Something You Should Know
The Surprising History of the 7-Day Week & How and Why Cats Evolved into Pets - SYSK Choice
31 May 2025
Why can't you tickle yourself?
And so it's understandable in a way that there is this instinct of cats to be wary of dogs. And some dogs, some more aggressive dogs can be very, very aggressive towards cats. So there is that. On the other hand, in many households, dogs and cats get along very well. And often a trick to that is when they're introduced when they're young.
And so it's quite common that people can have dogs and cats and they do quite fine together. One interesting thing is that dogs and cats are able to understand each other's signals that like many animals, dogs and cats communicate with body postures and so on, but they sometimes have signals that differ between species.
The most obvious one is what they do with their tail, that a dog whose tail is moving back and forth wagging its tail, that's a friendly gesture. A cat that's wiggling its tail back and forth, that's a gesture. I'm nervous. I'm upset. Something not good is happening here. And nonetheless, the dogs and cats are able to figure out what each other mean.
Another example is that a common behavior, a friendly behavior of cats is to touch noses. Anyone who's had multiple cats in their house has seen that. Dogs don't do that, but when dogs and cats live together, sometimes the dog will figure it out and will engage in nose touching with cats as a friendly gesture.
So the bottom line is there are reasons why sometimes dogs and cats don't get along, but oftentimes they can live together amicably.
Well, you certainly know your cats. I appreciate you sharing all this information. It's fascinating. I've been speaking with Jonathan Lawsus. He is an evolutionary biologist at Washington University and author of the book, The Cat's Meow, How Cats Evolved from the Savannah to Your Sofa. And there's a link to that book in the show notes. And that's it, Jonathan. Appreciate you being here.
Well, you're very welcome. It's been a pleasure talking with you.
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According to Michelle Boinkens of the National Crime Prevention Council, the best place to hide stuff is in the laundry area because most crooks forget to look there. And burglars are also less likely to spend a lot of time checking hard-to-get-to places that are above eye level.
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