Personally, I can't see why anyone would want to own a dog. Just the whole 'housebreaking' thing alone is too much work for me - teaching the dog where to go to the bathroom and then having to take him outside each time the dog wants to go potty. Plus all that chewing and slobbering.

My cat is so low maintenence - feed it, clean it's litter box out once a day and the cat will give you tons of cuddle time without all that slobbering.

I'll take my cat any day of the week over any stinky dog (can we say WET DOG SMELL!!!)

i HATE it when you discriminate! x(

:P

i COMMAND you to edit the poll to include YAKS!

GOT THAT???

COMMAND!!!

*running away screaming in fear for what is about to come*

:D

If you don't stop , then I'm going to have to .

So quit your and or else we'll

??

??????????????

?????????????????????

oh, ok. :P

I mean, she looks like one!!!

Horribly unprofessional. ;-)

n/t

:bounce:

I've also hear that "sacred cow" makes a pretty good burger.

Still, cats are food. This is why there are more of them than dogs. You alwyas have more prey animals then predators.

n/t

:evilgrin:

And they are still predators. *confused look* This isn't acceptable?

If I could have a dog, I'd have one of them as well.

I just like animals.

Maybe I'll get a ferret.

I'll keep my gloves on, too, Lynne. I just don't like cats very much. No big deal.

My dog (Katie) is loyal, loving, and also serves as a burglar alarm. She worships the ground I walk on. Katie is good with the kids in my family (she won't let anyone she doesn't know near my nieces), and very protective of my handicapped grandmother when she visits.

My cat (Miranda) is evil, fun and likes to amuse me by playing with Katie. She weighs less than 5 pounds, and Katie weighs about 45, but Miranda can take her down. She was a leader cat to my late dog (Rosie) when the old dog went blind, and is really a pretty nice cat most of the time. She prevents me from having mice, too.

Just two more reasons why cats are superior to dogs.

they're two more reasons to love dogs!

And there's nothing more soothing when you're trying to get to sleep than a neighbor's dog barking. Silly me.

Litter boxes suck but it's all in one place and easy to scoop out. Cat doesn't need us to open the door for them to go - they just do it.

And I hate those freaking dogs that yap all night!!!

I have two dogs and a cat and love them all, but litter boxes are only inoffensive with certain physical layouts in your house and apt.

I clean it and I'll add baking soda to help keep the area smelling clean.

No issue in my apartment!!

and let's see a cat stop a burgler!

In human terms a dog is a closer friend than a cat. Cats are not social creatures to begin with. Their's is a relationship of convieniance. They don't know how to operate the can opener so they abide their humans.

Dogs are true companions. Ask yourself this, if you took a walk down the street which do you think would still be with you at the end of the block, the dog or the cat.

A cat comes back to its home, a dog comes back to you.

Ask yourself this, if you took a walk down the street which do you think would still be with you at the end of the block, the dog or the cat.


Actually, I know the answer from experience: my cat walks by my side without having to be taught. He's a Siamese (old-style, not one of the skinny little 'moderns'). They have a strong heeling instinct, and they habitually insist on being included whenever their human goes anywhere or does anything. Most Siamese like to play fetch and other games, and they hate being left alone.

Eastern cats (Siamese and related breeds and crosses) and Western cats (British and American shorthairs and longhairs, Persians, etc) have some basic personality differences. Westies are more independent in a lot of ways, while Easties are more engaged and need constant, close companionship. Both kinds are affectionate with the people they prefer. (And I love all kinds of cats, not just Siamese.)


Mary

or even yellow lab. I'd love to train it, take it for walks and hikes, play with it every day, thrill it with treats and rides in the car, etc., etc.

But for us to have a dog would be cruel to the dog, to the cats, and to ourselves. We don't have the room. We can't afford it. We definitely don't have the time or energy to care for a dog the way it would deserve to be cared for.

Cats are largely self-sufficient, don't have to be taken or allowed somewhere to eliminate their wastes, and can get all the affection they need usually without being annoying and drippy.

Cats : aloof, self-centered, unsociable, lazy, demanding.

Dogs : sociable, compassionate, dependable, energetic, loyal, helpful.


Of these traits, which are more commonly associated with political liberals, and which with political conservatives?

