The Volokh Conspiracy

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Crime

Caniformia

Apparently all carnivorans (not quite the same as carnivores) are either doggy or catty.

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I learned this from my brother Sasha some time ago, but I was reminded of it on our Galapagos trip, where the sea lions reminded my boys of our dog. The order Carnivora—which includes many but not all carnivorous (and some omnivorous) mammals—is apparently broken down into the doggy carnivorans and the catty ones. The doggies are in the Caniformia family, which includes sea lions and bears, along with the usual suspects. The catties are, naturally, in Feliformia; these include, surprisingly to me, hyenas (who I had thought were more related to dogs).

And if a sea lion feels like there are bugs crawling all over it, that's called caniformication.