Dog and Cat Playing or Fighting? How to Tell the Difference

A dog bounces toward a cat, the cat bolts, the dog follows, and somebody on the sofa asks whether that counts as playing. The honest answer is that it depends on the cat. Dogs and cats can live together well, and most owners who keep both say their pair are comfortable with each other. The trouble is that the two species speak overlapping body languages with different meanings, so a game from the dog's side can be a threat from the cat's. This guide covers what the research on shared homes found, which signals cross over, and how to set a house up so that play stays optional for both animals.

The short answer

Play between a dog and a cat is mutual. The questionnaire behind the main study in this area only counts it as play when both pets are enjoying it, and it files a chase in which the dog follows and the cat runs away, outside of play, under trouble. A cheerful dog is not evidence on its own. In the household surveys summarised below, the cat's comfort was the thing that best predicted how a dog and cat relationship turned out, so read the cat first.

What the research on shared homes found

There is not much of it. Miriam Prior and Daniel Mills of the University of Lincoln opened their 2020 paper in Frontiers in Veterinary Science by noting how little research exists on how cats and dogs relate to each other, even though around 7% of UK households keep both. Their introduction pulls together most of what is known.

Most pairs get along, at least by their owners' account. Prior and Mills write that cats and dogs are often able to form amicable relationships, and that most owners believe their cat and dog are comfortable in each other's presence. They cite two sources for that: Feuerstein and Terkel's 2008 study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science and a 2018 survey of 748 mixed-species homes by Thomson, Hall and Mills.

Cats were the more uneasy party. In the 2018 survey, as Prior and Mills summarise it, cats were observed to be uncomfortable with dogs, or to threaten them, more often than the other way round. The survey also found that the cat's comfort was the most important indicator of how the relationship went.

A bad relationship carries real costs. Prior and Mills point out that a poor relationship between a resident cat and dog can mean ongoing social stress, blocked access to food, water or a litter box, and a risk of injury. They also cite a shelter study finding that problems between a new pet and an existing pet ranked among the top ten behavioural reasons owners gave up cats and dogs.

Why the signals cross

This is the part that explains most misread encounters. Feuerstein and Terkel identified four behaviours that carry a contradictory message depending on which species performs them, according to Prior and Mills:

• a horizontal, full tail wag
• stretching out the forefeet
• lying on the back
• turning the head away

In a dog, all four are appeasing or submissive signals. In a cat, the same four are signs of frustration or aggression. A dog that rolls over in front of a cat is trying to defuse things, and a cat lashing its tail in front of a dog is not inviting a game. Each animal can read the other's calming signals as the opposite.

Two other differences sit underneath that. Prior and Mills, citing a 2016 review by John Bradshaw, note that cats lack a widely understood deference signal of the kind dogs use, and seem to place little weight on hierarchy in deciding who gets access to resources. They add that some dogs may see cats as prey, particularly breeds developed to hunt small mammals such as sighthounds and terriers. International Cat Care makes the same point about terriers and chasing breeds such as greyhounds, which may be more driven by the instinct to chase than other types of dog.

What play looks like, and what conflict looks like

The most practical lists in this area come from the questionnaire Prior and Mills built for their trial. They developed it with focus groups of veterinary staff and clinical animal behaviourists who owned both species, then checked it with lay volunteers. Owners scored how often each interaction happened.

Signs of a good relationship (the seven desirable interactions):

• playing, defined as both pets enjoying play together
• sleeping near each other
• the dog grooming the cat
• the cat grooming the dog
• a friendly greeting
• sharing a bed
• both relaxed in the same room

Signs of a strained one (the ten undesirable interactions):

• the cat blocking the dog's path
• the dog chasing the cat with the cat running away, outside of play
• the dog growling at the cat
• the cat hiding from the dog or retreating up high
• staring
• the cat swiping at the dog
• the dog barking at the cat
• the cat hissing at the dog
• the dog interrupting when an owner gives the cat attention
• the cat interrupting when an owner gives the dog attention

Notice how the play item is worded. Both animals have to be enjoying it. Several items on the second list are quiet, too. A cat that spends its day on top of the wardrobe, or a pair that stare at each other across a room, does not look like a fight, and both appear on the undesirable side.

Prior and Mills say plainly that a dog's behaviour can be unacceptable from the cat's perspective even when it is playful from the dog's perspective and looks acceptable to the owner. More than half of the households in their trial described their pair as "dog interested, cat fearful" at the start. That pattern, a friendly dog and a frightened cat, is probably the one most owners call play.

In the dog, watch for rising arousal. International Cat Care lists vocalising, a stiff body, raised hair and excitable movements as the signs to look for. If those appear, the guide's advice is to end the session straight away.