Cats SUCK.

I beg to differ - my cat is very lovable and compassionate. I can guarentee if I were to walk into my home right now my cat will come running to the front door to great me.

Like how to get that can of food opened. Trust me, lay down long enough and your cat will try to eat you.

believe me - they want you too for the same reason my cat wants me - for our opposable thumbs!!

I don't hunt anymore, but having hunted with a dog I can tell you, they are more than capable of fending for themself. They choose to work with their family. They are pure and simple social creatures. They consider themself part of the family. Cats do not have the idea of family. They are not a pack animal. You are simply other creatures they have grown tolerant of. You serve a purpose occaisionally. Its on their terms.

A dog is much more sensitized to our species. In fact dogs are the only species that understand our hand gestures. Even chimpanzees will stare at us when we point at things. A dog, having evolved along side us, understands what we are saying visually. There is evidence to suggest that humans and dogs evolved alongside each other. Cats are a very recent adoption within the our extended family.

Family is simply not a cat concept. Family is what dogs are all about.

My family of cats would beg to differ. They're a tightly-knit group, and each one plays his or her own role within that group.

Individually, each of our cats knows that he or she belongs to Mrs. V. and me.

Believe me, our cats know they're part of a family.

I'm proud to be a member of my cat's pride.

I use to take care of a feral cat that lived near my old apartment and that guy was around for about 12 years. Believe me, he had no problem getting her own food - plenty of mice, moles, birds, baby bunnies and once a garden snake. (we were not allowed cats in the apartment, but I did pay to have the cat fixed plus there was a stream on the property for water).

Trust me, cats could get their own food if left to fend for themselves!

And other backyard critters. It was pretty bad. Dogs are perfectly capable of doing anything a cat does.

I'm jumping in - Az, you eloquently describe the obvious. Dogs require you to go outside in the rain, sure. But damn do they lavish you with love and affection in return. And I'd like to know how many of you cat people take kitty on your boats for a day on the beach and/or swimming with you? Dogs are so versatile and fun.

I won't deny that there may be the odd cat like yours here or there, but they're just the exceptions that prove the rule.

I grew up around cats because my sisters loved them, but they were uniformly worthless. Just take, take, take and nothing given in return. Dogs, on the other hand, seem to offer undying loyalty and service even when you don't really deserve it.

Dogs are all about hierarchy, the preservation of which is a cardinal right-wing concern.

Cats do not recognize most kinds of hierarchical relationships, and so they simply will not give the kind of automatic deference that some people seem to enjoy getting from dogs. Cats -- even Eastern breeds -- form connections only with the people they prefer, and they are psychologically quite capable of picking up stakes and leaving a person they don't like in search of a person they like better.

Keep in mind that a cat is not 'bad' or defective just because he'd rather not have anything to do with you.


Mary

I love dogs and cats! why pick just one?
Summer-girl is a 4 year old terrier and Springer-man is a 10 year old tabby. They both weigh 15 lbs so it's an even match. They both sleep with me at night.
I also like birds and other small pets but due to cat & dog behavior it would be a bad idea for me to have any of these. I am thinking of filling the fish tank again...

You can view pieces of it by going to their Website

http://www.creaturecomforts.tv/

Click on "Episodes" then on "Cats and Dogs"

My favorite segment is between Trixie and Captain Cuddles, two couch potatoes with very different ideas about which pets are more obnoxious.

My late kitty Fergus was so affectionate. I remember back in 1985 when I was looking for a job, and there was one I desperately wanted, but didn't get. As a emotional young woman, I was bawling on my bed, and Ferg looked at me compassionately and reached out to gently bat my cheek as if to say, "There, there - it's going to be all right."

Simba and Monty are also loving, as well as intelligent. They understand the words "What do you want," "treats" and "upstairs." They live on our laps and don't want us out of their sight.

Dogs are nice, too, but cats are so intelligent, clean and beautiful that I find them irresistible!

Discuss.

Or a cat used by law enforcement, avalanche/ski patrols or a service cat for the disabled. There is only one thing better than a big ol' Yellow Lab and that would be two Yellow Labs. BTW, cats do stink.

... and mauled him to death.



Mary

species and your reply.

