Mr. Barker, Oedipuss, and Us Mr. Barker, Oedipuss, and Us
Nature

Mr. Barker, Oedipuss, and Us

Ludwika Włodek
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time 3 minutes

They really are a lot like us. They’re just as capable of deceit as we are.

My younger child once made a list of everyone he knows. Along with our family members and his classmates, our dog Zenuś was on the list too, as were Nikuś (Danusia’s dog), “Granny’s cats,” and “Duńka’s cats.”

Unfortunately, adults aren’t always quite so sure of this communal world of people and animals. “Of course we communicate with animals,” a journalist recently agreed on the radio. “We recognize certain emotions in

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Can Cats and Dogs Ever Get Along? Can Cats and Dogs Ever Get Along?
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Illustration by Marek Raczkowski
Nature

Can Cats and Dogs Ever Get Along?

Tips for Peaceful Pets
Aleksandra Galewska

The phrase ‘they fight like cats and dogs’ is universally known. So much so that people who have never owned a pet think that housing both species under one roof is a one-way ticket to tragedy, bloodshed, or a swift renovation of the apartment. In this case, a popular saying resulting from over-simplification and snap judgements is quite unfair to these two animals, and presents a slightly distorted image of their world.

A cat is not necessarily the same thing to a dog that a mouse is to a cat. Dogs don’t eat cats – they chase cats as a result of their hunting instincts. Dogs chase any targets moving away from them, because such behaviour is determined by their DNA. This happens more in some breeds than in others, but all dogs love to pursue moving objects, and we shouldn’t ever forget that. This is not caused by an urge to exterminate a particular species, but simply because a cat is an attractive prize that just happens to be ‘available’ (often more so than a deer or a weasel). Quick and afraid, the cat runs away whenever it feels threatened, while the dog – bored by insufficient movement and a lack of activity – makes its life more attractive by running after the fast furball.

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