Exotic Shorthair Cat

　　Of course, some pet cats and dogs can also coexist peacefully and live together in the same environment. However, most cats and dogs are still natural enemies, and they inevitably end up fighting when they meet. To clarify this issue, Dr. R. Menzel, director of the Kirnit-Haim Animal Research Institute in Israel, conducted a special study that uncovered the secret behind cats and dogs not getting along:

　　The data shows that for the experiment, Menzel selected a Spanish long-haired dog named Abby and a German short-haired tomcat named Jim. Both were about 1 year old and had each lived separately among their own kind from birth, never having seen each other before.

　　The experiment began by placing them in the same spacious experimental room. After eliminating the unfamiliarity and a period of adjustment, both developed an intention to play together. However, what followed was a series of seriously consequential misunderstandings.

　　To express a desire to play, Abby the dog extended a front paw and wagged its tail vigorously, which is a typical dog habit. Here, extending a dog’s paw is not a pleading gesture seen by humans, but an innate canine language meaning: "Give me some food" or "Come play with me." However, in cat language, the meaning is quite the opposite: extending a paw and wagging the tail means "Go away! Or I’ll claw you." Therefore, tomcat Jim immediately became wary of Abby. Apparently, the problem was entirely a misunderstanding in translating cat and dog languages. But how could these poor animals know that?

　　After a while, tomcat Jim let down his guard and wanted to initiate play with Abby. This intention in cats is expressed by producing a comfortable "purring" sound. But to dogs, this is a threatening signal, similar to "Don’t bother me or I will bite you." This time, the meaning of cat language was completely misunderstood by the dog.

　　Thus, people conclude that the main reason why cats and dogs often fight is because they speak different languages. There is no innate grudge between cats and dogs; they are not natural enemies at all. It is only through continuous misunderstandings in translating their languages that they adopt a mutually hostile attitude.