Dogs can be truly dangerous to humans. That fact affects their utility. Good and bad, it all goes on the balance sheet. Shrug.

In any case, reluctant as their detractors may be to recognize it, cats perform valuable service, just as dogs do. Feedstores and other shops often keep cats onsite to prevent rodents from spoiling grain and edibles. Rats and mice also have a bad habit of chewing electric wiring and causing fires, and having a cat around can make this less likely.

The thing that gets me is that peculiar tone of whiny, knee-jerk resentment that so many dog-lovers adopt the minute they learn that yes, there are people on this earth who simply prefer cats to dogs. Why protest so much? It takes nothing away from your dogs if some of us would rather live with cats.


Mary

A German Shepherd attacked me when I was four, and my mom had to save me. A Doberman Pinscher attacked me when I was 13, and my grandfather who owned the dog had to save me. I've had cats since I was seven years old, and all I've lost is a little skin now and again.

but I had a standard poodle that did so!!!

One of my closest friends has a major scar on her chin (looks like a dimple that raged out of control) from a Great Dane bite.

Sure, I've had a few scratchs from my cats - but nothing life threatening dangerous!

Large kitten bit my finger all the way to the bone while I was attempting to bathe him. It got way the hell infected in very little time.

I was in the hospital for two full days and on intravenous antibiotics for 12 days. Missed 4 days of work.

I still have the cat BTW. He's a bruiser, almost 18 pounds and very sweet.

I prefer dogs. In my opinion cats would surely do, and you would hear just as much about attacks, if house cats had the same size and power of large dogs. I have experienced many aggressive cats. In many cases bad acts by dogs are a result of bad actions by people. Maybe I've been lucky, but in 40 years I've been around dogs, big and small, I've never had so much as had an unprovoked nip.

I've never cared for the gratuitous killing a house cat does. My wife's cat would leave two or three uneaten "gifts" for us every day on our porch.

A cat brings his human presents of food and that's "gratuitous killing"? Sheesh -- if a dog ever did something like that, we'd hear no end of the selfless, noble generosity of Man's Best Friend.

Being obligate carnivores, cats must hunt regularly, if only to keep their skills sharp. They practice (misunderstood as 'toying' with their prey) and kill because they must, whether a human would understand the point of their actions or not. That is their nature. It's also what makes them effective at rodent control -- the fact that they don't quit hunting, despite regular access to easy meals.



A cat hunts when he "doesn't have to", and he is blamed for bloodthirst, rather than praised for diligence and effort.

A cat gives a human his kill, and his sharing is just another alienating example of feline cruelty and violence, rather than an example of generosity. :eyes:


Clearly, if one is determined to find fault with cats, then traits that would be seen as admirable in a dog will, if observed in the behavior of a cat, be taken as confirming the opinions that the cat-hater already holds. If you don't like cats, I guess it's pretty easy to put a derogatory spin on everything the cat is and does, while praising (or at least excusing) dogs for rather similar behavior.


Mary

Cat lovers will defend feline instincts regardless of the disgusting nature of the act. Because it's instinctual doesn't mean it's any less offensive. You're right, I don't care why a domestic cat will kill (toy) with its prey only to leave these creatures uneaten and return to its bowl of 9 lives. If it's down to the nature of an animal I'll choose the more benign. A retriever will fetch a winged bird and bring it to its master without killing it. I guess that's the nature of the dog.
I'm going to say and believe, until proved wrong, that cats have significantly little impact on the rodent population of the world.

Anyway, don't take anti-cat(ism) so seriously. It's not personal. Slam my dog...he's still a good boy even though most of it is probably true.

You don't by chance have one of those hideous cat scratching posts do you?

Don't see many rescue cats or seeing-eye cats.

Cats are a small step above rodents.

You've never met my neighbor's stupid Chow.

I know a man who walks with a white cane, sunglasses, and a cat on a leash as a gag. He went to the DMV and got his driver's license renewed that way. Another time he went to a police station to pick up his concealed weapons permit with the Seeing-Eye Cat.

Most cat people like dogs too, but most dog people don't like cats.

I'm a cat person, and it would never occur to me to 'hate' dogs, or any other animal. Even in the case of nuisance dogs or dangerous dogs: it's the foolish, inconsiderate, antisocial owners I blame, not the dogs.

