Folchi 1

Amy Folchi

Prof. Hellmers

English 1201

4 May 2022

The Cause for Dog and Cat Relationship Differences with Humans

When I went to a family friend’s house, I was greeted by a large black dog with a

wagging tail. As far as I knew, the family owned no other pets, but I later spotted a cat slipping

quietly out to eat or drink. The cat minded its business and then snuck back away with no sound

or greeting to me or anyone else present. I have had other experiences with dogs and cats, and I

can list multiple similar scenarios showing a seemingly anti-social animal and then its opposite,

the dog. Despite these differences, dogs and cats alike have found their way into human homes,

but what is the reason for their differences? Why does our relationship with dogs look different

than our relationship with cats? The simple and rather unexciting answer could be that they are

just different creatures. Even with that answer, one could wonder why the two different species

are the way they are with people. The differences between the feline’s and the canine’s

communication with and comprehension of humans could be the solution. Human relationships

with dogs look different than human relationships with cats due to dogs' better social abilities.

To be clear, the purpose of this essay is not to argue whether dogs or cats are better

pets. It is also not the intention of this essay to argue whether one pet has a better relationship

with people than the other. As Alicia Ault states in her article from the Smithsonian magazine,

the dogs vs. cats argument is subjective. There are pros and cons to both animals, a case that

could be made in support of or against either, and cat-lovers will likely remain cat-lovers

while dog-lovers will likely remain dog-lovers no matter what is written about the matter.
 Folchi 2

Additionally, both species can be found in shelters in need of loving homes, so to make a

convincing case against one or the other would have no benefit. So, rather, the intention of

this essay is simply to look at the reasoning behind human relationship differences between

the two species, not to determine which relationship is better or which makes a better pet in

result of the relationship difference.

First, dogs’ ability to communicate with people may be part of why human relationships

with them look different than with cats. Beyond tail wags and butt wiggles, dogs have taken their

communication with humans a step further by utilizing fast-twitch muscles and puppy eyes

(Metcalfe). In fact, according to NOVA documentary “Cat tales,” “[b]oth dogs and humans have

a muscle that is responsible for raising the inner eyebrow” (10:58-11:02). The especially

interesting portion of the use of fast-twitch muscles and the inner eyebrow muscle in the

domestic canine is that their wolf ancestors, in comparison, are quite lacking in the fast-twitch

muscle and “puppy dog eye” department (Metcalfe). “Taken together,” Tom Metcalfe writes,

“the muscle changes suggest dogs’ faces have evolved anatomically to improve their connections

with people, said biological anthropologist Anne Burrows…” According to Metcalfe’s article,

cats and horses did not show the same muscular changes in comparison to their wild ancestors.

In fact, NOVA documentary “Cat Tales” had quite a bit to say concerning cats’ lack of

communication ability from feline to human, calling them “totally unreadable” (0:15).“We will

often pretend to know what they are thinking. Are we right? Maybe not, but it’s fun to imagine,”

stated a cat owner in the NOVA documentary (10:00-10:03). In fact, the documentary tells the

audience that cats are famously known for being practically impossible to understand (10:06-

10:12). According to the documentary, felines are “…physically incapable of having faces as

expressive as dogs” (11:09-11:13). The special communication skill that Metclife talks about
 Folchi 3

dogs having is just the first of dogs’ unique social abilities to be discussed in this paper. The

difference in facial expression abilities and just pet to human communication in general may be

one reason for the variation in human-dog relationships compared to human-cat relationships.

Furthermore, dogs not only communicate well to humans but can also be communicated

to by humans. Tadatoshi Ogura along with a few other authors wrote about a study that showed

“…that dogs have an attentional style specialized for human non-verbal communication…”

Additionally, Yasemin Saplakoglu discusses a study in her article on the website LiveScience

that shows dogs to be better at reading social situations with humans than cats. The study showed

that dogs seem to be able to read social situations well enough to understand if someone is being

helpful or not helpful to their owners. In the scenarios provided, dogs showed avoidance of the

stranger who was not helpful to its owner. When cats were placed in the same situation, they

showed no preference (Saplakoglu). So, while cats did not show understanding for the stranger’s

unkindness, dogs illustrated understanding of what was occurring. The canine’s exceptional

capability of understanding people in comparison to the cat’s lesser abilities in this area could be

a reason for the relationship difference.

