Originally posted by threemae
People, you mean? I agree. I rather have cats. 
Both of ya dog and cat people are serious freaks. Me I keep fish. expensive suckers too. I spend about a zillion dollars a year on artificial life support products that mimic the ocean and still I measure my sucess in how many of my pets don’t die.
Err nevermind.
I’m a cat man and offer no apologies for it. I have often been loved by cat women, so I care not for your silly prejudices. However, right now I am only the proud daddy of tropical fish. I’ll probably get a cat soon.
I have a theory that cats were necessary to the development of civilization as we know it. Civilization depends on the accumulation of surplus food supply, right? But grain storage is ineffective when plagued by rodents. Cats were the original rodent control that allowed ancient food surpluses to be built up and make civilization possible. Dogs are left over from hunter gatherer epochs, while cats are the animals of civilization.
So you let the cats do your dirty work for you! I knew there was a reason cat-men were not to be trusted.
Dogs: Emotionally dependant, need constant care, love unconditionally.
Cats: Emotionally detached, fiercely independant, give love as long as they can get something physical back.
Seems like a case can be made for dogs being more like women, therefore being more attractive to men. Same with cats and women. Of course, here we’re dealing with pretty broad stereotypes, so YMMV.
Amusing anecdote: I once knew a dog that was part rotweiler, part doberman. This combination of killer instincts produced the most codependant, insecure dog you could imagine. The cats had trained the dog to use the litterbox. The alpha male cat used to suckle from the dog. There was no question about who ran that household.
I am a guy who likes cats, but not dogs, and I definately cannot be trusted!
I do like snakes, too, though. I’d keep them for pets if I could.
I have only one problem with dogs…actually with one dog in particular: My parents’ dog. She (the dog) is getting a little long in the tooth. With age has come a certain level of grouchiness that leaves me feeling like I’ve done something wrong all the time. My cat and this dog are about the same age, but my cat has loads of spunk left, while the dog has clearly entered grumpy middle-age. She puts me on edge. I talk baby talk to her and scratch her and try to play with her, and she just gives me this look like “silly human, stop acting like a puppy…it’s annoying.” What makes her happy is lying in the sun, watching squirrels in the back yard, chewing on her rawhide bone, lying with her head in my mom’s lap, and occasionally playing fetch the ball. High energy and vigorous petting literally make her heave a big sigh and amble off to get some peace. You don’t know how much it hurts when a dog shuts you down like that.
That you would even try is a turn on!
I don’t like cats because I’m allergic to them. This causes them to flock to me and try to stick their tails up my nose. (Seriously, I read once that people who like cats tend to look at them, which makes them nervous, since they prefer to sneak up on things. People who don’t like cats tend to ignore them, which makes them feel comfortable and draws them in. I have no idea if this is true. I do know that anytime I’m in a house with a cat I end up with a feline on my lap and a massive allergy attack.)
I have always had dogs. One of my earliest memories is of my father walking into the kitchen with a puppy, telling my mother, “You can’t have kids without dogs.” (My mother had other theories, but got outvoted.) We mostly had Dachshunds when I was a kid, so that’s the breed I ended up with.
I liked dogs, in a vague kind of way. “A house is not a home without a Dachshund on the sofa.” Then I got a dog with some serious behavioral problems, stumbled around a bit and found out about Clicker Training, aka Operant Conditioning.
Now, I love dogs. Operant Conditioning opened up a whole new world of communication between me and my dogs. It fascinates me to see how their minds work, and to realize that two very different species can communicate so clearly. I love to see the way they solve problems, and to analyze the way they interact. I love to see their personalities come out. Some people play Evercrack, I work with my dogs. Their affection and snuggles are icing on the cake.
I don’t refer to them as “furbabies,” “my children,” to myself as their “mom” or other such. They aren’t human, they are dogs. 90 some percent of the problems that dogs have in our society comes from people thinking they are little humans in fur coats. It’s the fact that they aren’t human that fascinates me so.
I suspect that I could have the same reaction to cats. I know people who use Operant Conditioning with their cats, very sucessfully, and respond much the same way I did with my dogs. However, since being in the presence of cats causes sneezing, itchy eyes, and other unpleasantness, I’m not testing this theory.
[no more italics! Thanks, to whomever did this]
The Punkyova Cats like calm people. When you’re afraid - or allergic - to cats, you tend to sit very still, so as to not attract their attention. When a cat sees a quiet lap, he’ll sit on it.
Maybe you ought to try singing out loud, when a cat is in the room. 
If they’re the same age, the dog is probably more elderly than the cat. In general cats live longer than dogs do.
What do you guys think about bird owners, specifically parrots?
We have a small parrot and he’s fun, cuddly, and talkative but he’s so attention thirsty it sometimes drives me crazy. He needs way more handling than an average dog. He follows me and other members of the household everywhere and is hardly ever content by himself. He won’t even eat breakfast unless I’m at the table next to him.
I had a rat and they are also extremely affectionate and smart but they die way too fast.
I had a cat as a kid and I think a cat’s affections are more of a self-esteem booster than those of dogs. Cats seem more like animals who demand respect than babies to me for some reason while I see rats, dogs, and my parrot as babies.
Oh and the turn-on thing, definately. If a guy can be sensitive and caring to his pet he’s more likely to be the same to me. Especially if it’s a high maintenance pet like a dog. If he had a snake and fed it live mice I’d be turned off though.