Can cats and dogs understand each other?

[Mell]

If a cat says 'mew ow' and a dog says 'bow wow' can they understand each other?

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

Yes, when my dog's ears perk and pays attention to kitty, kitty understands he's about to be chased.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

:lamo

I think animals are quite capable of learning body-language and vocalization of humans and animals if they so desire.

My Cat rules the roost around here and will promptly put all the dogs in their place if they get out of line or into his litter box (he hides his secret stash in there, apparently). In order for them to coexist in the home they must understand each other. . . at least - the dogs must understand the cat.

What the cat says, the dogs do.

 

[spud_meister]

If a cat says 'mew ow' and a dog says 'bow wow' can they understand each other?

not in the sense that we understand speech, but i think they get the gist of it from tone, body language etc.

 

[winston53660]

If a cat says 'mew ow' and a dog says 'bow wow' can they understand each other?

My dog and cat play with each other. It really is cute. They also lay down with each other.

 

[Mell]

My 9 year old daughter asked me this last night. I had no answer for her, because I never considered it before. I told her, folks on the Politics forum are sure to know.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Gardener]

My Cat rules the roost around here and will promptly put all the dogs in their place if they get out of line or into his litter box (he hides his secret stash in there, apparently).

.

Every dog knows that the litter box is where cats hide the roca.

 

[Goshin]

If a cat says 'mew ow' and a dog says 'bow wow' can they understand each other?

Depends on how much they've been around each other, and in how close of proximity.


I speak both cat and dog, btw. :mrgreen:

Cats and dogs often misunderstand each others' signals, unless they've spent a lot of time together. My mama-cat has been around my son's pekinese enough that she doesn't freak out at him most of the time. The new kittens, and the tomcat that mostly stays outside, are an entirely different matter: the pekinese blows their minds and scares them half to death. Mamacat knows that when he sneezes, he's not hissing in anger; when he pants, he's not baring his teeth in preparation to eat her. The kittens and the Tom misinterpret these things as threats.

When the pekinese wants to sniff Mamacat's butt, she ignores him while he does his doggy thing. The Tom and the kittens think this is some sort of sneak attack and freak out: wild hissing and spitting and other mayhem ensues.

The pekinese never bothers the mamacat, because she never freaks out. However, when the Tom or the kittens bow up and hiss, he interprets this as "I want to fight!" instead of "leave me alone!". A running cat is obviously a cat that wishes to play "chase me", he thinks. :mrgreen:

They have to learn each others lingo, just like humans that speak different languages. Some of their signals are the same, but others differ.

 

[The Giant Noodle]

When I lived briefly with my father I brought my 2 cats and he has one dog. He has an Austrlian Shepard which is a herding breed. Well.... one of my cats did most of the herding :mrgreen: They seemed to enjoy each others company.

 

[liblady]

If a cat says 'mew ow' and a dog says 'bow wow' can they understand each other?

i think so.....my dog and cat...both gone, were best friends. when we had our dog put down, on our front lawn, my cat came over to see what was going on, and she NEVER approached strangers and didn't know this vet. the vet had to wave antispetic under her nose to get her to go away. well, a couple of days later she ran away and i never saw her again.

 

[MaggieD]

They do speak different languages, so even when they get along, they don't trust each other completely. Their body language is completely at odds. Examples: When a dog is wagging his tail, he's probably happy. When a cat is wagging his, beware. When a cat rubs up against you, it's often times a sign of friendship. When a dog does the same thing, it's a symbol of dominance. When a dog is lying on his back, legs up in the air, he's inviting a scratch or showing submission. When a cat does the same thing, he's practicing is "killing skills."

We have a German Shepherd and two cats. They seem to have established an effective detente. They'll even sleep relaxed in the same room which is a sign of trust. But I still think they give off mixed signals to each other that they'll never understand. Funny to watch, actually. A real hoot.