Which is a better pet - cat or dog?

tylerJ

What do you think?
I have a dog and therefore of course I think that dogs are simply the best
but my husband tries to talk mi into a cat. I would gladly take another dog, but cats don't seem...friendly, and, what is more, I am not sure if the pets would like each other... On the other hand, I've read an interesting artcile comparing cats and dogs, and it seems that cats have lots of advantages and in general it's easier to take care of them (http://www.petlvr.com/blog/2010/03/cats-or-dogs-that-is-the-question/). Any comments from cat owners?

Saruman

Dogs need attention all the time, cats only need attention when it suits them

You can't leave a dog for the weekend to fend for themselves but you can with a cat once they have enough food and litter.

Lillylilly

I've always been a dog person, but got my partner a kitten for Christmas- I'm now converted! So much so that we're adding another kitten to our family in two weeks!!!
The kitten we have now (Bear!), is so playful and cute and mad for cuddles! He loves to jump and climb and finds fun in the most peculiar things- he could get hours of fun from a sweet wrapper or an empty toilet roll tube. Because he is so small (in comparison to a dog), the trail of destruction he leaves behind him is minor compared to what dogs get up to. Cats don;t mind being left alone either. Bear is pretty safe to leave in the house all day by himself if we have to. Any dogs we ever had would have to be left in the garden, and they'd wreck it out of boredom.

Cats= 1, Dogs = 0!!!

tylerJ

Thanks for feedback. And was it easy to train your Bear to use the litter box? Does he know his name when you call him?

seamus

tylerJ wrote: »

but cats don't seem...friendly

Cats in general appear aloof and disinterested to an outside observer and as such if you've never had a cat or spent significant time with one, you'll get the impression that they don't "do" anything other than sleep and wander around.

Cats actually do make good companions even if they are very independent and you can get hours of entertainment out of them.

It's very difficult to do a dogs -v- cats comparison because you may as well be comparing donkeys with dolphins, and there's no such thing as a "dog person" or a "cat person", they're just people who've never had a cat or dog so don't know what it's like.

PaulB91

Dog's are best - next question

NothingMan

was it easy to train your Bear to use the litter box? Does he know his name when you call him?

My friends cats use the toilet. The actual toilet, it's crazy. You can train them over a few weeks using the Litter Quitter. It's amazing. They don't flush though, the smelly animals.

KerranJast

Contrary to what is general opinion, cats are actually quite loyal and friendly (but obviously not in the hero worship way dogs are). We had a lovely cat for 11 years and it would always come running up to me whenever I got back from school and at weekends back from college. If anyone strange called round it would saunter off warily.

You can't beat a couple of kittens for pure madcap hilarity I will say though that I'd see cats as more of an outdoors pet. I can never understand people who keep them locked away inside. Each to their own I suppose.

gaz wac

Dogs suck !! and should all be put down cos they are vicious and they bite young kids and defenceless old ladies

You have to own a cat before you know how loving they are. The only thing you can’t do is bring them for walks other than that, I spend hours playing with Moo in the garden , in the house playing hide a seek, chasing, looking at tv with her on my lap etc.

And of course they know their name, She could be 15 houses away from me and I would call her name, next you will see a head popping up to make sure it is me and then she runs as fast as she can to meet me

honerbright

gaz wac wrote: »

You have to own a cat before you know how loving they are. The only thing you can’t do is bring them for walks

I have a little harness for my cat and take her walking all the time

KerranJast

honerbright wrote: »

I have a little harness for my cat and take her walking all the time

Maybe you should turn that skill into a profession

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

PaulB91

gaz wac wrote: »

Dogs suck !! and should all be put down cos they are vicious and they bite young kids and defenceless old ladies

You have to own a cat before you know how loving they are.

ooo that's fighting talk where i come from - luckily for you i've moved

so would a cat lay down it's life to protect you? ever heard of burgalars staying away from a house cos there's a cat living there? can a cat lick your face without ripping the skin off? can a cat safe peoples lifes lost in the wilderness?

