Why are wild cats stronger than wild dogs but not the other way around?

[Rocket Surgeon]

You also have to take their hunting styles into account. Cats are solitary predators(with the exception of lions)that are built to ambush prey and sometimes take part in a short chase before overpowering the prey or giving up. Wolves are generally pack hunters with amazing stamina and are designed to chase down their prey and bring it down when it is exhausted from the pursuit, making even lone wolves capable of bringing down prey as large as bison or musk oxen.

[Svifnymr]

Just to throw in another 2 cents, compare a 8 lb cat and an 8 lb dog and I'm pretty sure the cat will knock the dog around like nothing. There's just a much wider range of sizes for domesticated dogs than there are for domesticated cats.

[Baracuda]

I think the hyenas are the most dangerous wild dogs, not wolfs.

Edit: It seems hyenas are most like cats than dogs. I guess bears would be the equivalent to lion that dogs are to cats.

[Wiyld]

wow, there is a lot of not answering the ops question in this thread




Cats are often solitary animals. They need to be able to handle any situation alone so bigger and stronger and faster is better.

Dogs are always social, they never live alone they always have power in numbers and they tend to communicate and coordinate well.



Being big also has its drawbacks, big needs more energy just to maintain operations. So the big cats have to eat often, while the smaller dogs can go longer between meals, both in terms of time and distance. This is why you tend to see cats hiding out in densely populated areas while the dogs are out in the large expanses. Yes there are exceptions, lions being a big one. They are big, live in the open and are social, no wonder they rule the savannah. There are cats that live way the hell up in the mountains where there is hardly any food too, but those are outliers from the norm, they tend to be small cats so not relevant to the question.

[Rocket Surgeon]

Dogs are always social, they never live alone they always have power in numbers and they tend to communicate and coordinate well.

Not necessarily true, lone wolves are actually more successful in hunting than packs.

Thing is, cats rely on explosive power and raw strength to bring down prey, while canines rely on their stamina to tire out their quarry before going in for the kill. In a straight up fight, a 100lbs cougar would almost certainly kill a 100lb wolf simply because it's designed to be stronger, plus it has claws in addition to its teeth, while the wolf relies only on its teeth for combat.

[Dezerte]

House cats may be smaller than many large dog breeds, but they still have the attitude of a lion.

[lavafoxx]

we need to bring dire wolves back from extinction to balance the wild feline/canine problem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_wolf

[N-7]

cats =/= dogs enemies >.>

[Joey Ray III]

we need to bring dire wolves back from extinction to balance the wild feline/canine problem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_wolf

shit you beat me to it.

the bad-boy dogs are extinct.

[Beavis]

we need to bring dire wolves back from extinction to balance the wild feline/canine problem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_wolf

Meh, tundra wolves can get to be about the same size as dire wolves were.

[Queen of Hamsters]

A dog and a cat are not enemies. An untrained dog will probably chase a cat ENTIRELY on instincts, but that does not make them sworn enemies here or in the wild. A cat defending its territory might attack a dog, but more often than not it will run unless it feels very safe that it will be able to attack and make it out safely...or is in breeding season.

And with the exception of lions, cats are strong against prey and a single threat, but 1 cougar stands no chance against a pack of wolves if they are hellbent on killing the cougar, like in the documentary where a cougar killed a young wolf and the rest of the pack upon discovering the body, tracked the cougar and killed it. Strength in numbers. A very clever thing for the lion to "copy".

Also, dogs and wolves are separated by oh...15.000 years? No matter how much ignorant people enjoy saying "He's my wolf!", a dog is not a wolf. There are very intriguing documentaries and research around this, one that simply shows that a dog from the start seeks and wants human contact whilst a wolf cub will shy away and not stand for human contact if it can get away once it reaches a certain age. At 8 weeks, a puppy LOVES humans. A wolf cub is ambivalent or even aggressive. A dog showing wolflike behaviour is not fit for life as a pet, hence why any breeding with wolves in recent history by serious breeders has been made to get a dog with a wolfish look, not a wolf looking like a dog.

And the cats in the beginning of domestication were not far away from the cats we see today in size. Check out the Egyptian Mau.

Also, from experience (training dogs where the owners are in deep trouble), unless it is a very small dog, a cat caught in the jaws of a dog rarely makes it. So nobody should try to be tough and let their cats pick fights with dogs, and OBVIOUSLY not the other way around. Keep control of your pets or don't have any. Period.

[Eroginous]

It mostly comes down to the breed of the dog more than anything. Wolves are naturally wild and tend to live in colder climates, where food is more scarce and working communally with other wolves is the best way to survive. Lions tend to be more like Apes, where the females are smaller and do most of the hunting, and the Male just sits around all day being a bad ass. I can Guarantee you that if a pack of wolves met with a pride of lions (if they weren't separated by climate and geography), the wolves would most likely win.

Domesticated dogs for the most part are not bred to be violent, so only a very few breeds are typically violent and would make quick work of a house cat (Pit Bulls, Boxers, German Shepards, Grey Hounds). Otherwise, cats still have very feral instincts and will rip the shit out of a dog. Just last night my 4 yr old male tabby got into with our 3 yr old Lab-Pitt. The dog was the one who walked away bleeding.

[Arganis]

Strange question, I've always wondering why there aren't "big" dogs myself but I think it's because dogs never relied on size alone to capture their pray.

[Deleted]

I reported it so we'll see what happens :/

I should done a simple lion vs. wolf thread.

Ayea, don't blame some people here for calling the question stupis (except that 1 rude guy) because it kinda is.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Just to throw in another 2 cents, compare a 8 lb cat and an 8 lb dog and I'm pretty sure the cat will knock the dog around like nothing. There's just a much wider range of sizes for domesticated dogs than there are for domesticated cats.