However, the dogs’ ability to understand human language does not stop there. Clive

Wynne from Arizona State University said in NOVA documentary “Dog Tales” that “[m]ost pet

dogs most of the time will follow a human point…” and that “…it turns out that not very many

animals will do this” (32:56-33:08). What makes this especially intriguing is the fact that,

according to the NOVA documentary, Chimpanzees, our closest animal cousins, struggle with

the pointing test (33:13-33:18). This seemingly petty skill is not just significant because dogs are

one of the few animals capable of successfully fulfilling it. It is especially important in this

paper, as prior cited research has already shown dogs’ superior social abilities. This unique
 Folchi 4

ability of the dog to follow the human point just adds to the evidence that dogs seem exceptional

social abilities, ones that supersede the social abilities of the domestic cat. These social abilities,

such as the ability to follow a human point, again is a possibility for the relationship differences

with humans and a cat or dog.

Fig. 1 Dogs follow the human point, a rather unique skill in the animal kingdom (Emily Bray).

Now that there is a suspect for the cause of the relationship differences, what exactly

creates the suspect? One possible reason for the variation in social abilities between cats and

dogs may be explained through their domestication. As Danielle Lee from the Southern Illinois

University Edwardsville stated in the NOVA documentary “Dog tales” about the canine, they’re
 Folchi 5

“humanity’s oldest friend” (3:18-3:19). According to an article by Alicia Ault, dogs have been

domesticated since eighteen thousand to thirty-thousand years ago. According to the same

article, cats’ domestication dates back to only 8,000 to 9,000 years ago (Ault). These very large

numerical differences indicate that dogs may have been with humans for at least double as long

as cats have. In result, the canine has had much more time to figure out the human language and

how to communicate back to people than cats have. Thus, the differences in social abilities may

be due to the significant disparity in domestication times.

Another cause for the dog’s superior social skills may be due to their ancestry. In

Yasemin Saplakoglu’s article, the author cites Ali Boyle’s statement that dogs came from social

animals, whereas cats did not. Due to dogs’ ancestry, it is possible that “dogs already had

existing social skills that were hyperdeveloped when they were domesticated” (Saplakoglu). So

not only have dogs had more time to develop socially with humans but they came into the game

equipped already with social abilities. Cats, on the other hand, had to learn some new tricks to

figure out the family life because their solitary ancestry likely has not given them the upper hand

in terms of this. Ultimately, ancestry is another possible answer to the dogs’ better

communication and comprehension skills.

Yet another possibility behind the dog’s superior social abilities compared to cats’ is the

difference in the animals’ levels of domestication. According to Ault’s article, it is questionable

whether cats are even fully domesticated. In simple terms, Ault defines domestication as follows:

“…to domesticate an animal means to tame it, through breeding and training, to need and accept

the care of humans.” Later the article discusses that while most dogs would likely not survive on

their own in the wild, cats are less dependent on people feeding them and still can hunt. The

article also says that dogs “…have come to rely heavily on the symbiotic relationship with
 Folchi 6

humans to survive” while the feline “can still do well without someone opening a can for them.”

Additionally, NOVA documentary “Cat tales” informs the audience that “…domestication may

only be skin-deep and cats are essentially still wild animals -- wild animals that now live with

us” (46:27-46:32). The documentary also discusses feral cats – cats that have basically converted

back to being wild animals, living out on the streets (43:20-46:10). All things considered, cats

clearly do not meet the full definition of domestication, being that they do not need humans’ care

to survive, while dogs do meet the full definition. The large deficit of cats’ social skills compared

to dogs’ could be due to cats’ lack of domestication and being, as the NOVA documentary said,

wild animals still. Thus, the domestication level differences between the dog and the cat is a

possible reason behind the differences in social skills.

