We had a cat and dog gang...big golden lab and a ginger cat who worked together. She would go onto the table and pull the food to the edge and knock it off and then they would eat it together. He reciprocated by letting her sleep on top of him in his basket at night, all curled up.
I've seen pix like that - lluv them! I had a friend who had a cat, dog and pet rabbit - all 3 would curl up together and zonk out - she showed me pix and they were priceless! Animals of different species can bond...........
That's an expression that would always make me bristle.... as we know, animals aren't dumb. I've had cats/dogs that were smarter than some people I knew........
Dogs are highly intelligent - we have our police dogs, cadaver, search & rescue, service/medical, military, can detect bombs, drugs - even cancer in a person..... seeing that was amazing! OTOH, cats are also very intelligent & have been known to save lives also or do something amazing. I read a lot and also stories about animals and will never forget this one story written by a cat owner...... she & her cat lived alone in a 2-story house. One nite she's in bed, reading & suddenly heard this blood-curdling screaming & high-pitched howling. She crept down the stairs and saw her cat draped over the burglar's head w/his nails inbedded in the guy's face. She called the cops w/her cat ripping the guys face to shreds & hind leg nails anchored into his back..... when the cops took the guy away, his face was like raw, bloody hamburger.... Wonder if the guy got cat scratch fever? That's a bad thing to get...... Anyway, the cat heard the guy break in and was quietly waiting for him...I love cats......
They're all as different as human characters are, I think. We had some great guard dogs who literally saved our lives many times but there was this one dog who was very quirky and used to stay silent until people came right alongside and then he'd bite them in the ass. It was terribly embarrassing. Unless they were acting aggressively, he let people come right up and talk and you could stand for 10 minutes talking. I used to say, I apologise but just to prewarn you, when you walk away the dog will try to bite you on the ass. Please don't be offended, he won't connect, I have him under control. And then they'd turn to go and wuff, he'd snap at their ass and they'd do this kind of movement like you do when someone pinches your bum. Where we used to live I was walking him late and a crowd of teenagers came running down the road. I heard them smash a car window and the car owner was shouting and chasing them. That was scary, they were aged about 17 and there were about 30 running straight at me. This dog was in the bushes right beside me but didn't seem to even notice and didn't react at all and I was inwardly cursing and wishing for the labs, who always position themselves between you and the perceived threat and commence to bark them in a safe circle of 20 metres around you until they pass. But this dog didn't curl a hair until they were almost on me, then he shot out and bit one of them as they went past. Not to draw blood, to warn. He looked at me in shock and I said...That's what happens son. Get up the road. (meaning, go home). They were all arrested later that night for rampaging about and generally annoying the community, as they sometimes do for a week or two when the sun comes out after a long winter...they go a bit mad...