Setting up a house where play stays optional

International Cat Care's guidance on introducing cats and dogs is written for a new arrival, and most of it applies just as well to a pair that already share a house but do not quite get along. Its stated goal is for both animals to live happily in the same space doing their own things, not to encourage lots of interaction.

Give each animal a safe base. Each pet needs a space holding everything it needs, which for a cat means food, water, a litter tray, scratching posts, perches and hiding places. The cat should be able to reach its favourite spots without passing the dog. Multiple elevated perches and resting areas give a cat the choice to get away, and where a cat tree goes decides whether it works as that kind of escape route.

Use a barrier before contact. International Cat Care recommends swapping scent first, then letting each animal explore the other's area while it is away, then short visual contact through a baby gate partly covered with a towel. Both pets should be calm, busy with something enjoyable such as a toy or a puzzle feeder, and able to move away.

Never crate the cat. The guide is explicit that a cat should never be placed in a crate for cat and dog introductions. For the dog it suggests a harness and a loose lead or longline. A lead that keeps going tight means the situation is too much for the dog, and the session should end.

Separate them with lures, not hands. When tension rises, the guide recommends luring one animal away with food or a toy rather than swooping in to grab one of them, which raises arousal. It also says never to punish either animal for reacting badly.

Reward calm, and keep sessions short. End each session while both animals are still relaxed, and reward the dog for noticing the cat calmly or for choosing to leave it alone.

Give each animal its own game

A dog with nowhere else to put its chase drive will put it into the cat. The practical fix is to meet both animals' play needs separately, so that neither has to get its exercise from the other. International Cat Care suggests extra one-to-one play, extra walks for the dog and puzzle feeders at mealtimes. The guide on whether puzzle feeders work covers what they do for each species, and a structured game such as tug-of-war with a dog gives a dog a pulling and chasing outlet that has a clear start and a clear end. For the cat, a wand toy run through the full prey sequence of stalk, chase and pounce does the same job.

What one trial found about pheromone diffusers

Prior and Mills describe their 2020 study as the first to test pheromone products on how cats and dogs in the same home get along. They recruited households where the owner felt the relationship had room to improve, gave each a diffuser of either Adaptil (a dog appeasing pheromone) or Feliway Friends (a cat appeasing pheromone), and had owners report weekly for six weeks. Seventeen households completed the trial in each group. The diffusers looked identical, and the authors describe the trial as double-blinded.

Undesirable interactions were significantly lower during treatment than at baseline, with a very large effect size, and desirable interactions rose over the trial. Both products were associated with less of the dog chasing the cat, the cat hiding, staring, and the dog barking at the cat. The two products did not differ significantly on the main scores.

There was no placebo group, and the authors discuss a placebo effect as one of two possible explanations before arguing against it. They call for further study against placebo. Ceva Animal Health, which makes both products, supplied them free of charge and offered to pay for open access publication, and the paper states that the company had no part in the design, running or publication of the work. That is one small trial, so treat a diffuser as a possible extra alongside the setup above, not a substitute for it.

When to get help

International Cat Care recommends contacting your veterinary team if introductions are not working, or if a relationship breaks down after starting well, and notes that they may recommend a local, qualified clinical animal behaviourist. If either animal has been hurt in a scuffle, ask your vet.

Questions people actually ask

Is it normal for a dog to chase a cat in play?

The questionnaire Prior and Mills built for their 2020 trial draws the line clearly. Play counts only when both pets are enjoying it, and a dog chasing a cat that runs away, outside of play, sits among the undesirable interactions. That second pattern is the one to interrupt.

Why does a cat swat a dog that is wagging its tail?

A horizontal, full tail wag is one of four behaviours that mean different things in each species, according to research summarised by Prior and Mills. In a dog it is appeasing, in a cat the same movement signals frustration or aggression, so each animal can misread the other.

Which pet is usually the problem in a dog and cat home?

In a 2018 survey of 748 mixed-species homes, cats were reported to be uncomfortable with or to threaten dogs more often than the reverse, and the cat's comfort was the strongest indicator of how the relationship went. That makes the cat's body language the one to watch first.

Should I keep a crate handy for the cat during introductions?

No. International Cat Care says a cat should never be placed in a crate for cat and dog introductions. Use baby gates and a harness with a loose lead on the dog, and make sure the cat always has somewhere high or hidden to go.

Do pheromone diffusers help a dog and cat get along?

One blinded trial of 34 households found fewer chases, less hiding and less staring while Adaptil or Feliway Friends diffusers were running, with no clear difference between the two. There was no placebo group, so the result is promising rather than settled.

Sources

• Prior, M.R. and Mills, D.S., "Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends and Adaptil Products in Multispecies Homes," Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020, 7, 399
• International Cat Care, "Introducing cats and dogs," first published 17 June 2025, updated 26 September 2025