So, is the only possible reason behind the relationship difference just social smarts? In a

study written about by Monica Teresa Gonzalez-Ramirez and Rene Landero-Hernandez, owners

reported higher emotional closeness in relationships with dogs compared to cats. This was based

on owners’ perceptions of “greater social support, companionship, and unconditional love with

their dogs” (Gonzalez-Ramirez, Landero-Hernandez). A closer emotional bond would certainly

constitute a difference between the relationships with one pet or the other, and so this could be

put under another possibility for the reason behind the relationship differences. What makes it

more valid is that Gonzalez-Ramirez and Landero-Hernandez are not the only ones to suggest

greater emotional closeness with dogs. In the NOVA documentary “Dog Tales,” Clive Wynne

noticed about his own dog “…this ability, this capacity, this desire to form strong emotional

bonds.” (38:04-38:18). Additionally, in the same documentary, a woman stated concerning cats

that: “… they can be emotionally distant.” (9:51-9:55). However, with a closer look, this reason

may not be completely separate from social abilities. Rather, it may be the result of them.
 Folchi 7

Perhaps owners are more emotionally bonded with their dogs because of dogs’ communication

and social comprehension abilities. Possibly, dogs’ social skills allow them to provide the “…

greater social support, companionship, and unconditional love…” that results in the perceived

emotional bonding (Gonzalez-Ramirez, Landero-Hernandez). So, in the end, cats’ lesser and

dogs’ greater social abilities may still be at the core of the relationship difference.

An additional idea is that the pets’ difference in independence from people could be why

cat-human and dog-human relationships look different. According to Ault’s article, dogs are

much more reliant on humans than cats are. While most dogs would die on their own, cats can

still hunt, obtaining food for themselves (Ault). This difference in reliance on people for survival

is a plausible reason for the relationship difference. However, even this feeds into the different

social abilities of dogs and cats when it comes to people. If the dog is dependent on people for

their very survival then, surely, they must learn to communicate effectively with their caretaker

in order to be able to convey what they need. If cats are able to care for themselves, there is little

need for the ability to communicate with their people, just as their solitary ancestors mentioned

in Yasemin Saplakoglu’s article did not need other cats to survive. So, ultimately, this too ties

into dog and cat social abilities and, while possibly valid, still may point to social skill

differences for the reason for relationship differences.

Some may argue that cats are not getting enough credit in this paper because they can

read people. The statement that cats can read some human language would not be wrong. NOVA

documentary “Cat Tales” discusses a study involving a look at cats’ ability to read facial

expressions. The owner in the room scowled and then smiled. What the study found is that when

the owner was smiling, the cat was more likely to approach the owner than when the owner was

scowling (13:26-14:06). So, it would seem, cats do have the ability to read facial expressions.
 Folchi 8

However, this is one possible social skill on cats’ side compared to a long list of social abilities

on dogs’ side. The same documentary discusses how practically impossible cats are to read while

Tom Metclife discusses dogs’ specially adapted faces. There is also the matter of dogs’ ability to

read social situations better than cats, as shown in the study Yasemin Saplakoglu writes about.

Furthermore, dogs can follow pointing better than most other animals, as stated by Clive Wynn

from NOVA’s “Dog Tales.” Finally, there are the special adaptations dogs have for

understanding human body language as mentioned by Tadatshi Ogura and accompanying

authors. So, although it is accurate according to the study included in the NOVA documentary

that cats can understand people to some degree, dogs have a significantly longer list of social

abilities. Not to say cats’ abilities are completely insignificant or mute, but in terms of causing

relationship differences, the dogs’ vast lead in the quantity of social skills are enough to possibly

constitute a difference between the human-cat and human-dog relationship.

One could also argue that cats can communicate with people with their faces. This

argument is also valid because, in NOVA documentary “Cat Tales,” Lauren Finka from

Nottingham Trent University states that “…research suggests that cats can communicate some

emotion on their faces. It’s just we don’t speak their language” (11:17-11:25). The key part that

should be considered in this quote, though, is that we do not speak their language. “It’s very,

very subtle” Finka states in the documentary. “So, statistically, it’s significant, but in terms of the

average cat owner trying to look at their cat’s face it might be a little more problematic” (12:44-

12:53). On the other hand, the documentary cites the dog’s face as seeming “…full of

expression” (10:38-10:39). As “Cat tales” and Tom Metclife showed earlier in this essay, this

“full of expression” face comes from special muscles – muscles that are also found in humans

(10:58-11:02). So, even though cats do communicate with their faces, it is not very useful in
 Folchi 9

terms of cat-human communication because humans do not know what they are saying. It may

be that dogs have the upper hand because, as stated by Metclife and the NOVA documentary,

they share some of the facial muscles people have, so their emotions probably come more clearly

to humans because of that. Ultimately, this does constitute a possible relationship difference due

to the variation in social ability. However, this would not be an argument for cats being at par

with dog’s communication capabilities. Even though cats can communicate, they cannot do it

with us because we do not understand what the cat is saying, as explained in the “Cat Tales”

documentary. Dogs, on the other hand, express feelings on their faces in a way that we can

understand it, as shown by Metclife’s article and “Cat Tales.” In the end, this potential

counterargument does serve as another illustration for a possible social skill variation that causes

the relationship difference between humans and these two different pets.

