4014Pavel
In our cybernetic age, people are still interested in curious questions, for example, what is the difference between a cat and a dog. Both animals are domestic animals, however, there are many differences between them.
Man learned to domesticate dogs over the past 14,000 years. Cats were domesticated 7,000 years later. Initially, dogs evolved from wolves. By coincidence, there have been no such evolutionary changes in the history of cats. Cats were worshiped in ancient Egypt, this is different from the attitude towards dogs. The fact is that cats effectively fought rodents attacking Egyptian granaries.
© shutterstock
Cat people are smart
The differences between cat lovers and dog lovers have long been debated not only among ordinary people, but also between scientists. Several years ago, researchers from Carroll University conducted a study among students. The young people were asked to place themselves in one of the categories and then take an intelligence test. The study found that cat lovers perform better than dog lovers. But to say that cat people are smarter is quite controversial. The sample was not large and could not influence the result globally. However, such results are more related to the lifestyle of representatives of each group. There are more introverts among cat people. Such people prefer to spend the evening at home with a book rather than going to a noisy party.
Relationships with other animals
The wolf is a predator. Any living object is prey for a wolf; he sees the object as an object of pursuit and tries to do everything possible to catch up and eat it. Naturally, wolves can get along well with other animals, such as the Arctic fox. F. Mowat writes: “Almost all wolf dens in the tundra are arctic fox burrows, which the wolves subsequently expanded.” As a result, wolves do not touch arctic foxes if they, in turn, do not interfere with their hunting in their territory, because the arctic fox is a competitor for the wolf. A wolf can hunt not only animals, but also fish.
Dog lovers listen
Dog people are considered open and cheerful people who cannot be alone for long. Dog lovers have many friends and just good acquaintances. In addition, dog lovers are more sociable, unlike cat lovers. So if you need a friend to vent to, no one does it better than a dog lover. Cat people are less emotional and closed. In addition, due to their character traits, cat people have few friends, but all of them have been proven over the years. In addition to the fact that dog lovers know how to listen, they also know how to obey. During the research, it was found that dog lovers are more flexible and rarely go against the grain.
Relationships with other animals
The cheetah is a predator. Every herbivore is prey for him. It also attacks birds, such as pigeons, guinea fowl, and ostriches. However, other predatory animals such as lions and hyenas are nothing more than objects of competition. Such animals often take advantage of the fact that the cheetah is exhausted after a short sprint for prey, thereby taking away its prey, however, it is also possible that cheetahs are simply afraid of them. Joy Adamson writes: “The last difficulty remained: persuading her to pass by the enclosure in which the two lionesses lived. During our first walk, when the lionesses began to rush at the bars with growls, Pippa (the cheetah) took off running. She rushed with such incredible force that she almost tore my arm out of my shoulder, and I had to follow her, without letting go of the leash, through the hedge into the dense bushes on the neighboring farm.”
Cat owners are impartial
Due to their temperamental characteristics, cat people tend to judge any situation, regardless of their likes or dislikes. Like most introverts, cat lovers prefer to analyze the situation first and then make decisions. Dog owners, on the other hand, are more impulsive people, so they often act on emotions and make rash decisions. Impartiality is another quality that distinguishes cat and dog lovers.
Dog lovers are cheerful and friendly
It is not difficult to assume that dog people are much more cheerful and friendly, unlike cat people. Since most cat people are introverts, they prefer to spend evenings at home or with a few close friends. Dog people are extroverts and their energy is directed towards the outside world. It is difficult for dog owners to spend a lot of time at home alone. Dog lovers, like their pets, love to walk a lot, lead an active life and interact with people as much as possible. Therefore, dog lovers have many friends and it is easier for them to make new acquaintances. In this regard, dog lovers are more sociable and flexible in communication. The same cannot be said about cat people.
Interacting with others like you
A dog is a pack animal and constantly needs communication. “Suppose a second dog appears in the family. It is possible that the dog will become friends with the new dog from day one. They can immediately become inseparable friends, or it may take quite a long time before everything works out. It is possible that dogs will have to sort out hierarchical relationships.” Then, a dog with a higher rank will have more privileges. Of course, this can lead to fights between dogs.
Dog territory is home. If another dog is brought to her, and the dog is brought into an occupied territory, the dog will definitely not want to see a competitor, and a clash most likely cannot be avoided.
