Cuddling with your beloved pets on the couch is the perfect way to end the day. Your elegant, beautiful black cat perches on your lap, purring while you gently pet her.
Your fluffy husky sits nearby, watching the exchange of love. It’s a peaceful moment, until…
The husky informs you just how unimpressed he is that you’re ignoring him and paying way too much attention to the cat.
In fact, the furry husky makes it perfectly clear that it is not okay to ignore him.
Pets can show signs of what’s construed as jealousy, even of other pets. Katenna Jones, an applied animal behaviorist, said it isn’t actual jealously in the “true sense of the word.”
“What you are most likely seeing your pet exhibit is assertive, pushy or rude behavior—e.g., the pet that bulldozes other pets out of the way—or social hierarchy, where a higher-ranking pet displaces another pet.”
Suzanne Hetts, an applied animal behaviorist, said that when a pet is determined to get an owner’s attention, he’ll resort to pushy behavior.
“We have no idea whether a pet’s emotional state is equivalent to what people label as jealousy. In most cases, this is better described as a competitive situation where the pet is competing with another individual—human, dog, cat, or otherwise—for something it wants.”
One study found that dogs “exhibited significantly more jealous behaviors when their owners displayed affectionate behaviors towards what appeared to be another dog as compared to nonsocial objects [a children’s book and a plastic jack-o’-lantern].” That’s exactly what this unimpressed husky seems to be doing.
Jealous-like behaviors range from aggression to accidents indoors to pushy behavior. And apparently temper tantrums…
There’s the phrase “fight like cats and dogs” and that’s exactly what’s unfolding on the living room couch between the husky with the pushy behavior and the cat being lavished with attention.
Animal behavior experts suggest feeding cats and dogs in separate rooms to avoid jealousy stemming from food-guarding behavior.
Be sure to spend plenty of time with both pets, too, and allow them to spend time together, they say, in the hopes of avoiding moments like this.
“Ignore your dog if he whines or barks while you’re petting the kitty. Continue to pet the cat and pretend the dog’s not even there. When your dog calms down and sits quietly, give him a few good scratches. Praising the dog when he is calm reinforces the thought that he has to mind his manners or he gets no attention at all.”
Apparently this technique doesn’t work with this particular husky, who is genuinely mad at his feline roommate. The cat is quite comfortable on their dad’s lap, receiving gentle attention.
The husky starts acting quite snippy toward the cat, whining loudly. Then he lets out a low growl to clearly communicate he’s unhappy.
He tosses back his head and howls in true husky fashion, flailing about like a toddler having a temper tantrum. Throw in a few more growls and this guy is ready to burst into the jealous monster who’s green with envy.
It’s as if we can read his thoughts…
“Dad, stop petting that stupid cat and pet me! I want attention! I’m furry and beautiful! I deserve attention! Me! Me! Me!”
The husky licks his lips, possibly contemplating a quick nip at the cat to shoo it away. He doesn’t though, but instead stares intently, rather eerily, at the cat as if willing it to hop off Dad’s lap.
His ears are pitched forward and we can almost see the jealously rolling off of him.
There’s more howling, more barking, more disgust and contempt aimed at the cat. Dad continues to pet the cat while Mom records the distraught dog who doesn’t want to share his hooman.
For a fleeting moment, the husky pauses his antics. We think he’s over it, but he’s only deviously contemplating his next move.
Suddenly he leans in at the cat, almost nose to nose, then flails psychotically and spins around, ultimately frightening the cat who leaps off Dad’s lap.
You can almost see the husky grin with his newfound victory!
Then, he places his paw on his dad as if to claim him all for himself. There’s no denying the protectiveness he feels toward his Pops.
Watch the video below and see for yourself how completely unimpressed this dog is with the cat in his house.
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