I’m wondering if cats think of us kind of like how a person thinks of a friendly bull: aware that they could easily kill us, but not necessarily afraid of them; or more like a large Dalmatian: they could fuck us up, but most of us don’t really think about that unless they’re being aggressive.

I grew up with dogs and feel like I understand them a lot better than I do cats as a whole. I adopted my cat almost four years ago and I feel like I get her pretty well, but I don’t really have an idea of what she thinks about me. I also don’t really know any other cats, though I’ve gotten along with strays and friends’ cats a lot better since I got mine.

Cat tax:

  • intensely_human
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    3 months ago

    I have fought an angry cat before and I’m not certain I could kill it with my bare hands. Maybe if I got lucky and had both hands around its neck before the fight began, but I’m not convinced a cat couldn’t sever my hand tendons to get out of that.

    Cats are fucking insane when they’re in battle mode. Maybe if I got lucky with a spine breaking hit before it got my eyes. Maybe.

    I don’t know if I could be in a room with a fully loaded Glock 19 in my hand, and win a fight against a cat. It would do some Trinity shit up the wall and still scratch my eyes out.

    • Trollpakk@sopuli.xyz
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      3 months ago

      If cats are that crazy, then dogs are even worse. My neighbours dachshound killed off an adult cat a few years ago. Apparently the cat didn’t stand a chance.

      • proudblond@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        The dachshund was bred to scentchase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals. The miniature dachshund was bred to hunt small animals such as rabbits. >

        Yeah, I think dachshunds are gonna have an easy time with a cat if they were bred to take on badgers. Ultimately, hunting dogs were bred for the purpose, whereas house cats and feral cats weren’t bred for anything beyond looks, even if they were utilized for their mousing skills. Dachshund /= mouse

        • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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          3 months ago

          These conversations always seem weird to me. I realize the modern human lives a sheltered life, but cats weigh ten pounds, if you don’t think a toddler could no diff them if it needed to you’ve never been in even a schoolyard fight and it shows. Mass matters in a fight. It matters a lot.

          Honestly, the weirdest thing is people will say these things and then go upvote comments about endurance hunting and adrenaline being a super power.

        • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          This sounds like pretty aggressive dachshund and a very complacent housecat, and I doubt things would play out this way most of the time. Short legged dogs like dachshunds and corgis are bread for going into holes and burrows and dragging whatever lives down there out, while cats are climbers and jumpers that like to find a high perch. Plus cats are better sprinters than dachshunds with reflexes better than most snakes. I’m not saying that a cat would, “win in a fight,” with a dachshund, that’s a pretty human way of thinking about things, but the average dachshund would be lucky to get anywhere near an adult cat, much less kill it.

          • Trollpakk@sopuli.xyz
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            3 months ago

            The dog and the cat lived together for years and the cat was bullying the dog all the time. Shit happens sometimes.

            • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              There it is, cat was complacent and let it’s gaurd down. No offense to your neighbor, but if they had two animals that were fighting for years, they should have re-homed one of them.

      • Gabu@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Mate, there’s a reason why felines took over the world at a time giant dino-birds and enormous wolves were commonplace. You don’t mess with cats.