Cat Track or Dog Track?

One of the most contentious topics on animal tracking pages concerns how to tell the difference between cat tracks and dog tracks. I get it. Most dogs do not leave the nice, oval shaped tracks that coyotes display. And there’s a reason for that!

First, a word about feline vs canine foot morphology. Your house cat’s feet are nearly identical to the feet of bobcats, cougars, and even tigers and lions! Lynx are a bit different, but few people stumble across lynx tracks, so I’ll ignore those in this post.

Dogs, though, can have different types of feet. I learned this when I did my student project in the advanced path of the Tracking Intensive program at Wilderness Awareness School. Since then, other trackers have verified my findings, and now nearly all trained trackers agree with my basic hypothesis.

What I learned by reading the breed standards for over 400 breeds of purebred dogs is that most dogs have what is known in dog breeding circles as “cat feet”. Because a single bone in each of the 2 middle toes is shorter, the foot is rounder, and therefore the track is, too. I think this is why many people see cougar tracks in every large dog track they find!

On the other end of the equation, there are a handful of dogs, mostly sight hounds, that have “hare feet”, meaning that those toe bones are longer. This foot type allows a dog to run really fast but is also more prone to injury than the stouter cat foot. And, in the middle, there are a few dog breeds with the expected oval foot. Interestingly, some breed standards call for different foot types for front and hind feet. So, tracking domestic dogs gets complicated.

A big misconception is that dogs always leave toenail marks in their tracks. This is not always true, and often depends upon the substrate. Equally important to note is that cats sometimes do leave toenail marks in their tracks! I see this point argued more than any other. Again, substrate is a huge factor, as is the speed in which the animal is moving and if it’s just ambling along or is hunting dinner.

The rule is that a cat track is asymmetrical, with a “pointing” toe, and the toe pads are small in comparison to the heel pad. You could fit all 4 toes into the pad area of a cat track! Also, the heel pad has a distinct 3-lobed shape on the bottom edge and a flatter top edge. The negative space between the toes and the top of the heel pad is generally a bit of a “C” shape.

Dog tracks are symmetrical, with an “X” shape between the outer toes and the pad, and the toes are bigger, and would not generally fit into the pad area. While some dogs have “wings” on the heel pad, the pad is more triangular shaped.

Study the photographs to see what I mean about the “C” and the “X” shape and the toe to pad comparisons.  Ask questions below if something is unclear. I love talking about tracking!

by ReelCamo Girl Pro Staff Linda Bittle