Critter Talk-America’s Top Predator
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I thought I saw a puddy cat
Multiple times a week our hospital sees dogs and cats who’ve suffered run-ins with other pets. This very common occurrence mostly manifests as one or two puncture wounds that may or may not require simple surgical attention.
Sometimes, however, the wounds are crushing injuries characteristic of serious attempts to outright kill the animal in question. These are typically the result of a behavior we call “predatory aggression.”
Cats do it to birds and small rodents and we call it “natural.” Yet when dogs do it to cats or small dogs, we use words like “vicious,” “dangerous,” or — more behaviorally accurate and politically correct — “predatory.”
It’s a cat vs. dog double standard, for sure, but it’s one we deserve to harbor to some extent. After all, we’re accustomed to being able to control our dogs. They’re bred to keep their wolf instincts at bay. I mean, the reason we domesticated them in the first place was to obviate their basic instinct to kill — agricultural species on the homestead in particular.
Though cats continue to engage in their wild antics by killing mice and such while still enjoying the fruits of their domesticity, dogs don’t get that kind of a pass — not unless we’re talking about the relatively few terriers that still engage in owner-sanctioned varmint eradication behaviors.
Example No. 1: Dogs who have killed cats and other dogs — even in their own yards — have been deemed “dangerous” by law. In some municipalities (Broward County, Florida, for example) there’s a one-strike and you’re on the municipal shelter’s death row policy.
Example No. 2: Even if your dog is on a leash and crushes a free-roaming dog who gets in his face, you may not be liable for injury treatment … but your defensive predatory biter will almost certainly get a dangerous dog designation. In Miami-Dade, where I live, there’s a three-strike rule on incidents like these.
Nonetheless, the killing of certain species by dogs is completely understandable. Given an animal’s perfect dog-prey size and what some dog breeds are bred and trained for (think about terrier breeds, sighthounds, coonhounds, etc.), it makes sense that a dog might feel driven to kill a smaller species. Yet predation is largely considered an unwanted behavior that needs to be controlled — more so in this highly suburbanized world where pets are family and a beloved teacup Chihuahua can easily be mistaken for a robust rat.
So what’s the difference between a “predatory” bite and a regular one (out of dominance, territorial aggression, fear, etc.)? Great question.
Predatory aggression in dogs and cats is normal. It’s not a psychological problem or a reflection of vicious, malicious or vindictive thinking on the part of the attacker. Because predatory behavior is normal for these domesticated species, predatory aggression becomes a problem to be defined and categorized only when it conflicts with our human desires to maintain a calm household, ensure positive neighborly relations, and pursue environmental harmony, despite our pets’ innate desire to wreak havoc on local wildlife.
These are tough standards for some pets, to be sure, but worth pursuing nonetheless. Because nothing’s worse than keeping an otherwise wonderful dog who likes nothing better than to skin the occasional neighborhood cat (while he’s still on his leash) in view of every cat-loving neighbor (who are doubtless having cows over all the blood and goresuddenly in evidence on their formerly pristine suburban sidewalks).
The worst part of predatory aggression is not just that it’s perfectly normal behavior. It’s that in so being, it’s also the type of behavior that is least amenable to treatment. Because — of course — treatment kinda implies the behavior is abnormal, and it’s not. Sorta tough to rewire a normal psyche just to match your personal human specs, but there you have it. Proper behavior is always in the eye of the beholder, in’t it?
Many thanks to Dr. Patty Khuly
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One of my late cats – The Duke (named by the wifey after John Wayne who she slightly bizarrely adored) – once beat the crap out of a Pit Bull that thought it was a good idea to attack him.
I witnessed this occurence.
Duke ripped the crap out of the Pit Bull which ran off whimping and whining.
The Pit Bull owner actually apologised to me.
I said “I think it’s your dog you should apologise to mate. You trained it to kill cats and the cat just ripped it’s arse. Tell you what. Don’t apologise to me, apologise to my cat”
The Duke just sat there on the edge of my drive. He was washing his paws like nobody else in the universe mattered…he was right too…he was the victor.
This brain dead moron then looked at The Duke and said “Sorry cat”
It ain’t the dogs it’s the owners.
End of.
The Pit Bull wouldn’t have gone for The Duke if the owner had a brain cell.
Incidentally…
No dog of any size will ever beat a cat that is in its prime.
Kittens? Obviously. Elderley cats? Probably.
A cat in it’s prime? 1 to 10 years old?
The dog is toast.
And I say that as a dog lover too.
When my cats want feeding I feed them…it’s safer that way…;-)
LOL! Everything you say is true!
Each of the cats has their specialty- for Cletus it is snakes. Bogie likes birds. Merkin will go after anything rodent shaped. Weeds passively enjoys cardinals, but isn’t capable of capturing them. Grendel goes after anything – the bigger the better. Small “varmints” are beneath his interest.
(See Krell’s avatar for a photo of “Grendel” render of souls. Not fat, but big boned, well, and also fat)
He has ripped a new ass in many a dog: 3 pit bull puppies (larger than himself), a German shepherd, a beagle, a bulldog, and and terrier mix. These that I witnessed. I have had to warn owners of small “killing size” dogs not to walk theirs across the lawn in view of Grendel, as if the mood takes him he will treat it as lunch.
Interestingly he has never injured a chicken, baby chick, or rabbit, though the other cats are fair game.
I’m ashamed to say that Lulubelle once murdered a helpless field mouse! The mouse had only itself to blame, as it had sneaked into the house to get at Lulu’s food dish.
Eugene’s chihuahua Cesar was the real pistol though! He growled savagely at everyone, and could he have reached their throats, I’m certain there would have been no mailmen at all left on our street!
I had a chihuahua once and he was exactly as you described.
Very interesting post. As the owner of a very lovable pit bull terrier who loves all people and gets along with many other dogs, I totally understand this double standard. People let their dogs off their leashes and they rush her and she reacts defensively. Luckily no actual bites have occurred, although once a much larger (loose) dog pinned her down by the throat and held her there until the owner came running up apologizing. As the pit bull, if anything ever happened to one of these loose dogs, I know she would be the one blamed even though she did nothing wrong and was on a leash. Luckily for us when it comes to smaller dogs she is very nice to them; also puppies. She seems to know not to hurt them.
Bull Terriers get a bad rap. They always have. In my experience they are sweet and gentle dogs. Its the people like Michael Vick that destroy their gentle natures and give the breed a bad name by turning them into killing machines for their own profit.