Reader photos: 'Fighting like cats and dogs'? Yeah, right. 40+ examples of dog-and-cat friendship
If there's one thing on Earth that can make our hearts swell and send negative thoughts far from our minds, it is without a doubt friendship between animals.
All the better when that friendship is between animals of different species -- like, say, a dog and a raven who play ball together, a cat and a rabbit who enjoy napping next to each other, a deer and a dog who love to romp together on the lawn, a rabbit who generously shares its carrot with a puppy or a giraffe and an ostrich who are best pals despite their obvious dissimilarities.
Readers have shared hundreds of amazing photos of friendship between animals at The Times' photo-sharing site, Your Scene. Here, we've assembled some of our favorite shots of friendships between two species that conventional wisdom tells us don't get along: cats and dogs.
But the phrase "fighting like cats and dogs" is foreign to these four-legged friends -- they're lovers, not fighters. Submitter reporter1 says Bobby, the dog in the photo above, thinks the cat is his own pet. (We bet the cat thinks it's the other way around, but the point is, they love each other!)
After the jump, check out more wonderful glimpses into the world of inter-species friendship.
Submitter Dhondi's pets, Bear and TeddyBear, are so close that even their names are similar!
Submitter howard's pets Scollie and Mickey "were both adopted strays ... became the best of friends, and respected each other's space," he says. "[M]any years later they're probably romping together in animal heaven ..." Amen to that!
Submitter MKW says Jaleo the Plott hound is really Chima the cat's dog. We're beginning to sense a trend here -- animals with their own pets! Well, if it's good enough for Koko, why not dogs and cats?
Submitter jules' redbone coonhound, Obi, wasn't used to being around cats until this one arrived on the scene. Fortunately, "our cat has a very [dominant] personality and holds his ground," jules says. Now these two are so comfortable around each other that the kitty can use Obi as his personal chair!
Submitter Danielle's pets, Baxter and Lincoln, are so cute together that it almost hurts to look at them!
Who needs a purple dinosaur? Submitter Ginger's golden retriever and cat illustrate the importance of sharing nicely, we think -- and without using songs that get stuck in your head for days on end.
Submitter Klaus_W's cat seems to have a secret to share with his canine friend.
Submitter dee's terrier mix, Tara, quickly made friends with Mr. Kitty, who came to live with them as a kitten after being found alone in the snow. Clearly, Tara's love hasn't faded since then!
Submitter Danielle's cat Angel "loves snuggling up to Billy [the dog] for a nap," she explains.
Submitter KLHW's dog Oscar did his part helping to care for three cute foster kittens.
Submitter ccrider's Weimaraner sure looks comfortable, though we're not sure we can say the same for the kitten.
Submitter Shadow's Doberman pinscher Baby Girl and kitten Einstein are the best of friends.
Submitter DrDoLittleAsPossible (who deserves a shout-out for the creative username alone) says Zipper the cat uses her Labrador pal as a mobile couch.
"Animals show us how to be better humans," submitter MEG says. Seeing the photo of her sweet dachshund-and-cat pair makes us inclined to agree!
We're going to take a wild guess that submitter LeighAnnR's orange tabby is the dominant member of this cat-and-dog duo.
We love the look on this cat's face as he struggles to share the couch with a Saint Bernard! Submitter Eli's caption is simple, but says it all: "Encroachment."
Submitter Moose's dog Max makes a great babysitter to this litter of cute kittens.
Submitter Broomhilda's redbone coonhound, Peggy Sue, appointed herself guardian of Prince Harry the Siamese when he was just a kitten. Now Prince Harry is fully grown, but Peggy Sue still seems to feel protective of him!
Submitter deleweye's pets seem determined to share an armchair, even though space is limited.
Unlike deleweye's dog and cat, submitter rob's pets have a whole couch to lay on -- but they'd prefer to snuggle next to each other anyway.
Submitter Eli's pets Fred and Wallie are "both rescues [and the] best of friends," he says.
Submitter M1's dog Rover and cat Miles are so in sync that they even hold their paws the same way!
"These two grew up together and think that they are twins," submitter dafoink says. We hope you haven't told them otherwise, dafoink!
Submitter boom chick's dog and cat are ready for any adventure that comes their way.
Submitter George Patrick Leonard says his Chihuahua and cat are "best gal pals." We'd take them over Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte any day.
Submitter Loops' pets Luna and Lilith decided to spend a lazy day in bed. (We envy them!)
Submitter Kian's pit bull Lulu became a surrogate mother to 3-week-old orphaned kittens.
Submitter Tasha's Mom says Tasha the dog and Sam the cat "share everything: food, beds, toys and Mom." They even share Tasha's basket bed, which clearly was not built for two.
Submitter Den says this dog-and-cat pair are inseparable. We can believe it.
Submitter Maestro's dog may have mistaken this cat for a pillow, but the cat doesn't seem to mind.
Submitter kenwah describes his napping dog and cat as "bitter enemies to the end." Yeah, right!
We don't think submitter burn z's kitty and golden retriever could get closer if they tried!
Submitter wg's dog shared babysitting duties when five motherless feral kittens came to live with them. Wg wound up keeping all five kittens and reports that the "dog loves them, and they love him."
Submitter Takako's pets Keio and Mickey rest together after a tough day of -- well, OK, their day probably wasn't all that tough. We suspect they spent it napping together. Tough life!
Who needs a back-support pillow? Submitter Arlene's cat has a Rottweiler, and he fills the bill nicely.
Submitter Petvetnurse says her dog Sophie and cat Oakley "were the best of friends, may they both RIP." Here's hoping these sweet pets are hanging out together at the Rainbow Bridge.
Submitter freeepeace's sleepy calico cat and golden retriever aren't just friends -- they're cross-country traveling buddies!
We imagine submitter Kendal's Yorkie saying, "Cat? What cat? I don't see any cat. Move along, please. Nothing to see here."
Submitter marek's cat thinks her terrier friend missed a spot, right above the eyebrow.
Submitter SolarGuy says these two have been pals since his 70-pound dog was a 5-pound puppy.
Submitter Islander's dog Rebel and cat Spookie like to cuddle up together, and who can blame them?
Submitter PSibek's pets Charley and Jack take napping together to a whole new level.
Submitter Jess' pets Bob and Max stick close to each other on those stressful car trips.
Submitter MB's kitten found a soft spot to curl up for the night. If your own pets are the best of friends (be they dog and cat, dog and dog, cat and cat or any other animal combination you can throw at us), we'd love to see it! Click the photo gallery below to see more pictures and submit yours.
RELATED PHOTO ESSAYS:
Reader photos: Two cats are better than one
Reader photos: Busted! Pets behaving badly (and caught on camera)
-- Lindsay Barnett
Photo credits, from top: reporter1, Dhondi, howard, MKW, jules, Danielle, Ginger, Klaus_W, dee, Danielle, KLHW, ccrider, Shadow, DrDoLittleAsPossible, MEG, LeighAnnR, Eli, Moose, Broomhilda, deleweye, Eli, M1, dafoink, boom chick, George Patrick Leonard, Loops, Kian, Tasha's Mom, Den, Maestro, kenwah, burn z, wg, Takako, Arlene, Petvetnurse, freeepeace, Kendal, marek, SolarGuy, Islander, PSibek, Jess, MB
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