Hyenas are neither canine nor feline. They belong to their own family, the Hyaenidae, which includes the three species of hyena (spotted, striped and brown), and their relativ
…e, the aardwolf. The Hyaenidae family is placed on the Feliformia (cat-like) branch of the order Carnivora, along with the families Felidae (cats), Viverridae (civets) and Herpestidae (mongooses). Hyenas are therefore more closely related to cats than to dogs, since the dog family, Canidae, is placed on the Caniformia (dog-like) branch of the order Carnivora, together with the families Mustelidae (weasels), Procyonidae (raccoons), Ursidae (bears), Otariidae (eared seals), and Phocidae (true seals). The dog-like appearance of hyenas is due to convergent evolution - the process by which different species evolve similar solutions to similar problems. (MORE) 
