Cat vs. dog — Heroism or defending territory? May 22, 2014 - 2:00 AM Everyones seen it. Everyones talking about it. I wouldnt be surprised if Vladimir Putin mentions it this week in a speech. Yes, were talking — were all talking about the video gone viral, the one with the little boy on a bike and the dog and the cat. If you havent seen it yet (because you probably will soon), a little boy is bicycling in the next front yard when a dog runs after him and bites him in the leg. Immediately thereafter, an enraged cat comes barreling down the driveway and chases the dog away from the boy and clear down the street. Troubling issues at hand The cat obviously puts herself at great risk (the dog is pretty large and obviously ready to inflict harm). If you are interested in animal behavior and why dogs and cats act in certain ways, there are some troubling issues at hand. Why did the dog attack a child? Was this owner negligent and was this a known aggressive dog, or unusual or aberrant behavior in this dog? Even more interesting, however, is the story of the cat. One of my favorite clients asserted strongly that it was clearly a case of cats being much smarter than credited. This cat understood the risk to the child and risked her own life to save her boy. Protective of territory? Another client thought it was a case of the cat defending her territory from a dog who was acting in an aggressive and frightening manner in front of the cats house. So, in this interpretation, the cat was defending her own rights and safety, and the child was the beneficiary of the cats actions. In any case, this was one angry cat, and the manner in which she flew at the dog was startling and obviously daunting to the dog. What do you think? What was the true story? And how will we ever know? Dr. Ellen Friedman is in general practice, with an interest in geriatric feline medicine, at Newburgh Veterinary Hospital and All Creatures Veterinary Hospital in New Paltz. Email her at newbvet@yahoo.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 15:17:14 +0000
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