Cats often surprise us with their unpredictability and, at times, they may even seem downright ditsy. Big Boy, the extremely large cat who charmed my mother for more than fifteen years, was fond of darting into the kitchen sink. There he would sit, staring into the dish drainer as if it contained the answers to the mysteries of the universe. To avoid disrupting his peaceful meditations, my mother would use the bathroom sink upstairs. It was clear who owned whom in that relationship, but it begs the question: Why do felines like Big Boy behave in such puzzling ways in the first place?

Wacky Cat-isms
“The why part [of cat weird] is easy -- cats and people are different species with different genetic evolutions,” says Oceanside, California-based Animal Behavior Consultant Arden Moore, who is the author of pet books such as The Cat Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Feline Questions (Storey, 2007). As an example of a basic difference between cat and human behavior, Moore points to the fact that cats “rank as one of the top snoozers of all creatures, averaging around 16 to 17 hours of sleep each day. Most people are lucky to get seven hours of sleep a night.”

The saying "fighting like cats and dogs" had to come from somewhere. But in Janis Cook's experience, the phrase was far from reality. When she brought a service dog into the household that her cat had ruled for years, the Annandale, Virginia, pet owner was pleasantly surprised to see that the dog and cat actually got along well.

"The cat was very cautious for a while," says Cook. "I made sure that the cat could jump away and escape. And the dog was very well trained. There was no problem at all. It just wasn't an issue."

Success, indeed, can happen. How well they get along together will depend on your pet's personality, socialization, and how you prepare it for the addition of a Snoopy or Snowball, say animal behavior experts. Here are some tips on what to consider about your feline before adding a mutt to your hut, as well as advice on how to maintain household harmony if you're set on living with both cats and dogs.