Cat people look for affection, dog people look for friendship
Cat people have very few friends, and to feel not alone, they only need a few (or even one) close friends. Cat lovers are not looking for fleeting acquaintances; it is important for them to have a proven and reliable person nearby. In addition, cat people rarely get along easily with strangers. The same cannot be said about dog lovers. If a dog lover finds himself in an unfamiliar company, he immediately finds like-minded people. Dog lovers value friendship. And the more friends you have, the better. One close friend is not enough for a dog lover.
Life with a cat
Cats live in almost every home not only in our country, but throughout the world. There are quite a lot of breeds and varieties, but this does not reduce the number of ordinary outbred individuals. Some people keep them in their country house or in a private house so that they catch mice. Others keep pets in the apartment, they serve them as a kind of decoration.
It is known that cats are accustomed to living on their own; they have a wayward character. Therefore, it is better not to disturb or squeeze them again, as the animal may not like it and the cat may well bite or scratch. But this does not mean that the pet does not need affection and care. When a cat wants to cuddle, they show it to their owner with all their appearance.
Living in the same area with a cat is suitable for closed and unsociable people, families with small children and the elderly. Since cats prefer to spend a lot of time alone, doing their own thing, such as carefully licking their fur, or they can sleep sweetly in any place where they like.
Nowadays, more and more often, older people have 1-2-3, or even 10 cats in their apartment at the same time, psychologists explain this by the fact that in old age a person becomes the same in intellectual development as a small child, and children simply adore cats . Children pay special attention to small kittens, as they are quite funny and prefer to play with their little owners; an adult cat is unlikely to play. This will also need to be taken into account, otherwise the child will lose interest in the pet and then he will start asking for either another kitten or a dog.
We also recommend reading:
8 interesting facts about cat tails 13 products from Aliexpress that your cat will love How to make friends with pets and avoid quarrels and troubles? Cat, let me sleep: how to wean an animal from waking up its owners early in the morning?
Another plus is that cats are cleaner than dogs. They can spend hours licking their coat. It is recommended to wash them quite rarely, at least several times a year. And all because cats do not like water and generally have a specific attitude towards it; for them, washing in the bathroom turns into a living hell. In order to periodically keep your pet clean, you can buy a special spray in a specialized store that does not require rinsing and acts as a shampoo.
There is no special care for cats, you just need to change the tray in a timely manner and add fresh water, and feed the animal. By the way, the cat’s body is designed in such a way that it does not accept certain foods from the human table well, this can lead to diarrhea or even poisoning. From time to time, cats are recommended to buy malt paste; it helps remove hair from the pet’s stomach and prevents it from clogging the intestines. Although they say that cats are rather lazy animals, to some extent this is true. However, you should ensure that your pet leads an active lifestyle, otherwise it can lead to obesity and various other diseases.
A cat is a hunter by nature, so you shouldn’t deprive it of this skill. She hunts movable and immovable objects, such as butterflies, flies or toys.
Sensitive people choose cats
Again we return to the fact that most cat people are introverts. And introverts are known to value deep feelings. Many cat owners are single people. In addition, cat people are more sensitive individuals. Cats always become attached to their owner and rarely show friendliness towards other people. Some studies suggest that cat people are romantic and sensitive people looking for strong love. Dogs, on the contrary, are friendly towards many people. Therefore, if a person starts a relationship, cats cannot get used to a new person in the house for a long time. And some cats cannot accept this at all.
Relationships with a person
The dog and family members from the dog's point of view represent a social community, in dog words - a pack. The task of the flock is to protect the territory, obtain food, raise and protect offspring. The pack has a strict hierarchy. The dog perceives a person as a leader, it is completely dependent on him, she is devoted to him, and this devotion, as a rule, does not depend on his actions. This can be seen in the example of every person who has a dog - we are the leaders, because only we know where to get food. A dog must have a strictly defined rank in the family and it must know what place it occupies. All family relationships are built on trust and hierarchy.
More dog lovers
As a result of research, it was found that there are much more dog lovers in the world. Unlike cat people. It is also worth noting an interesting fact. There are more extroverts in the world than introverts. It’s true that cat people predominate in cities. It is easier to keep a cat in a small apartment. But in the suburbs, dog lovers predominate. Especially those with large dogs. After all, they need to walk often and the city apartment is too cramped. But we shouldn’t categorically say that there are more dog lovers. Many people have both types of animals. And they love them equally.
Raisa Berg. How is a cat different from a dog?
Raisa Berg
How is a cat different from a dog?
