Feisty Cat Falls In Love With Chocolate Lab And Turns Into A Certified 'Dog-Cat'

Anyone who's ever owned a cat who doesn't get along with other cats knows what having an "only cat" means. But what if it turned out your cat-hating cat loved dogs? Well, that's the story behind this video by one of The Dodo's creators, who discovered that while her furry friend named Karen can't stand other felines, she's just fine with a dog walking into her life!

The two-minute clip chronicles what happens when the cat owner, who always dreamed of co-mingling a cat and a dog, introduces her curmudgeonly kitty, Karen, to her friend's chocolate lab, Fudgy. To the owner's surprise, Karen is intrigued, following Fudgy around and eventually playfully rolling over for the pup as the voiceover declares that "Karen is officially a dog-cat" and that she now hopes to adopt a dog. 

"When your cat is a dog person," joked one person in the comments, while others jumped in to say things like, "It's hard to be hostile to anything named Fudgy." Of course, many people wanted to know what would happen if a dog sibling was introduced to the home: "Pleeeeease keep us updated on Karen and her new canine companion. I am invested!" As are we!

Of course, cats and dogs can co-exist, but it's not always the case, hence the reason "fighting like cats and dogs" is a well-known idiom. In domesticated households, a cat and a dog can become best friends — or at least tolerate each other — especially with proper introduction, socialization, and training.

While introducing a kitten to a puppy often leads to the smoothest transition into friendship, it's often not realistic for a family to have the time and energy to care for both at the same time, as young pets can be a handful. So, the next best bet is to introduce a calm, social cat with a gentle dog breed that is known to have low prey drive, or is already socialized with cats, although each dog has its own individual temperament. With cats being hard to train, it's imperative that the dog is socialized and trained to properly interact with other animals.

When introducing two animals, always make sure to supervise and allow the interactions to unfold slowly, providing each species with a safe space to retreat to, such as a separate room or cat tree out of reach. Keeping feeding areas separate will also reduce conflict. The biggest key to success is patience, as it may take time for a cat and dog to peacefully co-exist. Just remember, it's possible for your cat and dog to live in harmony!