A little known fact about kittens, is that all kittens are born with blue eyes. This little kitten has (blue) eyes only for the dalmatian in the video featured below. The dalmatian is smitten as well and offers friendly gestures wanting to play. Nothing brings joy quite like watching two different species interact in a friendly and affectionate way. Keep reading though, to learn more about how and why dogs and cats get along and their communication behavior.
Dogs and Cats Do Get Along – Says Study
There was an interesting study about dogs and cats living together. It was done by Neta-li Feuerstein and Joseph Terkel of Tel Aviv University. They surveyed 170 Israeli households with both a dog and a cat. They found that dogs and cats had friendly relationships in two-thirds of the households. The study reviled, that friendly relationships were most likely to happen when the cat was adopted first and when both were introduced at earlier ages – the cat being under 6 months of age and the dog under one year.
They also discovered that the dog and cat learn to communicate and understand each others “body language”. Even if there are differences in the signals that they may use for aggression or submission.
So for those of you who are interested in having both a dog and cat, you can rest assured that an amicable relationship is very possible – especially if you get the cat first and the introductions are done at a young age. However, it’s very possible to rescue a dog who has been in a home with cats. Some rescue organizations will go so far as to test the dog to see if he’s friendly towards cats.
Reference: Feuerstein, N., & Turkel, J. (2007). Interrelationships of dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus L.) living under the same roof Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