This question probably came from some very serious people - logicians, cybernetics - and was posed, one must think, with a serious goal: recognizing an image, defining concepts, or something even more profound. The general public made a sport out of it. The questioner implied that it was impossible to give a definite answer to the question. There is not and cannot be a single sign that, under all circumstances, distinguishes a cat from a dog and is integral to both animals. It was required that the respondent be convinced of this himself by trial and error.
This cybernetic youth asks his mother: “What is the difference between a cat and a dog? “Mom says: “The cat’s whiskers are large and protruding, but the dog’s are small and close.” - “And if you cut off the whiskers, you won’t be able to tell a cat from a dog? “Mom answers: “In a cat, the pupil narrows into a slit, but in a dog, narrowing, it remains round.” - “So, a sleeping cat cannot be distinguished from a dog? "
The tournament continues. “A dog’s claws do not retract and when it runs along the floor, you can hear it, but a cat runs silently.” - “So, if a cat shows its claws, it will seem to you that there is a dog in front of you? “Cats have ears that stick out, but puppies of all breeds have floppy ears,” says the mother, who not only knows the business, but also knows the intricacies. The answer is immediate: “Yes. You mistake a shepherd puppy for a dog, but you classify an adult shepherd dog as a cat.”
Mom moves from individual animals to their multitudes: “All adult cats are about the same size, but dogs are different,” she says. She is right. Darwin also drew attention to the small number of cat breeds compared to the great interbreed diversity of dogs. He saw the reason for the difference in the difficulty of bringing cat marriages under human control, as opposed to dog marriages. And the selection of pairs is the basis for breeding.
But this mother’s son is not a cyberneticist for nothing. “So, a hundred dachshunds are cats? “- he asks with an innocent look that hides the triumph of the winner. Mom gives up. She can't tell a cat from a dog.
This question was asked to the famous writer and playwright Evgeniy Lvovich Schwartz in a very delicate manner. “Tell me, Evgeniy Lvovich, why a dog, an animal no less useful for humans than a cat, endures both hunger and cold, lives in a booth in the yard and is kept on a chain, while the cat, well-fed, drunk, nose covered in tobacco, sleeps on the owner's bed? “-“ The cat knows how to stage itself,” said Evgeniy Lvovich.
Is there really a difference - a single one, the root cause of all the others, that argument in relation to which everything else appears as a function, as a derivative?
In searching for a solution to this problem, we will consider the dog as a representative of a certain type. And in exactly the same way we will consider a cat - as a representative of a different type. By type we mean a set, and all its representatives have a set of properties. These properties naturally combine with each other, compensate for each other and do not exist separately. A cybernetic youth would call these properties complementary.
The great master of outlining the circle of such interdependent characteristics in the last century was Georges Cuvier. “Give me an animal’s tooth and I will restore its appearance down to the hair on the tip of its tail.” This was approximately the motto of this restorer of fossil monsters. Could he point out the fundamental difference between a dog and a cat? Let's try to restore the restorer's possible answer.
Based on his two great principles - the principle of correlations (correspondences) and the principle of conditions of existence, which have not lost their meaning to this day, Cuvier would answer: the cat is a lurking predator, the dog obtains food by pursuing the prey. Food production technology is an argument, everything else is a function.
Indeed, the nature of food and the method of catching - the goal and method of achieving it - leaves an imprint on the entire life structure of the species, on the appearance of each representative of the species, predetermines his character traits, his relationships with animals of his own species and other species.
While lying in wait, the cat hides. Turning off any alarm is the key to success. The victim should not see, hear, or smell the lurking killer. The surprise of an attack is the cat's main strategic trump card. The aim and attack are carried out from a short distance. The jump must be strong and true.
The coloring of the skin of all cats imitates the play of light and shadow. There is enough light for the keen eyes of a cat even in the shadows. And there is too much light, and the cat squints. The cat is odorless, its movements are silent. A smelling cat, a cat chattering with its claws, would starve to death. Smell is an unaffordable luxury for her. A whole ritual of washing and the strictest cleanliness save the cat from starvation.
When making its missions, the cat acts carefully and carefully. A dog in the same situation acts differently. Two or three careless movements of the hind legs, as if in a hurry to fight a fire. The dog does not bother to turn around. The ritual is performed purely formally, one might say bureaucratically.
But the cat does not act out of innate modesty. She pursues her own, purely selfish goals. The hunting area should not reveal the presence of the animal. The cat has sole ownership of its hunting territory. She is a cat that walks on her own.