Zapho

honerbright wrote: »

I have a little harness for my cat and take her walking all the time

I bet you get some stares from passers by when walking your cat down on the Prom....I'd say you'd get some attention from the amount of dogs walking down there too!

I dunno, I've a soft spot for cats really. I think it takes cats a very long time to get used to people, and many I've come across certainly don't like anybody except their owners. This may be why people think cats are unfriendly. But, if you raise a cat from a kitten, you'll be converted!

gaz wac

PaulB91 wrote: »

can a cat lick your face without ripping the skin off?

how do you think she wakes me at 4.30am every morning so she can go out to go to the loo

PaulB91

gaz wac wrote: »

how do you think she wakes me at 4.30am every morning so she can go out to go to the loo

i thought cats tongues where rough from the memory of having one 20 years ago?

gaz wac

ahh your just a girl you get used to it !!

PaulB91

:p

gaz wac wrote: »

ahh your just a girl you get used to it !!

i have to look after my skin you know, daily cleanse, tone and moisturize, could never have anything as rough as a cats tongue on it

gaz wac

** must resist pus*sy on face joke **...resist it Wac...RESIST !!!!!

juanyjuans

cats are better.

PaulB91

ever heard of a cat doing this

Farmer Saved by Dog's Amazing 2 km Run

link

An Austrian farmer's life was saved
by this clever pooch, "Tschibsi", who ran 2 km, found help and returned with a rescue helicopter. I don't think Lassie ever managed to do that. (Photo: StavangerAvisen.com)
According to the authorities, Tschibsi ran almost 2 km (1¼ miles) to intercept the man's wife on her way into town riding a bicycle. By barking, yelping and whining, the dog communicated to the woman that something was horribly amiss. She followed Tschibsi back to the farm, found what had happened and telephoned rescuers.

dogs win

gaz wac

ill see your Oz dog and raise you a OZ cat

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6216663.stm

PaulB91

would a domestic cat do this?
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/04/boy.cougar.attack/index.html

One lucky boy in Canada can say without a doubt that he has his own personal guardian angel -- not of the spiritual kind, but of the furry.
On Saturday an 18-month old golden retriever saved her owner from being attacked by a cougar while in the backyard of their home in Boston Bar, British Columbia, about 130 miles north of Vancouver.
The dog -- named Angel -- leaped into action and threw herself between her owner, 11-year-old Austin Forman, and the cougar that was charging at him.
Sherri Forman, Austin's mother, said her son was outside with Angel around 5:30 p.m. gathering firewood from their backyard. She explained that Angel normally runs around and plays when she is outside, but on this afternoon she was behaving differently.
"He had come in at one point to tell me how cute Angel was being because she was sticking pretty close to him in the yard, which was unusual for her," Forman told CNN.
In hindsight she realizes that Angel was protecting her son from an unseen danger.
When the cougar charged, Angel ran to protect the boy.


"She intercepted the cougar," Forman said. "Austin came into the house very upset, and I had to get him to calm down so I could understand what he was saying. Finally he said 'there's a cougar eating Angel.'"
Angel and the cougar fought under the family's deck, while Austin's mother called 911 for help. A constable was in the area and able to make it to their home and kill the cougar quickly.

Austin Forman, left, was saved from a cougar attack by his 18-month old golden retriever, Angel.

PaulB91

gaz wac wrote: »