And yet it is not uncommon for dog-lovers to celebrate the "superiority" of their pooches with jokes about feeding cats antifreeze, or committing some other animal-abusing horror. Poor dogs -- to be stuck such suck-ass fans!


Mary

Not most, but a few have some very strange ideas about them.

but voted cat since i've only lived with cats. and anyone who thinks a cat cannot be loving and devoted is full of it.

dogs are damn cute and damn hilarious though. would love to have a beagle.

re: #39.

...or at the very least people that don't like cats HATE cats, while people who don't like dogs are just indifferent to them.

If we had a yard, I'd love to have a beagle.

Neither...because, to quote my momma, they poop to close to the house and then track it in.

Both...because having a companion animal is good for your soul. I miss my dog. I love my best friend's cats. It's all good. :)

I find them to be the most loving, affectionate, loyal, funny, entertaining, and emotional pets. Therefore, they make great companions. I can deal with the hard work because I find the rewards to be so great. I really think dogs are meant for people. I even heard we're very similar in DNA.

Why Dogs are Better Pets Than Cats



Dogs will tilt their heads and try to understand every word you say. Cats will ignore you and take a nap.

Cats look silly on a leash.

When you come home from work, your dog will be happy and lick your face. Cats will still be mad at you for leaving in the first place.

Dogs will give you unconditional love until the day they die. Cats will make you pay for every mistake you've ever made since the day you were born.

A dog knows when you're sad. And he'll try to comfort you. Cats don't care how you feel, as long as you remember where the can opener is.

Dogs will bring you your slippers. Cats will drop a dead mouse in your slippers.

When you take them for a ride, dogs will sit on the seat next to you. Cats have to have their own private basket, or they won't go at all.

Dogs will come when you call them. And they'll be happy. Cats will have someone take a message and get back to you.

Dogs will play fetch with you all day long. The only thing cats will play with all day long are small rodents or bugs, preferably ones that look like they're in pain.

Dogs will wake you up if the house is on fire. Cats will quietly sneak out the back door.

I kid you not!!! I'll even take Abbie out to the petstore or for a walk.

And believe me he greats me when I get home and if I don't pick him up he'll jump up on my leg until I stop ignoring him!!!

And he knows his name too!!

All three will come to the door to say hello, it's so cool having those lithe furry bodies millimg about. It seems that one of them nearly always is sitting in the window watching whenever we drive up; we don't know if it's telepathy, good hearing, or organized shifts.

One cat will walk on a leash, especially for my daughter, and she also loves to go for car rides. All three played fetch when they were younger, but they grew out of it.

They play, fetch, guard, lick, and do about anything else you'd like it to do. They're very loyal. They get excited everytime I come back from somewhere. It's like they have personality.

What do cats do? They sit there and do nothing. They sleep most of the day. Boooooooooooooooring.

I'm bi, I go both ways, I play for both teams, a switch-hitter.

I love both cats and dogs for their good points, and I despise both dogs and cats for their shortcomings.

Cats are low-maintenance, but they, in general, don't give you the response and affection of a canine.

Dogs are high-maintenance and can be a pain in the ass, but they are so responsive and affectionate, unlike felines, which tend to be aloof.

There are tradeoffs for each. Vive la difference!

I voted dog because one of my dogs is sick, and she's very much on my mind. Cats are great too - they just show affection more discriminately. :)

Do we really want to rescue someone who's dumb enough to play around the well in the first place???

:shrug:

Of course, i have both, and love them ALL. :)

But this Economist article is great(dogs are super sensitive to human social cues):
http://www.andreaharner.com/archives/Economistdogbehaviorarticle.html

Dog behaviour

Sensitive souls

Feb 19th 2004 | SEATTLE
From The Economist print edition


How dogs became man's best friend

NO SPECIES has developed a closer relationship with humanity than the dog. (Though cat-lovers may disagree.) But that relationship's basis—what it is about dogs that allows them to live at ease with people—is still little understood. After all, dogs are descended from wolves, which are big, scary carnivores that would certainly have competed with early man for prey, and might not have been averse to the occasional human as a light snack.

