QUESTION = Why don't large dogs consider small dogs prey, but they consider cats prey? GENERATION = This depends on the dog and their training/pedigree. Most large dogs like wolves will not attack a mouse unless it is a cornered one, and it is a small animal which would be hard to catch. Large cats, on the other hand, will certainly chase a mouse if it is cornered, even if it is small. Large cats are also capable of charging prey, so the idea of them being eaten is either entirely unreasonable or an outright fantasy. However, the larger the animal, the easier it is to catch. You'd have to remember that the larger a dog is, the larger its teeth. That means that even if it could get a mouse within reach of its jaws, it would be much more difficult to do so than a small animal. But that's beside the point. Generally speaking, large dogs will hunt small animals for sport, but will rarely attack them for food. That is why hunting dogs and cats are considered "pest hunters" and people often refer to them as "meat hunters." Cats, on the other hand, are much more social animals. Cats will attack almost any animal with no regard for their size or fight in a defensive manner. RETRIEVAL #0 = Smilodon---gape widely, so the canines of "Smilodon" would likewise not have been a hindrance when feeding. Despite being more powerfully built than other large cats, "Smilodon" had a weaker bite. Modern big cats have more pronounced zygomatic arches, while these were smaller in "Smilodon", which restricted the thickness and therefore power of the temporalis muscles and thus reduced "Smilodon"'s bite force. Analysis of its narrow jaws indicates that it could produce a bite only a third as strong as that of a lion (the bite force quotient measured for the lion is 112). There seems to be a general rule that the saber-toothed cats with the largest canines had proportionally weaker bites. Analyses of canine bending strength (the ability of the canine teeth to resist bending forces without breaking) and bite forces indicate that the saber-toothed cats' teeth were stronger relative to the bite force than those of modern big cats. In addition, "Smilodon"'s gape could have reached almost 120 degrees, while that of the modern lion reaches 65 degrees. This made the gape wide enough to allow "Smilodon" to grasp large prey despite the long canines. A 2018 study compared the killing behaviour of "Smilodon fatalis" and "Homotherium serum", and found that the former had a strong skull with little trabecular bone for a stabbing canine-shear bite, RETRIEVAL #1 = Big cat---Lion, "Panthera leo" (Sub-Saharan Africa, Gir Forest in India; extinct in former range of southeast Europe, Middle East, much of Asia, and North America) BULLET::::- Jaguar, "Panthera onca" (the Americas; from the southern United States to northern Argentina) BULLET::::- Leopard, "Panthera pardus" (Asia, Africa and European Russia) BULLET::::- Snow leopard, "Panthera uncia" (syn. "Uncia uncia" - mountains of central and south Asia) BULLET::::- Genus "Acinonyx" BULLET::::- Cheetah, "Acinonyx jubatus" (Sub-Saharan Africa and Iran; extirpated in much of its former range in Eurasia) BULLET::::- Genus "Puma" BULLET::::- Cougar "Puma concolor" (North and South America) Section::::Evolution. It is estimated that the ancestors of most big cats split away from the Felinae about 6.37 million years ago. The Felinae, on the other hand, comprises mostly small to medium-sized cats, including the domestic cats, but also some larger cats such as the cougar and cheetah. A 2010 study published in "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution" has given insight into the RETRIEVAL #2 = Cat---they are at, or near, the top. Anthropologist and zoologist Desmond Morris, in his 1986 book "Catwatching", suggests, when cats bring home mice or birds, they are attempting to teach their human to hunt, or trying to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten". Morris's hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having negligible involvement with raising kittens. Domestic cats select food based on its temperature, smell and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats may reject novel flavors (a response termed neophobia) and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past. They may also avoid sugary foods and milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant; the sugars in milk are not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea. They can also develop odd eating habits. Some cats like to eat or chew on other things, most commonly wool, but also plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, pica, can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten. See also Animal psychopathology ยง Pica. Though cats usually prey on animals less than half their size, a feral cat in Australia has been photographed RETRIEVAL #3 = Smilodon---indicating that the canines could penetrate bone). It has been suggested that the exaggerated canines of saber-toothed cats evolved for sexual display and competition, but a statistical study of the correlation between canine and body size in "S. populator" found no difference in scaling between body and canine size concluded it was more likely they evolved solely for a predatory function. Section::::Paleobiology.:Development. "Smilodon" started developing its adult saber-teeth when the animal turned one-and-a-half years of age, shortly after the completion of the eruption of the cat's baby teeth. Both baby and adult canines would be present side by side in the mouth for an 11-month period, and the muscles used in making the powerful bite were developed at about one-and-a-half years old as well, eight months earlier than in a modern lion. After "Smilodon" turned around 20 months of age, the infant teeth were shed while the adult canines grew at an average growth rate of per month during a 12-month period. They reached their full size at around 3 years of age, later than for modern species of big cat. Juvenile and adolescent "Smilodon" specimens are extremely rare at Rancho La Brea, where the study was performed, indicating that they remained hidden or at denning sites during hunts, and depended on parental care while their canines were RETRIEVAL #4 = Cat play and toys---intensity in the play behaviour of cats, and a decrease in fear which they show towards larger-sized toys. This effect that hunger has on play behaviour may be attributed to how experienced of a hunter the cat is. It is not expected that a cat who has a higher level of hunting experience would show this increased intensity of their play behaviour when hungry. Instead, they are more likely to show more predatory behaviour. In the case of cats with a lower level of hunting experience, they show this increased play behaviour since they are not able to engage in actual predatory activities and instead show predatory behaviours towards toys when hungry as an experienced hunter would show towards actual prey when hungry. Section::::Further reading. BULLET::::- . BULLET::::- . Section::::External links. BULLET::::- Play Therapy and Cat Toys BULLET::::- Article from ASPCA's Virtual Pet Behaviorist on cat toys BULLET::::- Article from ASPCA's Virtual Pet Behaviorist on cat enrichment BULLET::::- Hazards of cat toys (ASPCA) RETRIEVAL #5 = Big cat---other big cats from 4.3โ3.8 Ma. Between 3.6โ2.5 Ma the jaguar diverged from the ancestor of lions and leopards. Lions and leopards split from one another approximately 2 Ma. The earliest big cat fossil, "Panthera blytheae", dating to 4.1โ5.95 MA, was discovered in southwest Tibet. Section::::Weight range. The range of weights exhibited by the species is large. At the bottom, adult snow leopards usually weigh , with an exceptional specimen reaching , and cheetahs typically weigh . Male and female lions typically weigh and respectively, and male and female tigers and respectively. Exceptionally heavy male lions and tigers have been recorded to exceed in the wilderness, and weigh around in captivity. The liger can grow to be much larger than its parent species, the lion and tiger. In particular, a liger called 'Nook' is reported to have weighed over . Section::::See also. BULLET::::- Megafauna BULLET::::- List of largest cats Section::::External links. BULLET::::- People Not Poaching: The Communities and IWT Learning Platform RETRIEVAL #6 = Small Mastiff Dogs---Small Mastiff Dogs Small Mastiff Dogs may refer to: BULLET::::- French Bulldog BULLET::::- Pug BULLET::::- Boston Terrier