Fig. 1 This image is a humorous illustration of the dog’s more expressive face versus the cat’s

more expressionless approach (Texas Pet Concierge).

 Folchi 10

In conclusion, dogs’ social abilities are a likely cause for the difference in dog-human

and cat-human relationships. According to the multiple sources of research discussed throughout

this paper, the difference between the dog greeting me at the front door and the cat slinking away

to a place of quiet hiding in relation to their people ultimately comes down to different facial

muscles, attentional styles, abilities to read social situations, and capacity to translate basic

human body language such as pointing. Sources also suggest possible sources for dogs’ and cats’

differing social abilities, including differences in how long either species has been domesticated

and variation in just how domestic the two animals really are. Information cited earlier in this

paper also raises the question of other potential possibilities for the relationship differences

between cats, dogs, and humans, including varying emotional closeness and differing levels of

independence. However, despite the considerable differences between all of these potential

alternative ideas, social abilities still are a possible significant element to all of them, in one way

or another. The varying emotional closeness could be a result of the differing social abilities and

the different levels of independence could be a potential cause of the varying social abilities.

While it is to be acknowledged that cats do have some social abilities, according to the

information gathered, dogs do seem to have social abilities that exceed the feline’s. Ultimately,

the large difference between dogs and cats in their social abilities with humans may be the

answer to why dogs and cats have a relationship with humans that look so different from each

other.
 Folchi 11

Works Cited

Ault, Alicia. “Ask Smithsonian: Are Cats Domesticated?” Smithsonian, 30 Apr. 2015,

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-are-cats-

domesticated-180955111/#:~:text=In%20its%20simplest%20form%2C%20to,take%20a%20few

%20thousand%20years. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.

Bray, Emily. “‘A Puppy Responding to a Pointed Finger to Find a Treat Hidden under a Blue Plastic

Cup.’” Ars Technica, Condé Nast, 4 June 2021, https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/your-

dogs-desire-to-communicate-with-you-just-might-be-in-the-genes/. Accessed 30 Apr. 2022.

“Cat Tales.” directed by Pete Chinn, starring Eric Meyers, produced by Julia Cort, et al, season 47,

episode 3, Blink Film, 2020. PBS, https://www.pbs.org/video/cat-tales-lhavhy/.

"Dog Tales."  directed by Pete Chinn, starring Eric Meyers, produced by Julia Cort, et al, season 47,

episode 2, Blink Film, 2020. PBS, https://www.pbs.org/video/dog-tales-vskr2y/.

González-Ramírez, Mónica Teresa, and René Landero-Hernández. “Pet-Human Relationships: Dogs

versus Cats.” Animals : an open access journal from MDPI vol. 11,9 2745. 20 Sep. 2021,

doi:10.3390/ani11092745

Metcalfe, Tom. “Dogs’ Faces Evolved to Improve Connections with People, Study Suggests.” NBC

News, 5 Apr. 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/science/weird-science/dogs-faces-evolved-

improve-connections-people-study-suggests-rcna22362. Accessed 10 Apr. 2022.

Ogura, Tadatoshi, et al. vol. 10, MDPI AG, 2020, Dogs (Canis Familiaris) Gaze at Our Hands: A

Preliminary Eye-Tracker Experiment on Selective Attention in Dogs,

https://eds.p.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=29&sid=0308b309-2052-45e4-8be3-

5c239130133a%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU

%3d#AN=edsgcl.643043119&db=edsgao. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.

 Folchi 12

Saplakoglu, Yasemin. “Cats Are Too Socially Inept to Be Loyal.” LiveScience, Purch, 2 Mar. 2021,

https://www.livescience.com/cats-do-not-distinguish-human-enemies-friends.html.

Texas Pet Concierge, http://www.texaspetconcierge.com/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.