But the very properties that a cat needs to lull the victim’s vigilance give it access to the owners’ chambers. The cat lies on the owner's bed because it is a lurking predator.
The dog is a stalking predator. Dogs form packs to hunt together. Their sociability and affection are rooted in joint hunting. The cat is tied mainly to the hunting territory, to the house, and the dog - to the person himself. In its original state, the dog did not have to hide in order to be fed. The stench, the noise - she doesn’t care about anything. A dog's cleanliness is very relative. The poet whose imp says:
“I myself smell like a dog in bad weather
And I lick the fur in front of the fire "
— I was wrong: the smell of a dog and the licking of fur are “two incompatible things,” one is a dog’s, the other is a cat’s. The one who licks the wool does not smell of anything, otherwise why would he try?
The dog barks - the wind blows. The cat - minus the cat concerts - will not waste words. The heart-rending cries of March cats are an invitation to fight, a relic of antiquity, a relic of an application for hunting territory. They sound when there is no time to eat. Let them go to hell, all the mice and rats of the whole world. Let them hear. There's a big game going on. The last bet is life.
The dog is susceptible to human influence. The cat always remains itself. She is not a participant in human disputes.
Well, you say, my reader, my imaginary interlocutor, there slipped through your mind - in a question addressed to Evgeniy Schwartz - the idea that a dog has brought no less benefit to humanity than a cat. A dog is a watchman, a shepherd, a hunter. It is precisely because of the need to communicate with its own kind in the process of obtaining food that a dog easily comes into contact with a person, and a person assigns many responsibilities to it. And the cat catches mice - that’s all.
Yes, you are right, the role of a dog in a person’s life is very great. You also forgot to mention sled dogs. The famous Kamchatka explorer Krasheninnikov describes how in his time in Kamchatka, horses were carried by dogs in winter.
The cat catches mice. But, by catching them and not taking on any more responsibilities, the cat played a great role in the life of mankind, far superior to everything taken together that the dog did for man. Without the cat, humanity would never have reached high numbers.
There are plant species and animal species that occupy a special place in human history. In the role they play in human life, they are not replaceable by any other type of animal or plant. One of these species is the cat.
What would Greece be without the olive tree? It is safe to say that the beautiful amphorae were intended primarily for storing olive oil - a high-calorie, storable, portable product. In the twilight of the holds of Greek ships, I see double rows of vessels. The pointed bottoms of each row fit into the spaces between the pointed bottoms of the other row, leaving not the slightest gap. Neither vineyards nor flocks of sheep were for Greece what olive groves were. Only fishing and the extraction of seafood can be compared in the economy of Ancient Greece with the extraction of olive oil.
Not only the flowering of crops is associated with any animal or plant. The destruction of civilizations most often depended on the military power of aliens, and in other cases this power was created not without the participation of animals.
For the ancient Mongols and Arabs, who were responsible for the destruction of a huge number of cultural values, such an animal was the horse.
A horse is a means of transportation and a source of food, a ship capable of feeding and reproducing itself on the way, supplying food and material for making shoes and for building houses, drinking and material for making those vessels in which it will be stored. A horse is a ship on which you can ride and from which saddles are made - the gear necessary to make riding more comfortable. The Mongols filled a wineskin made of horse skin with mare's milk, and it turned into a magnificent, slightly intoxicating drink - kumis. Carrying out an invasion of Rus', the Mongols transported belongings, women and children on rafts placed on waterskins inflated with air. The rafts were pulled by swimming horses. The whips used to push the horses were made from their own skin. This is truly like in the medieval Armenian fable: when people came to cut down a cypress grove, the cypresses said: look, the hands of what they are sawing us with are from us.
But let us return from these sad thoughts to the noble role played by plants and animals in human history.
What would ancient Egypt have been like in its heyday without cultivated plants and granaries? Here we come to the cat. When the grain is harvested, there are many contenders to feed on it other than humans. Mice enter into competition for possession of the richest accumulation of food. They reproduce in gigantic numbers. The increase in their numbers is no longer associated with the frequency of the harvest. Man supplies them all year round. It would be good to force this supplier to work for you and at the same time contain its numbers, preventing it from multiplying within undesirable limits. This is how mice would reason if they were allowed to reason. The mice, without reasoning, began a bacterial war with their benefactor and competitor. Immune to the plague, capable of cultivating the pathogen in their blood without getting sick, mice, together with fleas, almost became regulators of human numbers. The cat took the side of the man. It can be said that Egyptian culture rests on the floods of the Nile, on granaries and cats.
