Hannah Orloff - Behaviors of Dogs Versus Cats and Why They Are Different

 Dogs and cats are arguably the most popular pets in the United States, however if you ask someone which they prefer they will usually have a choice. Although dogs and cats have similar care instructions and may appear similar to each other side by side, they have very different temperaments which goes back to their evolutionary history. Dogs are apart of the canidae family, or canines, which evolved as social pack hunters. In order to take own prey much larger than their body size, canines hunt in packs and work to tire out their prey so they can capture it. They aim for exposed flanks on the body, usually the hindquarters and underside of the prey, and take turns chasing their prey for miles at a time. At some points, a few members of the pack will skillfully lead their prey into a trap where the rest of the pack is waiting to ambush, which is what allows these animals to capture such large prey. The dynamics of these packs are essential to the survival of these canines, as this social behavior is an inherited trail used to keep each other alive. The cost of sharing resources with one another outweigh the costs, which is why canines hunt in packs. Felines are a little different. Cats are from the family felidae, which evolved to hunt similarly-sized prey like canines, but their tactics are slightly different. Felines are solidary creatures (except for African lions) and hunt alone, relying on an ambush attack in order to capture their prey. They sit still or move very slowly about their environment, and can wait days for the right timing to attack. When they pounce, they try to quickly kill their prey by aiming for the vertebrae and jugular veins. The less fight, the less energy waisted. Canines, on the other hand, do not always check that their prey is dead before they start eating. Think of a time when you have played with a dog versus a cat. Dogs play by tackling, jumping, biting, and exerting lots of energy on the target. Play fighting, in fact, is a behavior that helps teach young canines social rules and skills to hunt. The same goes for young felines, they play fight with their mother to learn how to hunt prey. In some feline species, the mothers will bring back a small, injured prey animal for her young to learn how to hunt and catch it, so they learn the behavior before going off on their own. When you play with cats, they only exert energy when they are pouncing, and prefer to watch you move their toy around almost completely still. It doesn't seem like much stimulus to us, but to them this is a part of their behavior. Dogs are often seen as more social pets and more engaged with the family because of their evolutionary history and their social behavior genetics, while cats are seen as friendly but solidary because of their unique history. Both make excellent pets and provide companionship, just in different ways. 

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