Reigning cats and dogs

Before the dynastic Egyptians popularised the colour blue, the rest of the known world didn't have a name for such a colour. Text from antiquity refers to the colour of the sea being a 'deep wine'. As a result nobody could see the colour blue until they had a name for it. This is quite a well known anthropological phenomenon.

There are arboreal tribes who can perceive hundreds of different shades of green, where urbanites will only be able to distinguish about a dozen, at most. Today the entire digitally connected world perceives the colour pallet in terms of 256 million colours. There are some refuseniks who insist on belabouring the print based CMYK system. But other than this minority method the convention has evolved with Blue (#0000FF) being considered as ubiquitous as language or fire.

There are many things we take for granted today which also have not always been the way they are now. In the article Macro social engineering & covert control the enigma of the Aker Lions points to some extensive genetic sculpting in deep antiquity. The Aker Lions also potentially reveal one of the most shocking examples of widespread perception management. A facet of society so ingrained that it has come to form a backbone of cultural normality.

Cats and Dogs don't actually hate each other

The concept that felines and canids are not natural enemies is so fantastic that very few ever even consider the interaction from a historical perspective. The fact that a great many people have witnessed cats and dogs living in the same household doesn't seem to impact the general impression that they are mortal enemies. Quite the contrary, most accept the Tom & Jerry cliche to accurately depict the long seated hatred between these radically different familiars of homo sapien sapien.

The natural world includes many examples of interspecies cooperation. A well known example would be represented by the small birds who clean the parasites from the hides of hippos. Large cetaceans also provide a platform for an entire ecosystem of flora and fauna. Furthermore there are examples of less hierarchical cooperative behaviour. On the drought ravaged plains of the Serengeti, emergency taskforces are convened by representatives of several different animal genus to dig out waterholes and save their collective lives. Their conventional roles of engagement are put on hold because they all know that without water there will be no more roles, or engagement. This raises the question as to whether the interaction dynamics between certain groups of the animal kingdom were always the same as they are now. It's highly probable that the results of various domestication processes have been subject to revisionism. Species considered inconvenient to the favoured evolutionary narrative have generally been marginalised at best and exterminated at worst. As with other suppression of historical evidence, the manufactured extinction of entire species is generally the result of a conquest agenda.

The reduction of the ice mass of 12,000 years ago, fundamentally altered a natural balance. Prior to this a well established planet wide symbiosis had been in place for many millennia. Basic tenets of  the natural world changed quite profoundly all over the planet. Sea levels were radically increased and weather systems reflected far greater convection. As a species, our collective memory of this time is conspicuously absent. Furthermore there have been subsequent amnesiac events that were not predicated on any huge disturbances in the global environment. From the surviving records of several cultures, it would seem self evident that civilisations all over the globe have risen and fallen many times. A pattern emerges of societies who were highly capable and vigorously productive. Despite their sophistication all met their demise. This happened as a result of both completely unforeseen events and conversely, some predictably similar factors. Doom raining from the skies and internal conflicts have both ravaged the efforts of humanity. To further compound the matter, there have also been countless acts of concerted revisionism. Customs, languages, cultural history and even inconvenient architecture have all been targeted during societal upheaval or repression.

Indicators of how much our reality has changed since deep antiquity is clearly depicted all over Egypt. According to the interpretations of dynastic texts, the desert dog was a wild canine which would protect the tombs of the necropolis. This long standing human canine symbiosis is reflected in the depiction of Anubis as a jackal headed god. Analysis of the underworld and the Anubis figure forms a substantial part of contemporary Egyptology. The guardian of the underworld is a concept mirrored across most ancient cultures.

The wild dog depicted in the hieroglyphs is (like the Cheetah) still very much alive today. The Pharaoh Hound is still found in Malta and hasn't changed much in the past couple of millennia. The dynastic Egyptians relied on hunting and reared dogs best described as the ancestors of modern Salukis & Greyhounds. These sleek racing animals were selectively bred for pursuing game such as rabbits, antelope, wild goats, what appear to be buffalo and even humans. The Greyhound still represents the fastest of all dog breeds and is so entrenched in modern society that the hunt has evolved into a highly technical and highly lucrative spectator sport.

The depictions of dogs assisting in the hunt are too numerous to count and they are ubiquitous throughout many cultures. However the depictions of dogs hunting felines are difficult to find.

The theory regarding the domestication of large cats indicates that the mainstream narrative regarding certain genus of large cats has been constructed. Further analysis reveals that the current polarisation of canine / feline behaviour is no accident. The cooperative relationships covered earlier do not represent the entire spectrum of interspecies collaboration. The reality of using a collaborative team of large fast cats and large fast dogs to hunt prey is nothing to be underestimated. There would be major advantages for any hunter able to harness their individual hunting skills. Being able to effectively utilise the skills of both predatory species to hunt game as a single cohesive mechanism would yield spectacular results.

