This Cat Goes Full-On Black Belt When His Dog Pal is Attacked

When you think of a protective family pet, your first thought is probably of a dog. Dogs form deep bonds with their owners and other pets in the family. Many dogs will protect their homes, people, and fellow pets from what they view as a threat. However, did you know cats can be just as fiercely protective of their family as any dog, even going so far as to protect their dog friends from threats.

A Cat Protects Its Friend

In a YouTube video posted by Shimomura Izumi, we can see a fascinating and funny encounter between a dog and two cats. An orange and black cat sits calmly on a picnic table in a yard when a visiting cat approaches and stands on a bench. The cat on the table quietly watches the cat approach, but a puppy on the ground excitedly rushes over to check out the new cat.

With its tail wagging, the puppy gets closer and goes in for a sniff. The visiting cat doesn’t appreciate the closeness and strikes the puppy with its paws. All at once, the orange and black cat that had previously been sitting and watching the scene leaps down and attacks the intruder.

The video ends as the two scuffle and drop to the ground.

How Does a Cat Defend Itself From Attacks?

When a cat enters protection mode, its first thought may not be to attack. Although the cat in the video did just that, often, cats will puff up their fur to make themselves look larger and more intimidating. They also flatten their ears, arch their backs, and lash their tails.

However, if an attack is unavoidable, cats lash out with their paws, sharp claws extended. They will scratch and bite with strong teeth and claws to drive away a threat.

What Do We Know About Cat Behavior?

Dogs are fairly easy for us to understand. For one thing, dogs are happy to please and will readily comply with scientists conducting research into their behavior. Dogs can be taken to a lab and given puzzles to complete, or other IQ tests, and will not only be content but will probably enjoy the adventure. Cats, on the other hand, are not comfortable when removed from their homes or places where they feel secure. Cats aren’t as compliant and eager to please the way that dogs are, but tend to do things on their own terms. It’s much harder for scientists to get into the mind of a cat.

Cats are under-researched. However, scientists have conducted studies of cat behavior in their own homes. One recently published paper revealed that cats keep track of where their owners are in the house by listening to their voices. Research has also shown that cats dream, retain memories, and show affection to their owners and other animals in the house. What they don’t do is fetch a ball or long for their owners (in the way that dogs do) when their owners leave the house.

Is It Normal For a Cat to Protect Other Animals In the Same House?

Although cats retain an air of mystery, we do know they form affectionate bonds with their owners and other pets. Anecdotal evidence from cat owners tells of stories of cats protecting other animals in their families. Plenty of online videos show cats performing heroic feats to protect the ones they love.

Your cat may act as if they are solitary and need no one in their lives, but we know that feral cats living in the wild form groups and live together. Although they mainly hunt alone, unlike lions, which hunt cooperatively, a group of related females led by a dominant female will live together and care for their young. Male cats also form a hierarchy with a dominant male holding a large territory that overlaps with other cats’ territories.

How Cats Became Domesticated

To understand domestic cats, we can look back at the history of when humans and cats first began forming bonds. About 10,000 years ago, cats chose to share their lives with humans. All domesticated cats today descend from a wildcat species, Felis silvestris lybica, that originated in Africa and the Middle East. Scientists believe these cats followed rodents that were after human supplies of grains.

Perhaps the reason dogs seem so much more domesticated than cats is that they have been at it much longer. Dogs have been living alongside people, possibly as far back as 30,000 years. Cats have been with us for much less time. Unlike dogs, which people have been breeding for centuries, cats are not so different from their wild counterparts.