I’m a cat person, though I DO love dogs. I can’t quite pinpoint why I like cats over dogs. They both have pros and cons, and it’s kind of a wash to me. Cat’s are independent where dogs are usually more social, but there’s something about cats that gives them the edge in my mind… what that is, I’m still trying to figure out.
I love dogs and understand why many are dog people. I don’t think as many dog people understand cat people though, and I would love to tell them why I prefer cats, but have a hard time with it. They are more mysterious? More graceful? Help me out here, cat people…
I have had both cats and dogs and I love both but I am definitely a dog person.
That said, cats are a LOT less effort to care for, can be a little more fun to play with (cat dancers, laser pointer and so on). They are also really charming when they want to cuddle and they snuggle with you.
But because dogs are more responsive to humans (obey commands, seem to kinda get what’s going on whereas cats are endlessly aloof) I think we ultimately develop a deeper bond with dogs.
Make no mistake though. Cats can be great. Lots of fun to be with. Lots of cuddles. Adorable.
I’m definitely a cat person. I like dogs, but I’ve never wanted one of my own. I’m fine with admiring other people’s dogs.
There are lots of reasons I prefer cats:
I find them more attractive
I love watching them move–they’re so graceful (mostly–some are klutzes!).
I love purring.
I feel like if a cat likes me, I’ve earned it, whereas most dogs seem to like everybody (assuming they haven’t been mistreated, of course).
Cats are self-cleaning and do their business in a box so I don’t need to walk them.
You can leave a cat alone overnight (or even for a couple nights as long as there’s enough food, water, and litterboxes), which I’m pretty sure you can’t do with a dog.
The one thing I’ve always been kind of bummed about with cats instead of dogs, though, is it’s a lot harder to take your cat out in the world with you, whereas you can take your dog for a walk, ride him around in your car, etc. I know some cats will do that, but in my experience most don’t–and society is much more tolerant of dogs in businesses/etc. than cats.
But yeah, all things considered, I’ll definitely take my cats.
I’m generally an all pets kind of person. I do get mushy around dogs in public but I am also the person that tries to get the stray cat to come over for a pat.
That said, I have only ever owned cats in my adult life for one very important reason. I don’t have to actively manage their bathroom habits. Cats go in a box and then I clean the box once a day. Dogs go outside, generally, and you clean it up every single time, making for a whole lotta work. This is the single factor that has made me pick cats over dogs for myself.
I am guessing mainly because of allergies. IIRC cats top the list of animals humans are allergic to.
I have had cats and I am allergic to them (I built a tolerance over time but I always had to be a little careful to wash my hands after playing with them).
Also, cats are not obedient. So, in a social situation like an office, you cannot tell a cat to go lie in a corner and stay there whereas a dog would. Not to mention finding your cat when it comes time to go home since (most) cats will not come when called.
I like cats fine. I’ve always gotten along with all I’ve met…even ones that tend to hate everybody else! But I’ve always only had dogs. Cats are o.k., but compared to dogs they just seem a little dim? I’m not sure that’s exactly the word, but all the cats I’ve met seem much slower on the uptake than dogs. I can interact with a dog in a more companionable way, rather than the animal being more like a decorative thing or a play thing.
We always had dogs when I was a kid, because my mom hated cats. As an adult I started having cats. My mom would meet each one and say “This is an exception.” When I moved back with her to take care of her, I brought my two cats. Mom came to love them both.
I love the way cats move, and the fact that they’re not pushy, like dogs are. I like an animal that can just chill with me, as a companion, not one that constantly needs my attention.
And you don’t have to bathe a cat or walk it outside.
I have never had to discipline my current cat, for anything. She seems to instinctively know what she’s allowed/not allowed to do. And in spite of being de-clawed, she’s a damn good mouser.
And please. The plural of cat is “cats”. No apostrophe.
I love cats on a visceral level I can’t explain or justify. I believe cuteness is nothing more than the triggering of the observer’s nurturing instinct, yet I find the average adult cat far cuter than the average human baby. And kittens, oh my God. No human can compete.
There are concrete things I can identify. I like that they’re quieter; I hate barking. I like that they can use a litter box and play inside instead of having to be walked. I like that their tongues are dry and not slobbery. I like that they clean themselves and don’t smell like dog. I like the way they cuddle and purr. But really, it’s the cuteness. My cat is not great with the litter box; he’s fairly vocal and not much of a purrer, but I’d still take him over the world’s best dog.
Some people say cats never have to be bathed. They say cats lick themselves clean. They say cats have a special enzyme of some sort in their saliva that works like New, Improved Wisk - dislodging the dirt where it hides and whisks it away.
I’ve spent most of my life believing this folklore. Like most blind believers, I’ve been able to discount all the facts to the contrary - the kitty odors that lurk in the corners of the garage and dirt smudges that cling to the throw rug by the fireplace. The time comes, however, when a man must face reality; when he must look squarely in the face of massive public sentiment to the contrary and announce: “This cat smells like a port-a-potty on a hot day in Juarez.”
Putting aside my occasional and non-serious anti-cat snark for a moment, the truth is that I’m an animal lover at heart, and appreciate both cats and dogs. But I have to say that I believe the quoted statement is true (here’s an excellent book on the subject).
I can see cat people vehemently disagreeing, and I don’t doubt that the attachment most people have to their cats is genuine, but I would argue that much of this emotional attachment is anthropomorphic; that is, we love our cats because of how we like to imagine that they relate to us in human terms, rather than (in many cases) the objective way that they really do. In that sense some of that relationship is somewhat like the “love” that a child has for their teddy bear. Whereas I think with dogs there’s a lot more substantive interaction.
One argument that is sometimes made against dogs, that dogs “are a lot of work”, is actually part of that considerable substance and contributes to the depth of our relationship with them. A child is “a lot of work”, too. The thing that makes cats relatively easy to keep is that so much of their behaviour is driven by instinct, whereas dogs have many things to learn, from house-training to socialization and everything in between. And, having been duly socialized and bonded, they are then very dependent on us.
I’ve had both at various times in my life and as the OP stated I think it is a wash as to which is a better pet. They both have advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. I have cats now (well, one cat - my second passed away a few months ago), because in many respects they are easier. Particularly in terms of time management. Not having to be taken out to exercise/poop being the biggest plus.
But I do miss having a dog some days and although my cats have been very good with elimination issues over the years, cat pee is absolutely worse than dog pee when something goes awry .
Certainly something is anthropomorphized in the mind of the beholder: I see comments about how cats are “cute” and fewer about “merciless killing machines” and “relentless predators”. Same cat, right?
I think both are great in their own way. The archetypal pets: cats and dogs .
The only minor negative with dogs, in my opinion, is that their love feels a tad forced. They are pack animals. You’re the boss, you’re in charge, they do what you tell them to do. There’s a strict pack hierarchy in their world and dogs always know their place in it – they filter everything through that lens.
Cat affection, to me, feels like it is given more by choice rather than bred into them at birth.
Cats are a near perfect killing machine. Pound for pound few animals are more deadly.
They are also cute and some are cuddly or playful. Cats are complex.
My cats are indoor animals and one is very social and one only vaguely so. One does tricks and is our Puppy Cat and the other is the aloof Queen of her World.
I like both equally, and appreciate their different qualities. My husband strongly prefers cats. He’s nice to dogs we meet, he just doesn’t want to own one himself because he thinks they’re too high-maintenance for his taste.
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