But I’m not here to poise the perennial question of whether cats or dogs are better (especially when the answer is so obviously cats), rather to consider the assumtions behind the choice.
What is it we hope to get out of our relationship with an animal?
Why do we keep them in our homes? Why do we put up with their shit (all to literally)? Why does a person prefer dogs to cats (takes all kinds I guess :rolleyes: )? Why do some people keep millipedes?
Here’s my answer:
"I believe I could turn and live with animals
They are so placid and self contained
I stand and look at them long and long
They do not sweat and whine about there condition
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins
The do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.
Not one is dissatified
Not one is demented with the mania for owning things.
Not on kneels to another nor to his kind that lived thousand of years ago.
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth."
I think animals are just more simple than humans. Low maintenance. People can just be so bothersome while animals are just, well, simple.
I think we like to think of people as simple, however. Most dramas series, plays, movies, etc, make characters very typecast. I suppose that makes a better story, but even still I find myself thinking of friends as units. Let me explain that.
The people I don’t know (but meet) are, in my mind, compared to a series of friends. Like, “Oh, he’s like Chris about music” or “He’s like Mike when it comes to drinking.” As if my friends were static entities which they most certainly are not.
Pets are pretty static, however. Our dog is our dog. Maybe Whitman said it ok.
I too am a cat person. My parents have a dog who is lots of fun to play with & not too destructive, but I wouldn’t want to have to take care of one. Dogs are high-maintenance, plus they often slobber. But they ARE more fun than cats to play Frisbee with!
I love my cats because I find them very relaxing. Nothing destresses me like curling up with Primus (my cat, not the band) & having some quality petting time. If there is a more calming sound than a cat’s purring, I haven’t heard it yet. Plus they’re beautiful and fun to play with. Primus & Chloe may not be able to catch a Frisbee, but it’s highly entertaining to watch them try to catch the Cat Dancer…
Siamese cats are the coolest, and there’s nothing like waking up to a purring cat sidling up against you on a cold morning but…
Unfortunately, we’re allergic.
So, dog it’ll have to be. We tried one last year only to have it die on us two days after we brought it home, but that still hooked us, especially my wife, who grew up in a home that always had at least 4 dogs around, most of them big (and at least one of whom was always a Weimeraner; funniest dogs in creation). We’ll be trying again soon.
I do not need an animal (or friend) with no life other than pleasing or being with me. I like to earn friendship and respect from creatures I deem intellegent and having good judgement.
When my cat spends four hours curled up next to me while I’m sick, I know its not just because I’m a heat source. I move around too much and create too much of an inconvience. He stays to do his version of comforting me. When he’s done, he leaves.
My mom will walk in to see me and my cat, who is usually an outdoor hunter cat, cuddling and she calls us disgusting.
“He never does that with me.”
“Does what?”
“Slobber lovingly like that.”
“Heh. He loves me more.”
I had to earn that. It feels good, I earned affection from a creature who isn’t particularly affectionate. I must be loveable.
I’m going to school to become a vet, so I sort of have to love them all, but I’m a dog person.
Cats are independent hunters. They don’t need you to do anything, except open the door. You get home from work, and it might be a couple of hours until you see the cat. With a dog, they are waiting at the door, tail wagging, as soon as the first tire hits the driveway. Dogs are pack animals, meaning they require companionship to be happy and healthy.
A dog will also be more likely to act as a guard than a cat will. I’d rather have my house and family under the watchful eye of a Rottweiler than a Siamese cat. What is a 15 lbs cat going to do, that a 160 lbs dog can’t do better in this situation? Which one is more likely to dive in to save someone from drowning?
Cats do have some good points too, like the fact they can keep the house mostly rodent free. And they can live outdoors, and hunt for themselves, but does this make a good pet?
See, that’s my question. To you the best pet is one that DOES something. This is an assumtion about what the nature of animal/human relationships is supposed to be. I have another assumption.
(David, damnit, I was trying so hard to get at the GD behind the HO. I suppose I went wrong with the title…)
I have 2 dogs that are mine, and tolerate 2 cats that are owned by Mrs. Wolf. All four get along, and the reason why I tolerate the cats is because we got them both when they were young, and raised them like dogs. Yes, you can raise a cat to do tricks, to come when called, and to be affectionate. As for “typical” cats, I have no use for them.
Now, I hear a lot of cat people go on about the maintenance thing. I must disagree. Granted, I’m fortunate in that my dogs are not destructive, but just like the cats, the dog you get is all a result of how you train them. If you don’t properly train your dog, you shouldn’t complain if he shits in the house.
My dogs are guilty of shedding some hair. Other than that, they are well behaved in the house, and are content to curl up near me and chew their rawhide. The cats, however, are a different story. Not a day goes by when they don’t jump up on the counter and knock something over. They chew plants, dig in the dirt of the pots, and even knock them over. They climb the silk tree in the LR and knock that down. Every so often, they vomit on the carpet. At least dog hair doesn’t soak through to the padding. They shit and piss in a box, then walk out and jump right on the bed. I need only open the back door, let the dogs out, then they’re right back inside, after I wipe their paws off. In short, the cats are high maintenance, not the dogs. And at least the dogs will perform a job in return, by barking if someone approaches the house. The cats could care less if someone broke in, unless they were stealing their food.
