Cats versus dogs is an age-old fight, and since their domestication they have been pitted against each other as mortal enemies.
While dogs can do nasty harm to cats, they will, on the whole, pull their punches. Cats, on the other hand, can go into full-attack mode and almost always get away with it.
One Chihuahua that had a run-in with a cat recently went viral on TikTok for his hilarious reaction to being told off by his owner.
In the video, which was posted by @princessmiathechi and has received over 300,000 views, Princess Mia, a small Chihuahua, is seen being held in one hand by her owner, head facing the other way with semi-closed eyes and defiantly not looking at her owner.
"When you've spent the whole evening terrorizing the new cat so they bring you to your mum and you're getting told off," reads the text. The caption says, "She regrets nothing."
Cats may rule the roost in some homes, but it was actually dogs that were domesticated first, many years earlier.
While it's hard to say for certain when domestication began, the burial of a man alongside an 8-month-old cat 9,500 years ago is the oldest known evidence of cat domestication, according to University College London. "With dogs, new evidence is coming to light all the time, but it's thought it's likely to be between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago," the university says on its website.
Dogs became domesticated through their wolf ancestors. As humans became more adept at hunting and killing larger animals, they had surplus food scraps and bones, which the wolves would scavenge.
"Over time, they became accustomed to humans and eventually became best friends," says pet advice site Pet Keen. "Dogs genetically split from wolves about 36,900 and 41,500 years ago, with dogs from the eastern and western parts doing so around 17,500 and 23,900 years ago."
Domesticated cats came a bit later, with the introduction of agriculture, as they were useful in keeping rodents and other pests away from crops and livestock.
"Cats were domesticated later than dogs because they weren't that useful," says Pet Keen. "Dogs could hunt and protect humans from intruders and wild animals. Cats were kept to keep rodents away after humans had gathered enough food for storage."
Users on TikTok found the video hilarious.
"The only thing she regrets is getting caught," commented one.
"She biding her time in air jail and silently plotting," commented another.
Newsweek has reached out to @princessmiathechi via email for comment.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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