A deeper look into the relationship between cats and dogs

The old expression goes: ‘to fight like cats and dogs,’ or something to that effect, but if given time to get to know one another, dogs and cats can actually be the best of friends.

As it turns out, it comes to owner errors when cats and dogs are not getting along and are always  at each other’s throats so to speak, but as studies have shown, dogs and cats can definitely be best pals if they are given time to get to know one another, as a report at nylabone.com suggest.

What are some tips in getting your dogs and cats to get along from the start?

A recent viral video posted on Reddit shows a cat taking care of a dog at a shelter, and it had many touched at just how caring the little kitten was to the larger pup.

The post, which can be seen at a piece published at hindustantimes.com, stated:

“Every day we witness beautiful connections between our residents. Tam, a beloved member of Sara Morocco for 9 long years. He is a blind dog with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. They graciously gift him with moments of gentle care and unwavering affection…”

According to the National Library of Medicine, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is: “A group of rare inherited connective tissue diseases characterized by skin hyperextensibility, joint laxity, skin and vessel fragility, and poor wound healing.” (Read more at this link: Pub Med.)

And really, for those of us who have fallen down the rat hole known as funny and adorable dog and cat videos online, we’ve seen many dogs and cats cuddling it up or even playing, so the old expression has pretty much been debunked by now.

Of course many dogs and cats still cannot seem to get along, but as stated above that’s usually because certain pet owners didn’t introduce either the dog or cat to the other at the right time or in the appropriate manner.

The aforementioned piece at nylabone.com states that if a kitten and puppy are raised together, they should carry on to have a tremendous relationship as they grow older, but they go on to say that first meetings and how they are put into that situation is hugely important.

Here are some tips when introducing a cat and dog to one another, as per the site:

The cat should be at the dog’s eye level when first introduced; keep a hand on both animals so they feel secure (a two person job, obviously), and make sure to try to do this a few times a day, even if the first time doesn’t really go so well, but do not force either to bend to your will. Separate them if need be and try again. You can read more tips at the above link.

How about you, dear readers? Any tips you have that worked in helping your dog and cat coexist or even become best pals that we haven’t covered here?