Both are useless unless trained. My cat was a great mouser and if she wasn’t I would have gotten rid of her. Not that I didn’t like her, but the whole reason I got her was to take care of the mice that came into the house during the winter. She was also good because I trained her to go outside instead of a littler box. honestly I don’t know how all you cat people can stand that smell. Even changing a little box twice a day doesn’t help. As for my dog she isn’t much to look at, just a 30 pound mutt. But she’s very helpfull in gettting rid of other dogs that want to soil my yard and all the little varmits that come creeping around the trash cans at night. She also warns me of intruders and thunder storms. I didn’t train her to attack just to bark, after all I have kids in my nieborhood. SO both of my animals have their uses.
If you are talking about purely a social sense then I am a dog person. Not small dogs, because they are basically cats. I think you’ll find most dog poeple will have this usefulness over cuddly opinion and cat/small dog poeple don’t care if something pulls it’s own weight.
First of all, terriers are just as good as cats at keeping rodent populations down. Granted, mine chased them into the pool out back, but she got rid of them nonetheless.
I do think cats are adorable, but I never want to have one living in my house again.
I’m a devout dog person. Throughout my entire life, there has always been a dog in the house (and I mean “in the house” literally; I can’t stand to see dogs that stay outside). I’m rather fond of large dogs, and by that I mean roughly at least 30 inches at the shoulder. We had a Rhodesian Ridgeback and now an Akbash (It’s a Turkish sheep-guarding dog, looks like a shorter-haired Great Pyrenes (I know I spelled that wrong)). Our dogs are truly members of the family, not just pets around the house.
Any pet is a wonderful companion, and no one should be without one.
[NOTE: Fish don’t count as pets, unless they’re something cool. Like a shark. Or if they manage to live beyond a year.]
It’s not that the pet does something, its that you matter to them. And, I’ve heard the arguement that cats care about people, and I don’t completely disagree, but I’ve seen a cat rub against a table leg with as much affection and emotion as with a human. Cats seem to enjoy human contact, but only if it’s on their terms. Sure, there are lots of dogs that appear to like all people, but their owner is almost always their favorite person. With a cat, they are their own favorite person.
This is not entirely true. Cats are much more independent than dogs, but also have their own way of expressing love and loyalty to you. Believe me, I have spent almost fifteen years of my life with cats, and all of that experience has led me to the following conclusion.
For one, the rubbing and affection against the objects you described, especially if the object smells like you, is one way of expressing their feelings for you. The reason why cats rub, scratch, bite, and lay on objects is because they are scent soaking the object to make the house feel more like home. According to the website Blog.FerPlast.com “By rubbing, the cat deposits pheromones, substances produced by the sebaceous glands near the mouth and at the base of the tail, which transform the objects marked into familiar objects.” Putting a cat into an unfamiliar environment with new people, and different smells, is like you staying at a place without any prior knowledge of where anything is. It is also like buying a house with absolutely nothing in it. You wouldn't want to buy a house and put nothing in it, would you? That would feel horrible because you would not feel fully at home. Additionally, there is all of these strangers in this place that are trying to touch you without saying hello first. You would at least want a hand shake before a long hug, right? Without these parameters, especially if there is a resident cat, they may start to get aggressive, fearful, confused, and sad. This is why cat experts, like Jackson Galaxy, recommend finding an unused room that will be called Base Camp to start the scent soaking process.
Eventually, cats can come to love their environment and be confident in it. Cats who are confident, loving, and loyal will greet you at the door and spend time with you; even if they are not literally on you. They will lay in rooms that have your scent all over them, and periodically check on you. An article from Bustle.com states “Like many creatures, cats are largely guided by their sense of smell; and if an item has your scent, they like to be near it because it makes them feel safe and happy.” Sometimes, the cat may choose to lay on you too. However, a cat who compulsively lays on you may be insecure. This is because they are too afraid to explore their territory. A study conducted at the Oregon State University showed the difference between secure and insecure bonds for both kittens and adults. Secure cats are less stressed and may explore their territory more. Insecure cats show avoidance or ambivalence.
Every cat is unique. They may require specific needs that can be met through observation. Regardless, cats are still very misunderstood creatures. New scientific research is being conducted every day to understand the nature of cats. I hope you found this knowledge to be wonderfully insightful.
The difference between dogs and cats is supposed to be, ‘The more brutal and cruel and unjust you are to [the dog] the more your fawning and adoring slave he becomes; whereas, if you shamefully misuse a cat once she will always maintain a dignified reserve toward you afterward–you will never get her full confidence again.’
Briefly, on which is “better”: Dogs are wonderful, because everything is out in the open. You know every, single thing you are going to get from a dog. There is no mystery to them. For cats, it’s just the opposite, and they too are wonderful. I love them equally.
As for why we keep pets, for me it’s no more complex than they make me laugh, make me feel warm and loving, and give me something to take care of, that could not live, or would live a greatly diminished life, without me. Or at least that’s what I tell myself!
