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Anxiety
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Both species exhibit anxiety, resulting in many behavioral traits. For example, adopted dogs and cats often suffer from separation anxiety. In an adopted dog, anxiety results in leash aggression towards other dogs, while adopted cats respond with aggression towards other cats.
Sense of Smell
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Both cats and dogs have a highly developed sense of smell, which allows them to assess other cats and dogs. For example, when a dog sniffs where another dog has excreted, it can immediately determine the dog's gender. A cat can determine the gender and health of another cat by sniffing for pheromones.
Belly
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Dogs and cats expose their bellies and love to have them rubbed by their owners. A dog displays its submissiveness when it exposes its belly to another dog or its owner. A cat displays its trust when it rolls on its back and allows you to rub its tummy.
Circle Area
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Both cats and dogs tend to circle an area two or three times before lying down. This instinctive behavior comes from when dogs and cats were wild animals and would circle their space in dens to establish their territory and arrange their positions within the circle.
Tail
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Both dogs and cats display their emotions through the positioning and movement of their tails. A dog shows signs of friendliness and happiness when it wags its tail. It also shows signs of fear and submissiveness when its tail is hidden between its legs. A cat shows sign of shows signs of confidence and ease when its tail is upright.
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Five Things That Cats and Dogs Have in Common
Despite differences between cats and dogs, there are also many similarities. For example, both cats and dogs are domesticated animals retained as pets. Also, both animals belong to the mammal kingdom since each has hair and nurse their live-born young. Moreover, there are many shared behavioral traits found in cats and dogs. If you can identify similarities between both species, it can help you better understand and relate to your pet dog or cat.