When I was a kid there used to be a huge orange tom that got into he habit of terrorizing the neighborhood dogs. The dogs were all large breeds and it would jump on top of their shoulders, where the dog really can't do much about it, and dig with its claws like mad. The dogs would fight and thrash but couldn't get the cat off them. Once they were defeated and on the run the cat would ride them a bit and then jump off at its leisure. The dogs were terrorized and would run at the sight of the cat.

Then a family moved in with a small terrier which was not much bigger than the cat. The cat confronted the dog, bowed up, hissed, went to jump on the dog, and the dog twisted around, jumped, caught the cat in mid air and took to shaking it. That was the end of the orange tom.

Funny thing is the terrier was a friendly dog that got along well with other dogs and cats. Terriers were bred as rat and fox killers with quickness, aggressiveness, powerful jaws and quick reflexes.