Dear AgonyCats:

I am a 14 year old cat that lives with two small dogs.  I get along fine with them and we even all sleep on our person’s bed together.  My question is, why do these canines sniff under my tail whenever they get a chance?  I would never do that to them or any other animal.  It seems like an invasion of my privacy, as well as being rude and annoying.  What advice can you give me? 

Sincerely,

~ "Sitting Down"

Spike says:

Dear Sitting Down:

These dogs are sniffing your butt because you’ve confused them. They
expect cats to run; you aren’t running. Remember, dogs are rather
stupid, and they don’t see well, so they rely
overmuch on their sense of smell. Also, they are quite capable of
forgetting what you smelled like last time.

If you aren’t a cat, they ask themselves, then what are you? And
they proceed to try to find out, in their own rude and clumsy way. Dogs just are rude and clumsy, don’t you think?

They never clean up after themselves — or even clean themselves, come to think of it. They’re loud and obnoxious, and they run in packs. Privacy? Hah! 

Next time this happens, remember that you are a Cat. Use your claws. That’s what they’re for.

I mean, really.

What do you expect?

Boo says:

Dear Sitting Down:

They are just admiring your superior scent. Don’t let it bother you.

Actually, dogs can come in handy sometimes. For example, if you have
your own dogs, they can protect you from other dogs, who might not
appreciate your unique feline characteristics. No need to ruffle your
own fur when you have friendly canines to do it for you.

Also, you’ve already discovered that they can warm up a cold night. Sometimes they bring home interesting scraps of food (though they are not very fastidious; you must use caution about what you sample.)

It could be worse.

They could be chasing you.

Want more critters? Try:

• The Carnival of the Cats at TBIFOC
• On Sunday, the new carnival at Mind Of Mog
• Weekend Cat Blogging at What Did You Eat
• Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos at Astrid & Kashim and Othello at The Catboys Realm
• & Friday Ark at Modulator

This is the second edition of Ask the AgonyCats; the first, which deals with a feline- human relationship problem, is here. "Sitting Down" may think she’s anonymous, but we happen to know that she is really Dulce, who lives with Niki and Leo and Gus:

We told you that there were exceptions to the anonymity guarantee… *

Ask the AgonyCats will appear at
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Both AgonyCats have a great deal of
experience in inter-species relationships, though they bring somewhat different
perspectives to the situations they encounter. Any problem submitted for their
consideration is assured of the utmost discretion, expertise, and
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