Why do dogs hate cats?

This is something that I've been wondering for a while now. Why do dogs hate cats so much? Why do they always chase them and want to attack them? Homer ignores birds, hedgehogs and turtles, but he has never ignored any cats. Whenever he notices one, big or small, friendly or not, he wants to kill it. He doesn't have any bad experiences with cats, yet he has always hated them, even when he was a puppy.
Why do dogs hate cats?

 

Our dog hates those he do not know whether cats or dogs.
He barks both to stranger dogs and cats that he will see around. He could just ignore our cat although there are times he gets angry with him.
I do not know exactly what the reason why dogs hate cats, it will be great to read some scientific explanations about that here.

 

I wish there was a scientific explanation!
Homer doesn't hate all dogs, only some of them. But he has never met a cat that he wouldn't want to attack

 

I read some article that said that dogs have an aversion to cats because dogs' wild counterparts like coyotes and foxes are enemies with cats' wild counterparts like mountain lions.

So supposedly domestic dogs hating domestic cats is just instinctual because their ancestors are predator and prey.
But you can raise a dog and cat together and have them get along.

 

When I lived with my parents it was actually the cats that were harassing our dog. When our dog sparky was still alive he was always even tempered. One day my dad brought home a couple of stray kittens. The kittens would often go in search of sparky and hiss at him. My chacha barks at cats but does not harm them. Like ACSAPA it is probably instinct but for some dogs like sparky I think that side of their instinct has been buried after generations of being domesticated.

 

ACSAPA, this makes sense! It's very possible that the hatred is instinctual. I remember that Homer hated cats even when he was a puppy.
Trishgl, lol, I can't imagine cats harassing a dog. Poor Sparky!

 

for me:
Well,,A dog has "body language" when it wags its tail it is saying "
be friends with me or I'm happy" but when a cat wags its tail it
saying "stay away, I'm ready to fight", so the cats best instinct is
to fight first, and the dog fights back, and the cat-then the dog,
and well you get what you call a "cat-dog fight''. They are different
species and they just don't get along with different species..

 

Do dogs really hate cats? A cat will always run when it see's a dog. What will the dog do, chase it. They enjoy chasing anything that runs away. Generally, unless they're hunting breeds, if they corner the cat they will stop; barking but wagging their tail.
If you have both a cat and a dog they enjoy each others company and rarely scrap, more often than not playing with each other if they are both in the mood. I think it's more a case of, if it runs chase it, cat or not.

 

So far, we have met at least a few cats that weren't scared of Homer and didn't try to run away from him. He was on a leash, so he couldn't attack them, but I'm sure that he would have if I hadn't stopped him.
So I can say without any hesitation that Homer really hates cats with all his heart. But maybe it's just him. In general, he isn't too friendly towards anyone

 

I think it's mostly because dogs know how sneaky cats can be I mean, one of my old dogs used to get so furious when she tried to play with the cat, but the cat didn't think the same and graciously sneaked away from the dog. I must admit cats have a really good capacity to get away from dangerous or annoying situations really fast! I think the feeling is mutual tho, cats don't like dogs and dogs don't like cats. So I think the dog knows the cat doesn't like him/her... so how can you like someone who doesn't like you or trust you?

 

Haha, I believe that cats hate dogs too . But here is an exception that proves the rule, the little Yorkie adopted a few tiny kittens after losing her own puppies:



They look adorable together, don't they?

 

Aww!!!! They're so cute and beautiful!!! That Yorkie reminds me of my schanuzer They have similar faces As for this yorkie.... so sorry she lost her pups!! But at least now she has a new family This isn't the first time I heard about something like this... everytime I see pictures like this my heart melts!

 

It makes my heart melt too They are such a happy family now and little kittens clearly aren't scared of the Yorkie at all, even though she is a dog. I hope that it will always be this way, even when they become adults.

 

Yeah, animals are super sensitive, they know when they are loved for real I think those kittens know how loved they are by their new mom. She must have been expecting her puppies with so much love, she lost them, but she found a new family. What a great happy ending I hope this can last them many years.

 

Perhaps cats and dogs should learn from these two heartwarming stories.


Here's a Shih Tzu puppy who was adopted by a mother Siamese cat. This Shih Tzu pup was rejected by its natural mother... Source


And here's a mother Shih Tzu who nursed this little kitten back to health. They were discovered in the ravine in South Carolina. Source: Puppy Love

 

Haopee, thank you for sharing these lovely stories and pictures! They are heartwarming, I smile whenever I think of them The puppies and their adopted parents look very happy.