# Dogs vs. Cats: The Final Battle **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 28, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954 "2003-10-28T02:12:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JasonG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@JasonG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JasonG)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/1 "2003-10-28T02:12:49Z")
I do not advocate violence against animals, but I think this is an interesting scenario. If you lined up every member of the family _Felidae_ against every member of the order _Canidae_, who would win? To help you, here’s a partial list of Cats: Lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, puma, panther, mountain lion, cheetah, wild cat, cougar, bobcat, lynx, serval, caracal, jaguarundi, margay. And, of course, every breed of house cat. The Dogs’ roster looks like this: Wolf, fox, coyote, hyaena, dingo, jackal, dhole, fennec, raccoon dog, zorro, bush dog, aardwolf, and some pretty fierce breeds like mastiffs and pit bulls. I’m a dog lover, but the cats would win, right? Wolves and attack dogs have got nothing on lions and tigers. What do you think? JasonG ---
**Author:** ![barton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@barton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barton)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/2 "2003-10-28T03:09:52Z")
Hmm. Are they all acting on their own, choosing their own dog-vs.cat contests or exhibiting pack behavior, following an alpha? What’s the terrain and the weather like? ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/3 "2003-10-28T03:44:36Z")
Is either side prepared? Do any of the dogs have a 1920’s style “Death Ray” and if they do, are they trained to use it? On a slightly more serious note, I bet there are a LOT more large domestic dogs than there are large cats - and small house cats wouldn’t last long against most a wolf pack. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/4 "2003-10-28T04:26:56Z")
Right, I have to go With DreadCthulhu on this. There are vastly more domestic dogs and cats than there are wild animals; a few orders of magnitude I would guess. Given the size and weight difference I would have to give it to the dogs, especially since some of the dogs will be Pit Bulls, Mastiffs, Rotwiellers, etc., For which there is no domestic cat equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/5 "2003-10-28T04:34:56Z")
Cats are dog food. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/6 "2003-10-28T04:48:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JThunder \* > \*\*Cats are dog food. \*\* OK you know you are a gamer geek when you look at this thread and think…hmmm, D&D Battlesystem? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/7 "2003-10-28T09:52:33Z")
Tough to handicap, very tough. If we did line them up against each other, they would immeadeately attack the closest animal, cat or dog, that it saw as a threat, making each side a free-for all-amongst themselves and the opposing side. The wolves would be after the coyotes, the coyotes would be after the pets, and the pets would be all over each other. The cats would be much worse amongst themselves. So, I am going to assume for this discussion that we can get all cats to work together here, and all dogs to work together. Yep, pound for pound, a cat is much more dangerous than a dog. My 15lb cat has accidentally left deep cuts on my arm with his claws that made me shudder to think about what he could have done if he had meant to harm me. Bare-handed, I have fended off a chocolate lab that wanted to tear my throat out, I would surely have been dinner if it were a 100lb cat. A 15 lb dog usually has jaws barely strong enough to break the skin. The cat can also kill with its claws without exposing itself too terribly to injury, while the dog has to get in close with its jaws. Not a problem for a large dog vs. a housecat, but a pack of hyenas ( I know, not a dog, it actually has stronger jaws than most dogs, and weighs more than most of them) willl generally leave a lion alone, unless it is injured, out of self preservation. Housecats also seem to understand particularly nasty ways of fighting, like going straight for the eyes. My girlfriend’s roomate had a declawed cat that would demonstrate this every time it was bothered by her lasa apsa. Since I do not have any estimates on the total weight of felines vs. the total weight of canines, I could not tell ya for sure who would win. Given that we can get each group to work as a team, the dogs might win out of sheer numbers, but it would be a pyrric victory. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/8 "2003-10-28T11:44:37Z")
Dogs are pack animals and therefore depend on those tactics to “win”. They have endurance and group coordination. Cats are usually more dangerous like scabpicker put it… and lone hunters with a few exceptions. Cats win. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c37758/32.png) [@Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Owes_Bess)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/9 "2003-10-28T11:46:51Z")
I’m too tired to hunt down a Cite but I have read that the Hyena is a species distinct from the dog family, as is the African “Wild Dog”, despite its name. The hyena, despite lacking sex appeal, and the lion are both rated as the top predators in Africa, although there is some dispute as to which is the more succesful. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/10 "2003-10-28T12:37:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by drachillix \* > \*\*OK you know you are a gamer geek when you look at this thread and think…hmmm, D&D Battlesystem? \*\* An older geek at that. 😃 Marc ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/11 "2003-10-28T13:09:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JasonG \* > > The Dogs’ roster looks like this: > > Wolf, fox, coyote, hyaena, dingo, jackal, dhole, fennec, raccoon dog, zorro, bush dog, aardwolf, and some pretty fierce breeds like mastiffs and pit bulls. The Aardwolf, despite the name, is not a canid. It’s a species of hyena that specializes on termites. Hyenas are in their own family and despite superficial appearances are probably more closely related to felids and viverrids than canids. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alan Owes Bess \* > I’m too tired to hunt down a Cite but I have read that the Hyena is a species distinct from the dog family, as is the African “Wild Dog”, despite its name. As noted hyenas are in a different, quite unrelated family. However African Wild Dogs ( aka Cape Hunting Dogs ) are in fact canids. The common confusion with them is that pelt-wise they look superficially like some of the hyenas ( especially the Aardwolf, come to think of it ). If you ever watch old season 1 _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ reruns on tv, you can curse along with me during the “hyena episode”. The idiots in charge of research/continuity show a hyena clip initially on a computer as the characters are researching hyenas, then subsequently show African Wild Dog clips. FOOLS!!! Quite unrelated beasties. > [@](#): > > The hyena, despite lacking sex appeal, and the lion are both rated as the top predators in Africa, although there is some dispute as to which is the more succesful. Last I checked ( admittedly old research from the 1960’s or 70’s - I’m thinking of Hugo and Jane van Lawick-Goodall’s old book Innocent Killers on the Spotted Hyena, African Wild Dog, and Golden Jackal ) Spotted Hyenas ( the massive, matriarchal pack hunters ) were clearly more successful as a percentage of game acquired relative to # of hunting trips. African wild dogs, the most social of Africa’s pack hunters, are the most successful of all. Of course, pecking order-wise lions are almost always on top, unless up against an entire Spotted Hyena clan ( which can get very large ). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/12 "2003-10-28T13:22:45Z")
The cats would all turn inwards with their petty infighting. The dogs would all look at each other knowingly and nod. _The Final Battle for all the Marbles_small rodents, snakes, birds, carcasses, etc… ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/13 "2003-10-28T14:38:17Z")
Wait, wasn’t there a movie based on this (no searching the IMDB right now) - I remember the ads, which featured dogs and cats in a suburban setting, wearing night googles, laser pointers, and other weapons… ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/14 "2003-10-28T17:33:38Z")
Yeah. Thre dogs won. Just goes to show you that _anything_ can happen when Hollywood is in control. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-vs-cats-the-final-battle/209954/15 "2003-10-28T21:42:08Z")
Now, what if you lined up one each of twenty of the most dangerous breeds of cat against one each of twenty of the most dangerous breeds of dog? Who would win? Assuming, of course, that all animals were trained to be as vicious as they could be, and that all members of either side worked together.