I love cats and I love dogs. We have cats, and have had many cats over the years, but have not had dogs over the years. This is because cats are low maintenance and independent. Whereas we have never been in a situation where it felt like we could properly manage a dog.
That’s true as a broad generalization, but not universally true. My last dog was unquestionably an alpha male, and while he was very loving and generally obedient, he was constantly challenging who was, in fact, in the alpha-male role, me or him. Since he was a Bernese Mountain Dog who at the peak of his size weighed in at 120 pounds, this made things … interesting!
But he was definitely a Very Good Boy. The alpha male thing would come up in relatively minor ways that tended to be more amusing than serious.
I don’t like how dogs smell, their barking, or picking up their shit twice a day. Nor the nose-in-the-crotch or getting dirt on my clothes.
^^^That. We like dogs but, as two increasingly decrepit people in a second floor walkup…
I always subscribed to this pack hierarchy theory of dogs and saw it play out to my amusement. A couple I used to hang out with a lot had 3 dogs. In their household pack, Mrs was clearly at the top, with Mr being second, and the 3 dogs observant of where they were in positions 3, 4, and 5. Since I spent so much time with them, 4 and 5 were always wary of me because they couldn’t be sure, when I was around, if I was now 4 or 5 or where I fit in. They surely didn’t like feeling like they might be demoted. 3 didn’t have any problem with me, because he know he was still 3. I didn’t feel like I did anything to make 4 and 5 feel like I was supplanting their status, but they were nervous none the less.
Allow me to offer a counterpoint.
How about: “I don’t like how babies smell, their shrill crying and shrieking (designed by evolution to be maximally annoying for its attention-getting attributes), having to change their shitty diapers, the need for constant bathing, and their tendency to pee on me”.
The higher level creatures with whom we develop the deepest bonds need learning, nurturing, and sometimes a great deal of patience. The advantage of a dog over a baby is that it never grows up to become independent. “A dog is like a child who never grows old; always there to love and be loved” – slightly paraphrased from Aaron Katcher.
- I don’t have children.
- That children grow out of the behaviors seems like a plus.
The main thing I dislike about cats is the way people talk about them. It’s 99% hogwash, what people believe about cats.
Cats without all that human fantasy are interesting little savage beasts which are amusing solely because they are really small compared to us. Nothing particularly amusing about cougars, which act just like domestic cats, only they weigh up to 150 pounds, and eat deer instead of mice.
I would keep a cat if I was able to give it a free, natural life, which is not possible, because of their enormous destruction of birds and other wildlife. So, no cats for me.
Anyone who thinks cat owners anthropomorphize their pets’ love for them needs to watch this newscast about Tara the Tabby.. That cat was motivated by love for her human boy.
I get so sick of dog lovers insisting that cat lovers are somehow delusional about what their cats’ emotions are, and that cats are driven by blind instinct and nothing more. We can read our cats’ body language, okay? We know when our cats are playful, frightened, angry, annoyed, smug, loving, manipulative, etc, and it is real. Christ, do cat lovers insist that dog lovers only prefer dogs because they enjoy dominating their animals, and the dogs only respond due to an instinctive subservience to a pack leader? No! At least no where near as often as dog people insist that a cat’s love for its humans isn’t real or reciprocated.
Now me, I do like that cats are easier to care for, and I just find them more attractive than dogs. I like the purring and the soft easy cuddles. And they do come when I call them. I just have to wait a minute and there they are, slowly ambling up with that ‘yes, what is it?’ look in their eyes. They also greet me at the door when I arrive home.
Not at all. I love watching the behavior of wild cats. Their sensory awareness, physical agility, skill in hunting, and so on is incredible. And housecats are a little microcosm of this in a form that doesn’t eat my face.
It’s also amusing to see behaviors that we associate with housecats, like playing with toys or sitting in boxes, also show up in wild felines. But in the end it’s not a surprise since they’re all just cats.
I love watching big cats catting around. There’s a part of me that longs to have one as a pet, though of course the part of me that’s in charge knows better.
Clearly you haven’t had a cougar stalk and kill your goats or sheep. That’s what I meant about not amusing.
I like the curious nature of cats. I like how my cat will sit on top of the fridge and watch me cook. Not because he wants a treat but because he’s genuinely fascinated by what I’m doing.
Ok, but wolves kill sheep, too. Sorry to hear of your losses, but it doesn’t really seem related to the subject at hand. I can appreciate an animal’s qualities independently of how they affect me personally. A housecat allows me to see feline qualities in person without the negative consequences (aside from the occasional thing pushed off from a table).
Cats are reliably small, which is important if you don’t have a backyard or a large house. I can get any old cat from the shelter, and it will be “fun sized”. It’s pretty difficult to get a dog that size that isn’t purebred, so likely expensive and inbred. In addition, I’ve heard it’s difficult to adopt a purebred dog because the “associations” or proper breeders want to inspect your place and make sure it’s suitable, etc. (And that’s better than a puppy mill, which will not breed the dogs properly, and will just give anyone a dog!)
Maybe purebred cats run into all of these problems, but I don’t feel the need to buy a Siamese cat, or a Scottish fold cat, or a Manx tailless cat. I can just get a cat.
Cats purr. I wish dogs did that.
Cats require far less care. You don’t have to walk them, and they need less attention, which is important for anyone who works or travels. You don’t have to train a cat (good!) but because you are taking the dog outside, and it won’t naturally use a litter box, you must train your dog. I’ve never owned a properly trained dog, and never had the time or money to get them trained, so I’ve decided I should not own a dog. (Maybe in retirement? But then I might die before the dog does!) A child requires even more care, so it’s very unlikely I will ever have children.
Downside: cats aren’t as affectionate. I’ve raised kittens to adulthood (and got them fixed) and most of them weren’t that friendly, and not pre-owned cats either, while an adult dog naturally gets extremely friendly, almost too friendly! Some scientists suggest that dogs suffer from a condition that makes them unable to manage their friendliness and essentially makes them super-social, akin to the human Williams syndrome - Wikipedia. (That syndrome has other symptoms, so it’s probably not an accurate suggestion.)
I just discovered why I like cats, Thanks, Infovore.
Yes, they do, and while wolves are deeply fascinating, they too are not cutesy wootsy. They are apex predators. Cats ain’t, as any coyote would tell you.
I am a dog magnet. Dogs see me and make a beeline for me knowing that if the owner okays it I will happily pet them. I’m not sure how they know, but they do.
But I am a cat person. I love cats. I like that they’ll cuddle with you and purr. That I can go away overnight and they’ll be fine. Giving them ear squishes.
My late Immy would have sneered at anyone suggesting that she be independent; why even have a human if they’re not there 24/7?? Not that I was, but you could tell that was her dream.
Some breeds – many of the most popular ones – are indeed superduper friendly. A simpler hypothesis for this behavior is neonatalism; they remain perpetual puppies.
But many are not. Some are aloof to everyone (and are described as ‘catlike’). Others reserve their affection for their family and everyone else can go twist. I have owned dogs like this, who have loved three or four people in their lives and would have nothing whatsoever to do with anyone outside that circle. Herding and guarding breeds are most likely to be this way.
But many of the qualities that make domestic dogs interesting are exactly those that enable wild dogs to hunt sheep or other animals. Their social hierarchy, sense of smell, hunting tactics, and so on all show up in domestic dogs.