ill see your Oz dog and raise you a OZ cat

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6216663.stm

pa - my dog was Austrian not Austalian, i see your cat and raise you a retriever

PaulB91

try this one without welling a tear

PORT TAMPA, Fla. — Yolanda Segovia heard a knock on her door one morning, just before 8 a.m.
Her neighbor was on the porch, with a dog and a story.
Stacey Savige had found the little dog in front of an elementary school. He wasn't very big, looked like some sort of terrier. Burrs clung to his belly. His honey fur was caked in mud.
He didn't have a collar. Stacey had taken him to the vet and he didn't have a chip, either.
Now Stacey had to go to work. Could Yolanda keep him?
Yolanda is 47. She's a divorced mom with two boys. In recent years she has survived breast cancer and cervical cancer, lost her dark hair and eyelashes to chemo. A hairdresser, she hasn't worked since 2006.
"You can leave the dog here," Yolanda told Stacey. "But just for today."
They took photos of the dog and made a FOUND flier. Stacey ran off 4,000 color copies. She and Yolanda stuffed mailboxes, put ads on Craigslist.
Yolanda took her boys to the dollar store and bought a collar, leash, ball and brown bed. Her 10-year-old, Azaiah, decided to call the dog RaeLee, pronounced "Riley." He said he had heard it on TV. All afternoon, he walked the dog, threw the ball, laughed while the dog licked his face.
"Don't fall in love with him," Yolanda kept warning.
Her elder son, Christian, 21, watched through the window. Christian has Down syndrome and an array of other ailments. He has had heart surgery, a kidney transplant. He can't speak or bathe himself.
That night, when the boys climbed into their bunk beds, the dog dragged his new bed from Yolanda's living room, down the long hall, into their room.
——
Four days later, they still had the dog. He was starting to answer to his new name.
He loved roughhousing with Azaiah, knew to be gentle with Christian. He almost never barked.
On Saturday, Azaiah went to his dad's house. Christian retreated to his room to watch a Barney video. The dog dozed beside him.
Yolanda had just stepped onto her porch to water the plants when the dog flung himself into the screen door, barking madly.
As she opened the door, the dog sprinted across the living room, into the boys' room.
Yolanda screamed. Christian was slumped over, his body writhing in a seizure, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.
The dog ran to the boy, still yelping. But as soon as Yolanda bent to cradle her son, the dog went silent.
"If he hadn't come to get me," Yolanda told Stacey later, "the neurologist said Christian would have choked on his own blood and died."
Since no one had claimed the dog, Yolanda decided to keep him.
——
Stacey got a call the next morning. A man named Randy had recognized his lost dog and called the number on the flier.
Stacey sobbed. She had been working so hard to find the dog's owner. Now that he had found her, everything seemed wrong.
She quizzed the man to make sure the dog was really his: Is the dog fixed? What tricks does he do? The man answered things only an owner could. His name is Odie, the man said.
Randy Cliff, 34, is an unemployed plumber who lives six blocks from Yolanda with his wife, their four children and infant granddaughter. He said he had been searching for Odie for more than a week.
Stacey told him, "That dog saved my friend's son."
———
When the van pulled up outside Yolanda's house, the dog raced out and jumped into Randy's arms. Randy buried his face in his dog's soft fur.
Azaiah stood on the porch, crying. "We're going to miss you," he called.
As Randy remembers it, he looked at the boy. He saw Christian's frightened face in the window. "Is that your brother?" he asked. Azaiah nodded.
Randy set the dog by Azaiah's feet.
"Maybe Odie was supposed to find you," Randy said. "Maybe you should keep him."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,538724,00.html

gaz wac

meh, you hear one dog story, you've heard them all !! poll needed tbh, but on a quick count...cats winning

PaulB91

na dogs winning - just all the dog owners are out walking/playing with their dogs while the cat owners are all lonely huddled round their laptops wondering when their cat will grace them with a visit for food or water :D

PaulB91

just found this which is quite funny original here - had to edit some of the words

1. Dogs you can take for walk. (gives you exercise and plus ladies like guys with dogs).. Cats don't do much besides snooping up on you.. Scores- Dog ->1 Cat->0

2. Dogs **** outside so you house doesn't smell like a dog's ass when you open the door.. On the other hand, when you have two cats who **** all day long without doing anything all day.. when you enter you house..it SMELLS LIKE CAT'S ASS... this is not the smell I want to come home too. Scores- Dog ->2 Cat->0


3. Dogs are waiting by the door to show love for their owner.. soon as the owner walks in the door. That's love.. Two cats I live with don't give a flying **** when you come home. Cats SUCK. Scores- Dog ->3 Cat->0

