Wednesday, June 29, 2016

"I Just Want To Be With You"?

This video is supposed to celebrate the love between puppies and kittens. They just want to be friends, right? Look at the lengths this one’s going to just to reach his canine BFF! 

Video credit: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalLovers2016/

Actually, no. 

I suspect that kitty, driven by boredom from his unenriched living quarters, is testing his climbing abilities. However, on making it up the glass he finds himself somewhat restricted vis a vis where to go next. He finds himself with two options: sideways, or down. 

Cats aren’t known for their ability to get down from high places (just ask any suburban firefighter), so, it’s not surprising that kitty opts for trying to continue at his current height. 

This leads him straight into the dogtank. 

Pupster, by contrast, seems pretty darn excited to have a new friend in his boring little box. He's even "helping" kitty down. What’s concerning is that puppies that age don’t have much of an off switch, and they’re not always totally aware of (a) what their body is doing (b) how to not do that. Look at 0:45 onwards; the puppy seems to be grabbing the kitten's face and pulling. Could kitty change his mind at this point, even if he wanted to? I'm not so sure. 

What we’re seeing is dangerous behavior, and a living environment that hasn’t been properly designed with even basic safety in mind. This behavior is probably caused by understimulation, which can have a really negative effect on the rapidly growing brains of young animals. 

Pups and kittens shouldn’t be housed in tanks by themselves, whether in a pet store, a shelter or anywhere else. Putting an overexcited puppy in a small box with a kitten is not a good idea. Someone might get hurt. 



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