The Egyptians made the cat a sacred animal. Her mummy was placed next to the mummy of the pharaoh in his tomb. It was believed that one could not do without a cat in the afterlife.
In addition to cats, mice were destroyed by owls and snakes, and the Egyptians paid honor to them, but they did not make mummies of snakes and owls. The cat managed to set herself up here too.
Cats - descendants of the wild Egyptian cat - were then brought to southern Europe. In northern Europe, the wild European cat was domesticated. Then domestic cats merged into a single species, and only the presence of short-tailed, short-legged beauties with small ears, originating from the European cat, along with long-tailed, lop-eared, long-legged descendants of the Egyptian cat, indicates the origin of the domestic cat from different species.
But my reader is not asleep. A malicious question to the author is on his lips. What about crocodiles? Why did the Egyptians classify the crocodile as a sacred animal, care about its immortality on a par with the immortality of the pharaoh, and put mummies of crocodiles in tombs?
I have an opinion on this matter, although I am afraid that it will not be shared by specialist historians. However, let's take a risk. Crocodiles did the same thing as cats. Only they did not destroy mice, but carried out a sanitary service, destroying first of all dead people and preventing the spread of infections. Those settlements that exterminated crocodiles or were founded far from their rookeries found themselves in a worse position in the face of infections than those who used crocodiles as a means of hygiene. In my opinion, these are the objective reasons for the deification of the crocodile and the cat. Subjective reasons could be completely different. Be that as it may, the pharaoh's mummy had to share the oil of the Lebanese cedar fruit not only with the cat, but also with the crocodile. The peaceful coexistence of man, cat and crocodile in the afterlife, which was obviously assumed by the guardians of tradition, remains incomprehensible to me. If I were a pharaoh, if I believed in an afterlife, the protest against the proximity to a crocodile in the tomb would have been announced in advance.
And one more difference between a dog and a cat. Everything a dog does can be done by a person himself. He cannot exterminate mice without the help of a cat. During the process of changing generations, mice develop, as a result of the survival of the most resistant ones, immunity to the poisons with which they are poisoned. Likewise, among them there remain those who are able to avoid falling into the mousetrap. The cat remains the most effective means of controlling mice. She is irreplaceable. Those who love cats have nothing to be ashamed of, no matter how others tease them.
Cat lovers pay the tribute of gratitude that cats deserve from humanity.
Raisa Berg, Doctor of Biological Sciences, “ZS” No. 1/1968
Cat owners prefer solitude
Cat owners, unlike dog owners, prefer to spend time at home in a quiet environment. Moreover, as much time as possible. Noisy parties and crowds of people tire cat lovers. A quiet evening at home spent reading a book or watching a movie with your favorite cat is exactly what a real cat lover needs. And getting a dog owner to sit at home for a long time is a whole challenge. In addition, the dog needs to be constantly walked, and the cat is quite happy with a warm house and its favorite window, through which it can look for hours. Or just sleep.
Relationships with others like you
Anyone who enters a cat's private property is met with hostility. If the stranger does not want to leave the cat’s territory, a fight usually breaks out. Here the tactics of attack and defense are fully manifested in behavior. The winning cat sniffs the ground, and the defeated cat leaves the battlefield with an independent look.
A domestic cat feels the need to communicate with other cats only during the mating season or when it needs it. This emphasizes her individuality.
However, if several cats live in an apartment, then even very friendly relationships can develop between them.
Dog people tend to dominate
Cat people are self-sufficient and independent individuals who are not inclined to show aggression towards other people. In addition, cat owners are less emotional and do not show their feelings so openly. Dog lovers, like their pets, cannot control their emotions and are often impulsive. Due to their character traits, dog lovers often prefer to dominate. And cat people should remain neutral. But, of course, all people are different. And not all dog lovers prefer to dominate other people. And not all cat lovers adhere to neutral positions.
Dog lovers are more sociable
Again, it all comes down to the fact that cat people love to spend quiet, peaceful evenings. And dog lovers cannot be kept within four walls. Just like their furry pets. In addition, dogs are easy-going and quickly get used to new people. And they show aggression only if they feel danger. Dog owners are also easy-going and find an approach even to strangers. And they feel quite confident in unfamiliar company. After all, natural communication skills help them out in any situation. Dog owners cannot be alone for long and need constant communication. And cat people get along quite well with the company of their pet.
10 5