4. Cats really don't obey anything you tell him to do... he don't give a ****.. he'll do whatever the **** he wants.. dog is different.. you can command a dog to sit and he will sits.. fetch something to a dog, it will go grab it. It listens to you because it's a smarter animal.. (I know this might upset a lot "cat peoples" but you can surely agree that cats don't ever listen to their owners, they do whatever the **** they want... Note myself: Move out SOON) Scores- Dog ->4 Cat->0

5. Did I mention cat's is indoor animal and it ****s inside the house in a plastic container that's open... ohh I did.. (wait this may be due to my fat pig of a room-mate not changing the litter box... ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG)
Scores- Dog -> 5 Cat->0 Fat Pig room-mate -> -2
a. (on the side note.. I showed this Ubersite to a guy in the next cube over and he is like... there are some angry people on that site. Surly I am one of them)

6. You can't play with cats.. you can play with dogs.. big nice dog like Damien(my friend's boxer) you can play with when you are bored in your house. Scores- Dog ->6 Cat->0 and fat pig of a room-mate -> -500


So dogs win.. cats lose.

PaulB91

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34746139

In war of dogs vs. cats, the winner is clear

AP poll finds that 74 percent of people like dogs, while 41 percent like cats



Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34746139#ixzz0kth3Eoda

gaz wac

1. cant walk a cat? see Honerbrights post
2. My cat moo goes to the toilet outside, own little patch
3. dont wait for you at the door? Moo knows the sound of my engine when i come home so she runs to the back door and waits for me ( we used to have a sliding door but she still waits on the wrong place, so i hit her eveytime i open the door )
4. If i call Moo, she will come running to me and will brush up while she is getting a belly rub
5. ehh same as number 2, yer man is running out of points
6. I play hide and seek and chasing with her..he used to even play fetch with a rolled up ball of foil !!

dogs eat their on poo, nuff said :eek:

/thread

PaulB91

i can tell you one thing for sure, cat's are not that clever - too be honest i used to think they where, that was before i started walking four large dogs all of whom would like nothing more than to get eye to eye with a cat, there is one particular piece to my route where there are lots of cats, the dogs know it and are desperate to get to them (don't worry they are all on leads and not aloud anywhere near the cats) anyway one night i was walking down the road, country road, only slightly wider than single width, houses and gardens both sides we saw four cats one after the other, first one saw us coming and went under a car, second one saw us and ran across our path rather than opposite direction, third one walked towards us, stopped, and sprinted away last one lost one of his nine lives as he decided to just duck his head in the bush, two of my dogs went towards him at pace and if it wasn't for me they would have had him

honerbright

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3563509/Wet-paws-alert-cat-owners-to-blaze

A cat has saved a Central Otago couple who were within a whisker of being engulfed by a "raging inferno".
Maceo the cat woke his Arrowtown owners at 3am on Wednesday by wetting his paws in the toilet bowl and walking on their faces.
Kate Gatonyi and partner Bevan Garland awoke to find a fire just three metres from their bedroom window.
A neighbour's shed had caught fire and the flames were spreading to the couple's garage and gas bottles.
Gatonyi said Maceo often played with water but had never put his feet in the toilet bowl.
He usually just meowed if he wanted to get attention at night, she said.
"The cat was putting his paws in the toilet bowl and then walking over our faces. He did it about three times. I was thinking, `Why is he doing that?' That is what woke me up," she said.
"I looked out the side of my eye and thought, `What is all that colour out there?' I opened up my blinds and there was a raging inferno.
"It had nearly got to my fence. The neighbour next door was wetting our fence, but it would have gone to the garage, the car, the gas bottles and our bedroom. It was quite scary."
Gatonyi praised the cat's alarm-raising brilliance and said he would be rewarded.
"He's a hero in my world," she said. "I think he was fantastic.
"He is going to get a lot of biscuits."

morganafay

I love them both, but prefer cats

Dogs are lovely, they're really lovely, but can be annoying because (well mine anyway) are silly, they need watching all the time to make sure they're not causing trouble, they need much more work (cleaning up after, grooming, walks) and they bark, etc. But they are lovely . . .

