Zoology, but missing animal!

Hey Mr. MadScientist! i have a problem. I REALLY want to d oa project on zoology, such as 'How do cats and dogs react together' but i dont have a cat and dog! should i ask a local humane society to borrow some animals? my mother would not buy me a cat or dog either. What should i do?

Sincerely,
Animal lover

[Mad Scientist]

Hmm...that's a tricky one...you'll have to convince the humane society that neither the dog nor cat will be injured. What do you plan to do for your experiment? Place the dog and cat in close vicinity? That might be dangerous. Also, you might want to consider using small breed dogs and cats - to ensure that they are manageable. Best that they be kept separate in cages at all times.

You can always borrow a friend's dog & cat for the experiment, again, if you ensure that they are safe at all times.

For your experiment, you should make a guess in advance what sort of reactions to expect. That will give some scope/definition to your project.

[wisteria]

Fact: if a dog and a cat likves with each other when ther're youg or the learn to share they will be friendly to eac ohter.

[satfire311]

It depends on what the breed of dog is. Dogs are divided into 8 major categories, Hounds, Sporting Dogs, Terrirers, Non-sporting dogs, Working Dogs, Herding Dogs, Toy dogs, and Mixed breeds.
The hounds are broken down into two smaller groups, scent hounds and sight hounds.
The Sporting dogs are broken down into spaniels, setters, retreviers, flushers.
Most dogs in the categories of hounds, sporting dogs, and especially terriers will go after cats because they were bred to go after small(and bigger) animals. This also goes for mixed breeds, depending on what they are mixes of. This however, can change if the dog in question has grown up with cats.

[rachaelroxursox2]

if you are really set on dogs I have no ideas for you, but you can get fish at petco for really cheap

[BroadwayBaby]

Maybe you can contact a local scientific research facility. I'm sure they'd be happy to assist a growing scientist!

[satfire311]

If you are doing something with dogs that are not yours, I'm pretty sure that you have to get a saftey form signed and go through proceadures like that.

[imlikelost]

well use a friend's cat and dog i guess. maybe you can use a small dog like one in the toy group. nad a tame and very smart cat. u should keep them on leashes. make sure that they can't reach each other!

[satfire311]

Well, if the dog and the cat grew up with themselves or other dogs and cats, then I don't think that a leash would be nessescary. But just in case, I would put the leash on, some dogs react differently to other cats and vice virsa.

[wisteria]

true but what makes cats and dogs react the way they are?