Unless specifically bred for fighting, dogs are more docile than wolves, so that is clearly part of the answer. But mere docility cannot account for why people like to have dogs in their homes. Sheep are docile, but few people keep them as pets.

-----------------snip-----------------------

His experiment was simple. He presented his animal subjects with two inverted cups. Then he hid the cups behind a screen, put a small piece of food under one of them, and took the screen away. The animal had to choose which cup to look under. If the experimenter gave no cue, both species got it right 50% of the time, as would be expected. However, if he signalled in some way which was the right cup, by pointing at it, tapping it, or even just gazing at it, a dog would choose correctly every time, while a chimpanzee would still do only slightly better than chance. Chimps simply did not get the idea of social signals of this sort, however many times the experiment was repeated.

----------snip--------------
DemEx

all I can say is, WHERE THE HELL CAN I GET ONE OF THOSE CATS? My three are in my face every freaking second. I go to the bathroom, they bash in the door to join me. I go do the dishes, there they are wanting to know what I'm doing. I go get the mail, there they are at the door to greet me when I come in (two seconds later), as if I'd been gone for a month. I try to do situps, I have a little extra weight resistance from the cats wanting to sit on my chest. Try to read the paper through a cat - just try. Every new person is enthusiastically greeted by three giant furballs at the door. If you sit still for about an hour, you'll have a rotating cat circus on your lap - at some point during the hour, each cat will sit on you for at least a few minutes. Good luck trying to get some damn sleep around here - there's always at least one, and usually three, cats trying to become one with me. Try to nap on the couch, and Fire will groom your hair until your scalp is ready to peel off your skull. Try to open the refrigerator, and there's Cappy, wondering what you're eating and why he doesn't have any. Have a glass of wine, and three cats will try to poke their noses in the goblet.

Maine Coons are the Labradors of catdom. Anyone who thinks cats are unfriendly has never met a Maine Coon.

(For the record, I love cats and dogs pretty much equally, but find cats easier to live with.)

ONCE a DAY??!?

I've forgotten where it is.

Apparently so have the cats.

I miss cats.

No one I know here has cats. I don't know why. I don't think Bill Frist has been here recently. :-)

I've been reduced to looking for a couple of calicos who live under the cars in the used car lot out back of the office.

they are so affectionate. They take every opportunity to say they love you. God, I wish I had a dog.

The whole affectionate bit excludes the following:

Pit Bulls and other mean type dogs. I also hate the little yapping dogs. Gimme a lab any day o' the week. Nicest creatures ever.

Finest animals ever created. Had three yellows in my life. Not a mean bone in their body. My Labs couldn't bite if they had to. Lick you to pieces maybe. Smart, sense of humor, loyal forever, sensitive and people loving.

Of course I've had alot of what some would call weird experiences with animals. I've had a few times where wild animals have walked up to me to let me pet them.

I actually love dogs, too! But cats take a special place in my heart. They're both great animals - why can't we all just get along? ;)

I can't be unhappy when I am with one!

And for those who are religious, Dog is God spelled backward (mirror image!)

The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.

http://www.sniksnak.com/ac/dogtribute.html

I rest my case.

(That being said, cats can be pretty cool, too. I just tend to lean an eensy-teensy bit more towards being a dawg person... http://www.sniksnak.com/index2.html )

I get the feeling that the only reason they keep humans around is to be sure they'll get thier next meal.

One way or another.

They are nature's killing machines and are a bonafide walking environmental catastrophe. I like cats in general but they are really bad for the planet, and will no longer let one own me.

A really well trained dog is a valuable friend and can be a valuable asset in many ways, while a poorly trained dog is a pain in the butt to everybody around it.

Having had many dogs and cats in my life, I would have to say that my cats have caused me more problems than my dogs, but I lived in rural areas all of my life, and my dogs could generally come and go as they pleased. I had 2 vindictive cats that were positively demonic.

Well, actually, I made our back yard cat-proof. Other cats can get in but they can't get out -- that's created some tricky situations. So our girls love to roam the yard, and the birds know they are there so they keep clear. Insects aren't that smart, though, unfortunately for them. It's hilarious to watch three cats trying to bag a grasshopper. Only one of them will eat bugs so she gets the spoils no matter what, the crunchier the better.