Cats or dogs?

[Mark]

Simple enough question. Yet when I've asked it of people in the past, they've tended to get quite passionate. Surprisingly so, in fact, as they've defended their positions as cat or dog lovers. Even people who profess to hate pets have seemed to get quite steamed about it. Dunno why.

I'm a cat person. Lived with or looked after about 30 (though not all at once ) over the past 34 years. I can't imagine my life without these two, my current pets:

FLOYD



SNOOPY

So, what about you?

[Florestan]

Where's the Both option?

[Don]

Dogs all the way.  Cats are a sneaky bunch.

[MishaK]

Where's the Both option?

I think that's what "not fussy" means.

[sidoze]

cats are disgusting self-serving cunning little hedonists. They seem to hate me too as on the rare occasion I attempt to stroke the vile creature it usually ends up scratching or trying to bite me. This is one of the few animals that I would like to see presented regularly as they do at the start of Kieslowski's full-length Short Film about Killing.

[Mark]

Where's the Both option?

Sorry. It's there now.

[MishaK]

cats are disgusting self-serving cunning little hedonists. They seem to hate me too as on the rare occasion I attempt to stroke the vile creature it usually ends up scratching or trying to bite me. This is one of the few animals that I would like to see presented regularly as they do at the start of Kieslowski's full-length Short Film about Killing.

Maybe cats are just smarter than you think and they can sense that latent violent tendency in you so they don't want to be nice to you.

[Mark]

I think that's what "not fussy" means.

No, I meant to include a 'Both' option. 'Not fussy' is for people who'd be as okay with having either of them as pets as having no pets at all.

[sidoze]

Maybe cats are just smarter than you think and they can sense that latent violent tendency in you so they don't want to be nice to you.

latent violent tendency? I've never kicked the little parasite and don't intend to start anytime soon 

[orbital]

Dogs, as long as they have the character of a cat 

That's how we trained our Lucy (which looked just like this one below:)


She ended up being the most undoglike canine I've ever seen. Not affectionate, doing whatever it wants to do, not obedient at all. Then she somehow fell in love with me and started hating my wife 

I remember how we got her flown here months after we moved to New York. We went to pick her up at the airport cargo station, she got out of the cage, without showing a tiny shred of interest in us, she just started sniffing around and running in the cargo area like crazy 

She died a young age unfortunately of a hereditary disease 

[71 dB]

Neither. When I was younger I had gerbils.

[Solitary Wanderer]

Cats all the way for me. Prefered dogs when I was a kid but can't stand them now.

Heres our cat:

Gourmet
Tabby - Veteran - 13 Years

Enjoys: sleeping, eating, being petted, climbing on the kitchen bench in the wee small hours & Thai style garlic prawn tails!

[Kullervo]

Maybe cats are just smarter than you think and they can sense that latent violent tendency in you so they don't want to be nice to you.

I'm going to second that.

[Kullervo]

I love the quote from Oscar Wilde about his cats being "the visible soul" of his home. Cats can be so affectionate, but they can also be little pests. It all depends on how they were raised, I suppose. Dogs can be incredible as well but on the whole I don't like them as much. Too fearful and stupid.

[Tancata]

OMG - cats all the way.

Two cats live here. I wouldn't call them my pets, though.

Dogs need too much love  . More love than I have to give them.

Gerbils are fairly cool too. I used to have some of those. Very nice animals - a nice balance of affection and independence. Very good natured and sociable animals, and extremely cute. They die very quickly though. Only a few years at most.

Cats are bad-ass  - you have to respect that.

[Mark]

Cats are bad-ass  - you have to respect that.

Too true. You say to a dog, 'Go on boy, go fetch the stick!' Dog runs off obediently and retrieves the stick. You say to the cat, 'Go on boy, go chase the ball!' Cat looks at you, sneers and quips, 'If you want the damned ball chasing, do it yourself.'

Badass!

[Solitary Wanderer]

I've trained my cat to obey a few commands:

'Push!' and he'll open a door.

'Roll over!' he'll roll over but it only works sometimes

'Sit! he'll sit.

'Nicely!' if he takes a food treat and nearly my finger at the same time hes careful the next time.

'All gone!' after a food treat when he hears this hes knows to walk away.

'Whos that?!' he becomes very alert.

Not exactly bringing me my newspaper in the mornings but he has a certain charm

[Tancata]

Badass!

And I'll tell you something else: your hands don't stink after you stroke a cat. That's gotta count for something.

[Solitary Wanderer]

And I'll tell you something else: your hands don't stink after you stroke a cat. That's gotta count for something.

Good point;dogs stink!

I won't pet any dogs anymore.

A photograhy colleague of mine has a big, dumb dog that shoves its snout in your crotch every it sees you! Its bloody awful, I hate that! He always says 'stop that!' I wonder at prospective clients getting greeted like that when they arrive at his studio

[sidoze]

I'm going to second that.

Why am I not surprised to see dog-like behaviour from a cat lover?