Except for our scalps (and a few other places) we humans are bald. So why don’t we prefer hairless animals?
I realize there may not be a definitive answer to this question, but are there any theories as to why we like 'em nice and fuzzy?
Because you can make warmer overcoats out of them.
How many other hairless animals are there? Fish? I imagine many people like dogs and cats over fish because it’s hard to take a fish for a walk, or have the fish sit on your lap. Pigs? Some people do like pigs as pets. I’m going to go with it’s not so much that humans prefer furry creatures, it’s that most creatures are furry. I’ll put forward the theory that dogs and cats without hair are funny-looking simply because we’re used to seeing dogs and cats with fur, not because of any inherent preference for fur. A furry fish would look funny, too.
I read an abstract (of course I have no idea where, but I could try to find it) that put forward the theory that women in particular are fond of cats, because their little faces are arranged like a human infant’s – the eyes and nose and mouth are very close together, compared to the overall size of the head – and this makes the maternal instinct kick in. (I realize this doesn’t address the specific question in the OP, but it’s the only study I’ve ever seen that addresses the question of predetermined preferences for pets.)
The other day my husband said to the cat, “I pet you because you are soft. If there was a fur coat wandering around the house, I would pet that, too.”
So there you have it. Tickling a hairless rat just wouldn’t be the same.
Because they taste better with barbecue sauce…
Because Kitty keeps me warm at night.
Actually–pigs do have hair. At least mine does. Lots of it. It’s very bristly, but actually pretty long. And he sheds during the summer months.
I wouldn’t say people -like- creatures that are furry.
Tarantulas are furry. If I see one, I will run and scream like somebody has just jammed string of barbed wire into the hole at the tip of my penis.
And on an interesting side note–My uncle had a mexican hairless dog which I thought was absolutley adorable.
That’s an interesting question. My husband thinks nothing of going fishing but he thinks killing furry critters is wrong.
Is it because we anthropomorphosize (sp?!) them?
All those years of cartoons and movies – Bugs and Chip 'n Dale and Bambi and Pepe LePew and those journey movies with the dogs and cats – we’ve given them personalities. Hard to kill something with a personality.
Thanks. Now I’m running and screaming.
Cause they’re, uh, like furry and stuff!! Some of my favorite things are furry (because my fiancee won’t let me… uh, never mind! 
)
I might also point out that things that are NOT furry are, like, bald and stuff! Ewwwwww!
Because, as anybody who has seen the fine documentary movie Return of the Jedi already knows, a handful of them can save the planet against legions of advanced armed forces.
'Cause a lot of people like cute furry things that aren’t animals.
And stuffed animals. I also love fuzzy sweaters…I swear, I wear a chenille sweater, I spend the entire day petting my arm.
<<Cackle>> BEST Laugh I’ve had all day, thanks Attrayant. I’ve got cats, always have. As tactile goes, it just feels GOOD to stroke a warm furry animal. I can’t remember enjoying stroking a bald furry animal the same way ( and, I’m being rigorously honest here, no sexual imagery intended).
As I wrote that, something did occur to me. Caressing an infant is infinitely soothing and gratifying for both adult and infant. I’m a real baby lover, and some may have a fine spray of hair on the head, but are of course blissfully smooth elsewhere. Doesn’t stop a parent/whatever from caressing an infant’s skin. It’s profoundly soothing, in a way that touching a hairless NON-HUMAN isn’t. I don’t get it.
Cartooniverse
Well, since no one has brought up the Atavistic / Race Memory theory, I shall do so now. We humans are evolved from furry creatures, and we still haven’t gotten used to the whole being naked thing. In fact, we often make clothing out of fur just to keep from being naked. Not many mammals really are naked (as has been pointed out) (nude yes, naked no); the exceptions are stuff like whales and naked mole rats which aren’t real close to humans phylogentically (albeit closer than tarantulas). So us humans are always longing for our warm furry pasts, and we cling to cats, pooches, ponies, etc. to salve our loneliness.
Okay, I don’t really believe this theory but I like it a lot. Proto-humans are naked going back several steps; I think Homo habilus was pretty much naked but I could be mixing up my hominids. I suspect that being naked was one of the main reasons people developed fire (as well as clothing), so being naked is a very important early motivation for technology. I’m starting to ramble so I’ll zip it.