My cat thinks she is a dog!

I have a one year old Calico cat named Bella. At random times I could almost swear that she thinks she is a dog. I live in a multiple animal home, with 3 dogs and 2 cats. She is very much a cat in the fact that she is lazy and loves bathing in the sunlight. But when you pet here she will lick you. Your hand, your face, whatever she can reach. She is also a biter. I have never seen a cat with this type of behavior. I have been around cats my whole life. The average number in my parents house being 5 at a time. I don't know why she does it...but it is the cutest thing. She will stretch up on her back feet and bite my nose and chin and lick my face. Does anyone else's cat have this bizarre behavior?

Da Magpie does all of that and she doesn't even know what a dog is. I attribute this behaviour to her being orphaned. That said, I have several other cats that lick...as I am typing, one is slobbering all over my elbow.

It's a pretty common cat behavior. Surely you've seen two cats growing each other? Well, our petting them is like grooming so they're just returning the favor.

Darko definitely thinks he's a dog. He even whines like one! And he rolls over on his back for belly rubs like one. I'm still waiting for the day, though, when I'm rubbing his belly and one of his legs starts to kick back and forth like a dog

yeah both mine like to lick and they havent really met any dogs before i think its cute like little sandpaper tounges awwww

First of All-- Love The Name!!! My Bella is the first cat that I have been owned by that grooms me. She will sit next to me and bathe herself then lean over and start bathing me as well. I am very flattered by it. I love dogs, but cats are my passion. I don't think I could compare Bella to a dog. She is just doing what comes naturally...

Our Cat without fail, will follow our dogs on a walk around the block or down to the beach. She tags along behind these two big dogs and passers by always take a second glance. She will sit on the edge of the beach while the dogs run and will stand her ground with any canine and I mean any mean faced snarling brontosaurus. She behaves like a dog when out of the house and it is the strangest thing to see.
Ohter than the walks shes definitely a Cat.

My cat is a dog, haha. She was my first cat ever (I always had dogs before) so I trained her like a dog. She does tricks like sit, lie down, roll over. She also loves to ride in cars and play fetch. I love it

I'm NOT trying to be snarky at all, but don't you sometimes wonder why nobody says their dog acts like a cat when they do such things?

Holland has learned to fetch, she licks me all the time when I pet her, she runs to see me when I get home, she rolls over for belly rubs. I don't think of them as dog traits, I think of them as happy animal traits.

sounds like my cat.

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

I'm NOT trying to be snarky at all, but don't you sometimes wonder why nobody says their dog acts like a cat when they do such things?

Holland has learned to fetch, she licks me all the time when I pet her, she runs to see me when I get home, she rolls over for belly rubs.

I don't think of them as dog traits, I think of them as happy animal traits.

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LOL that is one of my biggest pet peeves, when people say "my cat thinks she's a dog" or "my cat acts like a dog".

In fact I started a thread about it here a while back. Cats are CATS. Any behavior a cat has, it is because she or he is a CAT, it has nothing to do with DOGS.

I have cats who fetch, and lick, and roll over and greet me at the door and any other behavior people seem to think are exclusive to dogs.

Drives me insane, LOL!

Kasey has dog-like guarding behaviour, with tortitude

Kasey is loves human attention and is very friendly when people visit.

She is an indoor cat, now and doesn't show much interest in going outside but seems to want to defent the house.

Some examples;

1.) Last winter, one night, some people put a car in the ditch on the country road that runs beside our lot. We called a tow truck for them.

Kasey sat at the patio door and watched like them a Rotweiler until the tow truck pulled them out. She would not be distracted by anything that normally gets her attention in the house until they were gone.

2.) One night last summer, we had the windowa open. letting the fresh air come in through the screens since it was a cool night.

The one window is low and something must have come to it in the wee hours of the morning.

I hear Kasey make "noises not of this world" and hit the screen. When I came to investigate, there was nothing there, she had "run it off".

When I was up getting breakfast, she went back to the window, just to check.

3.) I was off work on a vacation day on Nov. 20/09.

That day, the work crew was finishing their last day of a new water main installation on our road (thankfully!!!).

In the morning, I was sitting in my recliner chair taking in the news on the TV.

Kasey jumped up on my lap and was going to settle down when she spotted the activity outside. We are in the country with a reasonably large lot, so this was well over 100 feet away.

She reacted BUT, it was not like a scared small, feline.

She sat bolt upright, ears forward on alert, glaring at them and sitting agressively; her whole demeanour was; maybe I had better “run them off”.

I pet her and asked her to settle down, which she did.

Paul locked himself out of the house and had to boost me in a window. The dog ignored me but Maude attacked, kept hissing and beating me with her paw, she was defending the house. Like I said Molly ignored me coming in the window buy Maude wasn't. Every time we left we told Maude to guard the house

Sometimes the best way to explain behavior is to equate to 'like a dog' or 'like a cat' when explaining it to others.

Taryn