That's not saying much since dogs weighing in at about that weight, are among the lapdog breeds. A jack russel terrier however ain't at all small, but will grab a cat and shake. The breeds tenacity and toughness making it so fit for chasing rats allows it to keep shaking until the cat stops squirming unless the cat gets it in a VERY sensitive place such as the eyes.

Having said that, I know a labrador retriever who defended his owners chickens from a cat, the cat clawed an eye out but the dog in the end kept going at the cat and killed it. The chickens were unharmed, and labrador retrievers are not bred to be "hard" in their psyche...ie able to experience something extremely uncomfortable and shake it off with ease.

[smelltheglove]

and labrador retrievers are not bred to be "hard" in their psyche...ie able to experience something extremely uncomfortable and shake it off with ease.

actually they are known to be quite stubborn when they choose, and very capable of ignoring pain. this is why they are typically not considered a good fit for "invisible" fences alone

[Rocket Surgeon]

I can Guarantee you that if a pack of wolves met with a pride of lions (if they weren't separated by climate and geography), the wolves would most likely win.

Here is where you're wrong. Spotted hyenas are nearly twice the size of wolves and they won't confront lions unless they outnumber the pride by 3 or 4 to 1 and the big males aren't present. Wolf packs and lion prides are about the same size, packs consisting of 5-11 animals, including cubs and yearlings, with exceptionally large groups having up to 40, while prides consist of 6-9 adults and several cubs, large prides reaching 30 members. Weights for adult lions range between 150–250 kg (330–550 lb) for males and 120–182 kg (264–400 lb) for females. European wolves may weigh 38.5 kilograms (85 lb), North American wolves 36 kilograms (79 lb), with females being 5-10lbs lighter. Wolves weighing more than 120lbs are uncommon.

In short: The wolves stand no chance.

EDIT: Also, wolves aren't as well-coordinated as lions. As the number of wolves in a pack go up, their success rate goes down, which is the exact opposite for lions. Single wolves and mated pairs are the most successful hunters.

[Queen of Hamsters]

It mostly comes down to the breed of the dog more than anything. Wolves are naturally wild and tend to live in colder climates, where food is more scarce and working communally with other wolves is the best way to survive. Lions tend to be more like Apes, where the females are smaller and do most of the hunting, and the Male just sits around all day being a bad ass. I can Guarantee you that if a pack of wolves met with a pride of lions (if they weren't separated by climate and geography), the wolves would most likely win.

Domesticated dogs for the most part are not bred to be violent, so only a very few breeds are typically violent and would make quick work of a house cat (Pit Bulls, Boxers, German Shepards, Grey Hounds). Otherwise, cats still have very feral instincts and will rip the shit out of a dog. Just last night my 4 yr old male tabby got into with our 3 yr old Lab-Pitt. The dog was the one who walked away bleeding.

Those dogs are not bred to be violent per say. Greyhounds are bred to hunt prey in a very unique manner, ie being set onto it and chase it until it can no longer run/the dog catches up and then grab it (the animal often dies from the stress at that).

Boxers and german shephers are working dogs where a lot of lines have been extremely watered down by the "pretty" breeding and won't be suitable for even obedience competitions...but the lines still functioning are not violent, they have courage, intelligence, a strong will to learn and in the case of for example dogs going up for higher training such as schutz/police work, a "hard" (don't know the English term) psyche. Not hard as in badass, but hard as in "That hurt, but I'mma keep coming". A hard mentality dog can be dangerous when in the wrong hands obviously, but the hunting and fighting purposes for the Boxer is now way behind it in its molosser ancestry, and the german shepherd has never been bred to chase prey.

Pit bull terriers, true to their ancestry, have been bred to fight and a lot of less intelligent people keep breeding them that way for downright illegal purposes. And unless well trained they won't be called off lightly once they start (in the days, a dog biting a human as the two fighting dogs were being separated would be put down) so...

All dogs can and will get violent if provoked, in different strength and tenacity. The shades are a bit more grey though than "some breeds being bred to be violent". As I mentioned in my earlier post, even a breed such as the labrador retriever (he wasn't even a hunting retriever) will react accordingly if it feels a threat. It's also down to individuals, no doubt about that.

And, your cat and your dog? That makes 2 animals within a household, it is very rare for a dog to attack and kill other larger animals within the household no matter what breed. Of course the dog is the one backing down, the dog = the one with huge social skills...cats are kings and queens in their own world, dogs are beings of social structure where a fight will most likely harm the bigger picture.

Don't get too comfortable if you see the cat and dog fight more times (I really feel my English skill lacking here for words), a dog can feel that enough is enough and your dog has one breed in it with incredible harshness when provoked if it lets itself go over the threshold.

[Deleted]

Strange question, I've always wondering why their aren't "big" dogs myself but I think it's because dogs never relied on size alone to capture their pray.

It's a different species and it hunts different pray items in a different geographical location with it's very own hunting technique.

Cats are ambush predators and they rely on speed and agility to kill its pray, They are not built for chasing pray hours on end. <--
Muscular build to increase deadliness.
Dogs are pack hunters and they rely on stamina and cunning to chase down and kill its pray, they are not built to brawl and overpower pray. <-- Slender build to increase stamina.

As you said yourself "dogs never relied on size alone to capture their pray.". But there are REALLY big dog breeds that are used to hunt and kill lion, BoerBoel for example. Breed for muscle and not stamina. Closest thing you can come to a "big" dog.

[Lightfist]

Because domestic cats aren't really similar to the bigger wild cats.