogs Hate Cats

We see it in cartoons, we see it on YouTube, we see it while walking our dogs – dogs appear to hate cats. I’ve always wondered why dogs hate cats so much. Because of my curiosity I did quite a bit of research on why dogs hate cats. I was unable to find any real scientific or empirical data that supported the theory that dogs hate cats. I was unable to find any genetic evidence that predisposed dogs to hate cats. I couldn’t even find proof of the “anti-cat” gene that some people claim dogs possess. The best I came up with was a bunch of reasons that make sense to me, yet are somewhat conjecture. Most of the reasons I found as why dogs hate cats are based on the different social behaviors of dogs and cats. Also, during my research I found the contrary – most dogs like, or at least tolerate, cats.

This makes complete sense when you think about it – dogs are social beings; man’s best friend. Dogs always want to be around people and they like to interact with everything. I once had a Doberman. Dobermans were called “Velcro” dogs by some owners, because they couldn’t stand to be alone and always wanted contact with their owners.

Cats, on the other hand, are rarely social. Cats, for the most part, are anti-social. They hang out by themselves, hide under the bed, and are typically content being alone. Cats prefer to be loners, unless they decide they want to be social.

This is the root of the problem – dogs assume cats are social. This belief leads dogs to try to interact with cats. Cats react by running away. This causes the dog to chase the cat, because the dog wonders why the cat doesn’t want to be social. The cat is often so antisocial that it hisses at the dog. This hissing causes the dog to think of the cat as a threat and enemy. This causes the dog to get pissed at being rejected by the cat as a friend and the dog takes this out by chasing the cat.

Dogs typically wag their tails when they are happy. Cats wag their tails when they are pissed. So, the happy dog that wants to socialize with the cat is usually wagging its tail. The cat interprets this as a threat, hisses at the dog and runs off. The dog is perplexed by the cat’s rejection at friendship. This confusion causes the dog to interpret the cat not as a friend, but as a threat. This, in turn, causes the dog to get angry and chase the cat!