When Fur Meets Scales, Can Cats & Lizards Exist In Harmony?

Written by: Kelli Brinegar
For more than five years, Kelli Brinegar has been using her ability to write and her passion for research to tell the tale of what cats are thinking and why. She has provided care to more than 30 cats in her lifetime.Read more
| Published on August 19, 2021

Honestly, there are just some duos you never expect to see, but once you’ve seen them, you’re so thankful you did! We’re about to give you that experience with a gallery of cats and lizards. Yes, you read that right, cats and lizards!

Since when do the furred and the scaled get along? Well, that’s the tricky part. Cats are instinctually driven to chase that which darts and scurries and, good grief, do lizards do both! Meaning, cats and lizards usually find themselves on different links of the food chain. But, that said, some cats are gentle souls who easily know the difference between prey and friend. So, if there happens to be a pet lizard in the home, some kitties may just make friends with their so-called tiny dinosaurs. Oh, but others will always see lizards as a purrfect toy that might just taste like chicken. Let’s check out these cats and lizards and find out who sees friends and who sees foes. Here, we see Julia the beardie and Sheldon the tabby cat becoming fast friends!

Cats and Lizards in Love

Rachel Geller, certified cat behavior specialist and author of “Saving the World, One Cat at a Time: What I Know About Cats – And Why You Should Know It, Too,” highlights a couple of things one should keep in mind when comes to lizards and cats.

Be cautious and keep watch if your cat and pet lizard are interacting, as Geller explains, “It can be lethal for a lizard to be bitten or scratched by a cat.”

When it comes to the wild reptiles, Geller advises, “many lizards carry parasites that can cause digestive problems in cats and harm the gallbladder or liver.” There’s also the risk of a cat contracting salmonella from lizards. So, be vigilant when it comes to cats and lizards. Sure, we can’t change their nature, but maybe keep your cat from eating wild lizards to avoid any chance for illness.

But these cats don’t want to eat their lizard friends! If anything, they just want to snuggle their scaled buddies. Fat Eli & Ron The Dragon provide the sweetest of examples…

This friendship might be based on a heat lamp or could it be this tabby thinks he’s a lizard?

This little dragon finds his cat quite the comfy spot for a snooze…

Check out these best buddies!

A symbiotic pairing…”Lizard likes warm surfaces, cat likes his back scratched – some problems solve themselves.”

“Someone asked me to post this picture of my three cats here, I’m not sure why.”

This guy has no problem letting everyone know his best buddy is a cat and if you’ve got a problem with it, this fierce dragon will solve it for ya! #coolkids

Cats and lizards can be close, but this might be a bit much judging by a tabby’s face! Ah, the things we do for friends…

It’s always important to give your friends a lift when they need it, so onward noble steed!

Love all of this love? Then, Meet 20 Cat BFFs That Will Make You Smile!

Cats and Lizards Locked in Instinctual Dances

Bearded dragons and some of their lizard cousins seem to have good relations with cats. But what about those little wild guys that hang out on window screens and race across porches? They tend to be the ones that capture feline attentions and appetites. While cats seem to have the upper hand when it comes to catching lizards, these reptiles sure had a good time proving that theory wrong and giving the kitties some grief!

“Crouching cat, hidden lizard.”

Umm, I caught a lizard?

Lizards may be wily, but no one bests a Florida cat!

That’s one brave lizard taunting a tabby! Guess he knows that door keeps him out of an indoor kitty’s paws…

Lizzy and the cat in a garden standoff…

Now, that’s just brazen!

Want more unexpected friendships? Then check out these unlikely friends as Cat Lavishes Love On Baby Deer In Cutest TikTok Video!

H/T: www.gidypet.com
Feature Image: @max.and.ray/Instagram & u/meowsondeck/Reddit