Using animals for augmented hunting practices generally includes an intrinsic problem. Having successfully fulfilled their genetic imperative to capture their quarry, the natural desire of the carnivorous animal is to consume their prey.

Trained Cormorants have knotted string looped around their neck to prevent them from swallowing all but the smallest of fish. During training gun dogs are brutally conditioned to bring back the bird unspoiled. If the dog mangles the catch in anyway, the traditional deterrent method is to pick the dog up by both ears with one hand. Regardless of such offensive behavioural enforcement, when left to their own devices without human supervision these animals will revert to their instinctual ways and devour their prey without hesitation.

Canines have acute hearing and sense of smell. Felines have eyesight far superior to canines, can climb trees and are more environmentally sensitive than any canid. Being comfortable using trees as elevated viewpoints provides greater visibility of the terrain and is advantageous for any subsequent hunting.

The works of researchers such as Rupert Sheldrake have proven that various animal species utilise a consciousness field. With the domestic pet experiments he also demonstrated that many pets share this field with their owners. It is not unreasonable to assume that canids and felines would also extend this shared consciousness field across the species barrier.

There is potential for interspecies codependency between felines and canines in the wild as well as demonstrably occurring in domestic settings. The hunting advantages to both species would be considerable and they coexist in many environments. In fact, the combined capabilities of these accomplished hunters would be so effective that it would represent a challenge to the apex predator status of humans. This is potentially where much of the social conditioning that we now take for granted, actually originates.

Fishermen in Laguna, Brazil appreciate the assistance of bottle nodes dolphins who have decided to help out with the daily catch. They herd the fish into the nets thereby concluding the days fishing in a much lesser amount of time. The dolphins eat all the fish that try to escape and appear to enjoy the regular company of the fishermen. These extremely intelligent cetaceans are not domesticated. They chose to interact with the fishing process of their own volition. Nobody compels them and they seem to be doing it in the spirit of genuine altruism. 

In a not unrelated example, the Black Labrador was / is used by NewFoundland fishermen to assist with inshore fishing. The baymen row out from the shore with the dog onboard. Once they have the fish between them and the shore, the dog jumps over the side. With a light line tied to its collar, it swims ashore. This light line is then attached to a heavier rope still in the boat. The rope is part of the net and when the fishermen on the shore pull it in, it closes the net and catches the fish. Over time, the dogs started watching the grading of the fish when the catch was decanted from the net. Due to the high levels of cognition, the dogs started assisting with the grading of the fish.

The Egyptian timeline serves as a microcosm with which to observe the fluctuation of civilisation. More than any other region of the planet, the banks and delta of the river Nile recount a complex history of cultures rising and falling. During many of these peaks and troughs, certain social concepts were birthed and certain others were buried. The emergence of monotheism would probably be the greatest example of these changes. While Pagan beliefs were not completely extinguished during these times, they certainly sustained a major blow in terms of dominance among the population.

In the articles Macro social engineering & covert control and The Great Precept we covered the controversial subject of behavioural control being performed on many species including homo sapien sapien. The history of Egypt shows that wide scale revisionist programs were not uncommon and were instigated by several dynasties. With such historical investment in controlling the way human beings think and act, it's no surprise that behavioural conventions between humanity and various animal species were forged during these times.

The opinion of vets and animal psychologists is that dogs don't hate cats any more than they hate rats or squirrels. It's simply that they are genetically predisposed to pursue smaller, fast moving prey. Despite this informed opinion having been in place for centuries, the popular consciousness asserts that the two longstanding human familiars should always be kept separate or chaos will undoubtedly ensue directly. Obviously, many people have witnessed dogs chasing cats. But then many people have also witnessed dogs chasing their own tails. This disorderly behaviour may appear eccentric to humans but it's not a reason to mandate the cropping of tails.

Ultimately, when it comes to analysing the motivation of canis lupus familiaris;

Dog will hunt

However there is truth in another cliche: that being the long held belief that dogs are in fact mans best friend. Cats are completely different in their attitude toward humans. This has historically been a great source of entertainment to humans. Many tropes have evolved based on the subordinate nature of canines and the unflinching superiority of felines.

Dog: This being looks after my every need, shows me affection and feeds me. Therefore they must be a god.

Cat: This being looks after my every need, shows me affection and feeds me. Therefore I must be a god.

As with so many aspects of human society, even the most established and self evident beliefs bears the distinctive hallmark of deliberate social conditioning. If cats and dogs are not even the natural enemies we always believed them to be, it seems that there isn't much in life that we can really consider as a constant.

To summarise, evidence indicates that ancient people domesticated large, fast dogs & cats to augment their hunting capabilities. In order to prevent these specially bred super predators from combining their skills against the goals of men, a culture of opposition between the two was popularised. A tabby cat and a Jack Russel conspiring to steal freshly made sausages is one thing, but a Cheetah and a Greyhound jeopardising everyones food source by raiding the buffalo herds is something really quite different.