Cat Pushes His Owner's Elderly Dog Down the Stairs in Crazy Viral Video

A cat landed himself an extended stay in the doghouse after he was filmed pushing his owner's elderly dog down a flight of stairs.

Though there are always exceptions to the rule, it's often the case that domesticated cats and dogs living side by side simply do not get along. According to Angie Bailey at Catster, the animosity can be traced back to the behavioral traits of the two species' ancestors.

"Dogs are descendants of naturally social wolves, while cats' ancestors are Arabian wildcats, who were known primarily to be loners," she explained. "Dogs have an instinct to chase small prey—especially if it's fleeing. It's no secret that cats typically don't enjoy being chased, even if dogs view it as a game."

She says that dogs have an "innate 'in your face' attitude" and desire to be your "immediate best friend" that contrasts with that of cats, who "tend to hang back and assess a situation before extending their friendship."

Those traits may well have played a part in the dramatic scene that played out in a video posted to TikTok by Queefly.

In the clip, a black and white cat by the name of Snickers can be seen waiting at the top of a flight of carpeted stairs while an elderly golden retriever called Bailey slowly makes her way down the steps.

Snickers is not content to wait for long though, with the scene taking an ugly turn just seconds later when the cat takes a swipe at the unsteady and unsuspecting Bailey.

"Hey leave her alone," the pet owner can be heard saying—but it's too late.

As the video shows, just a single push of the paw to Bailey's right hind leg is enough to send the hapless hound sliding down the stairs, much to the audible shock of the dog's owner.

Thankfully, Bailey escapes the push unscathed, slowly rising to her paws at the bottom of the stairs before continuing on with the rest of her day.

The video can be watched here.

The incident proved the source of much discussion on TikTok, where the clip has been watched over 29 million times.

El_Gordito was not impressed. "That cat is now an outside cat," they wrote. Sweatyhands was in agreement: "Sorry but I would never forgive that cat."

Some even cast Snickers as a version of Scar from Disney's The Lion King, with Corals.tiktok imagining him saying "Long live the king" before applying the fatal push.

The cat fans were also out in force to defend Snickers and suggested Bailey set him up. "She did that on purpose to get the cat in trouble," myca.farris wrote. ValTheOne agreed: "The dog literally stopped on the step and decided to fall."

"That cat was framed, there was no pushing," vegasbear1 said.

Another TikToker posting as Louryan rejected those suggestions though, based on their own experiences looking after older dogs.

"Y'all have never had an old dog," they wrote. "They can barely hold themselves up. That little push by the cat definitely set his whole balance off."

Newsweek has contacted Queefly for comment.

While there appears to be friction here, there are some recent examples of cats and dogs getting on swimmingly. One recent video showing a cat snuggling up to a dog has proven popular while another clip of a canine sitting clumsily on top of a sleeping feline also found a captive audience on the internet.