#man i really need to make a sideblog for animal behavior and other special interest stuff

[unintentional-sad-wizard]

I think the biggest difference I’ve seen so far working with cats versus dogs is that dogs believe in rules and cats don’t. If I stop a dog from doing something enough times (and find an alternate outlet for the behavior if necessary), they’ll eventually be like “oh! This is a thing that we don’t do. Got it!” and they’ll stop trying it. If I stop a cat from doing something repeatedly, they’re like “ah okay. I will reschedule my exploration of the kitchen counter for two minutes from now” and act equally confused every time I stop them.

Which isn’t a bad thing! I’ve really enjoyed figuring out the differences between these two species and how to work with them, and I find their different social behaviors super interesting. It’s just really funny that back when I lived with Flash (dog), he would really learn what I expected of him and would try to meet those expectations, but if I try to redirect Moon (cat) he assumes that I just personally have a problem with him in that specific moment.