Cats are still cuddly, loving, affectionate, and they are easier to look after. Once they grow out of the kitten stage then they're not annoying. They're cleaner and neater, easier to have in the house. And I think they are smarter and have a more complex personality which makes them more interesting.

pitbull_fanatic

cats stink and they dont do anything!!! would a cat save a man from a bull?? i dont thinkso some how!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9CtnF5grM

Graces7

I would not recognise my cats from some of the things written here about cats..

When I came to Ireland, I brought the last 3 of my Siamese with me.

When I went across fields for a walk, the three of them would follow me. We used to walk miles like that... When twin orphan lambs were added to the family, they joined the line.. as did the hen we took in.

My present 2 cats are rescues; and are utterly affectionate and loyal. And clean.

I now have two dogs; love them dearly but they are totally different and at the end of the day it is still a relief to get back to the cats.

Dogs are more restless than cats.

Just....different is all. Too different to compare.

Earth Traveller

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill

Mink

It's like I am a mere peasant residing in my cat's kingdom.

In fairness though, both my cats run to meet me & the OH at the door when we get home, they make good hot water bottles at night & they always come & cheer me up if I'm upset over something. It's so weird, they get uber affectionate if I'm having a cry over something. Very sweet.

My house does not smell like a cat's ass thank you very much, I clean the trays!

At the end of the day an animal will give back as much affection as you give it.

morganafay

pitbull_fanatic wrote: »

cats stink

LOL, how do cats stink? Cat's don't smell at all.

Tootle

I've always been a cat person and now I have a puppy. Cats are far less work, thats for sure. I'm still waiting to see this whole Loyality and intelligence from my pup, but so far my old cat wins hands down. I still adore my pup, its just cats are more independent and easier, and cleaner and less smelly

Noopti

Seriously, comparing cats and dogs is ridiculous. They are so different, and the only reason they are compared is becase they are the two most popualr pets. However in the interest of staying on topic

From my point of view, dogs are far superior for what I want from a pet. I want a pet that is a complete companion, I can play with, take for a walk and that I can train. Also trotting out the usual arguments here, but dogs save lives, help blind people lead more "normal" lives, help autistic children, find drugs, police, find explosives etc etc etc etc

For some people dogs are too much work, time and money - so they get a cat. I think Cats could be easier compared to say...Rabbits.

PaulB91

Noopti wrote: »

For some people dogs are too much work, time and money - so they get a cat. I think Cats could be easier compared to say...Rabbits.

or goldfish ;o)

Dacelonid

My problem with Cats is that their owners seem to think it is acceptable to allow the little f*ckers to roam wherever they want. I have a dog, and have no problem picking up its doings, but I don't want to have to clean up cat droppings from my front garden, or to listen to my dog go nuts barking trying to get to the cat that thinks its funny to sit on top of the wall where the dog can't get her.
If people allowed dogs to roam as cats are allowed to, people would be up in arms about it, but yet it is acceptable for cat owners to do it.

NothingMan

Dacelonid wrote: »

My problem with Cats is that their owners seem to think it is acceptable to allow the little f*ckers to roam wherever they want. I have a dog, and have no problem picking up its doings, but I don't want to have to clean up cat droppings from my front garden, or to listen to my dog go nuts barking trying to get to the cat that thinks its funny to sit on top of the wall where the dog can't get her.
If people allowed dogs to roam as cats are allowed to, people would be up in arms about it, but yet it is acceptable for cat owners to do it.

We've had 3 dogs in my lifetime, granted 1 I don't remember but my dog use to wander the streets of Tallaght. Everyone knew and loved him. Met him around the place all the time.

The dog I am too young to remember use to leave the house everyday at 2:25 to meet my sisters after school. Dog's can wander around until some uppity person with a fear of dogs calls in the warden. (Granted, said dog use to also drink everyones milk )

Whispered

Ah I know it's annoying Dacelonid but it's just a lighthearted thread,

I love love love my dog. Anybody here who takes any bit of notice of me on the forum here knows that. But I'm definately a cat person. I have realised that more than ever since getting my dog.

The cats like me for me. They don't need me. They are with me because I am their family, even though they know there is probably better places out there.

I like that they are more independent, and act more like an equal.

So who would you prefer to come home to in the evening;

"you're so great, AMAZING, I love you, isn't this a great day, lets play games, wow this is so much fun, chase me, look at me, what did you do today, did you miss meeeee, I missed you, rub my belly!"

or

"Hey, how was your day, here's a hug"

PaulB91

helena.ryan wrote: »

So who would you prefer to come home to in the evening;

"you're so great, AMAZING, I love you, isn't this a great day, lets play games, wow this is so much fun, chase me, look at me, what did you do today, did you miss meeeee, I missed you, rub my belly!"

or

"Hey, how was your day, here's a hug"

isn't it more like

"you're so great, AMAZING, I love you, isn't this a great day, lets play games, wow this is so much fun, chase me, look at me, what did you do today, did you miss meeeee, I missed you, rub my belly!"

or

"where's my dinner, i brought you a dead mouse in exchange for tinned food"

gaz wac

Dacelonid wrote: »

or to listen to my dog go nuts barking trying to get to the cat that thinks its funny to sit on top of the wall where the dog can't get her.
.

great mental picture in my head

tk123

Tootle wrote: »

I've always been a cat person and now I have a puppy. Cats are far less work, thats for sure. I'm still waiting to see this whole Loyality and intelligence from my pup, but so far my old cat wins hands down. I still adore my pup, its just cats are more independent and easier, and cleaner and less smelly

+1
We're the same - a 9 month old puppy and a cat for 6 years before him. Puppies are dumb compared to kittens! And the MESS - he takes a drink and the water is still dripping out of his mouth 5 mins later - the cat would never let himself get in such a state lol.

bad2dabone

hi, i love both and really they're very different creatures. When i was growing up we always had dogs, and my dad bred jack russells for a time, they're great dogs. I know a lot of people really hate cats, and to be honest before I got a cat I used to think dogs were better.
But now i'm converted, my cat has just got so much personality, he's very funny - I'm convinced he actually has a sense of humor, and because you have to essentially earn his affection to me it's worth more.
there's a quote from meet the parents which holds true

See, Greg, if you yell at a dog, his ears will go down and his tail will cover his genitals even if he's done nothing wrong. It's very easy to break a dog. But cats make you work for their affection. Cats don't sell out like dogs do.

also dogs make the house stink in my opinion, my cat poops in the same spot in the back garden and buries it. Dogs stink of piss. Any dog owner who denies this has just gotten used to it. My brother has a jack russell and its the first thing you smell when walking in the door of his house - dog piss. Cats are cleaner.

and one more thing - he's super cute, we were packing for going away for a weekend and left the suitcase in the kitchen, Mister Cat fell asleep in the clothes

gaz wac

^^^^

reminds me of this

Noopti

helena.ryan wrote: »

The cats like me for me my food. They don't need me. They are with me because I am their family feed them, even though they know there is probably better places out there if someone else feeds them that they will choose them as their new food overlord to pretend to love .

Fixed....

Whispered

PaulB91 wrote: »

isn't it more like
.....

or

"where's my dinner, i brought you a dead mouse in exchange for tinned food"

I would be willing to bet you have never owned a cat. People who think cats are like this, usually don't know one. I feel like my kitties love me more than my dog does. The dog will run to anybody, lick anybody, do his tricks for anybody. The cats, they hate everyone but me.

Also cats are smart enough to pretend not to understand when you try to train them.

EDITED TO SAY: Noopti - stop being mean. Say which you like more but don't question a cats love for their slave owner

PaulB91

cats are evil dogs are good - it's simple dogs want to please you cats want you to please them