Do you prefer dogs or cats?

We have 6 cats and a dog. Dogs are better, no question about it.

I’m a dog man, though I have had a number of pet varieties over the years. I’ve had cats and some of them were good. I’ve had ferrets that were fun but stinky. I’ve had birds, but birds don’t get affectionate unless they are handled every single day. I even had a pet fox that was very loving and playful but was a great big pain in the ass as a pet.

I prefer dogs but I love BOTH!!! I seldom have one or the other opting to have both at the same time. My last crew was 2 black labs & 2 black cats…one long hair & the other short.They ALL died of old age. Due to my age, I promised my only surviving relative that as those 4 died off that I wouldn’t replace them. He didn’t want to have to find families for them & I can appreciate that. So every time my fur baby biological clock starts ticking, I give him a call so he’ll explain to me one more time why it’s NOT a good idea!!!

I like dogs because they will (more or less) do what I tell them to do.

@LadyMarissa I think that’s horrible. Often people with pets live longer, happier lives. Rehoming one pet is not so difficult. You deserve that!!

@Acrylic Sounds like my house! Ww have three neighbors that feed but don’t spay, neuter or vaccinate.
While my husband is not thrilled with my groupies, I couldn’t be happier getting these babies used to humans and rehoming. :)

@seawulf575 Gosh, I grew up seeing a raccoon and a goat as pets, which ruined me. Ha! I’ve raised birds (eight at one time) several times, and agree they aren’t evertone’s cup of tea. Like kids they need time, patience and lots of training.

I like dogs but they are too social and too smart for me. Dogs require a lot far more time and effort than I’m willing to give them to keep them happy.

I now have 3 male cats. OK I’ll say it. Cats are dump. They don’t understand the concept of cause and effect therefore you can’t discipline them like you can a dog. Cats are very low maintenance and and make life easy when they poop and pee in their cat boxes. Of course there’s the vomiting and the hairballs…..but they are an absolute joy for me. Each with their own unique and adorable personalities. I enjoy playing with them with their cat toys. One of my cats is very shy and nervous about around others (no one would adopt him from the SPCA) but around me he’s so lovable, snuggable and huggable. In the mornings he’s very aggressive with head-butting and vocal until he gets fed. The other two are larger and fearless. Oddly all three cats get along very well. No real aggression just a little play fighting and they can at times be found sleeping next to eachother.

Cats are the superior life form.

@gondwanalon Your cats are just dumb. In my experience dogs are the dumb ones.

Cats are the best. I have no time for such a needy companion who makes excessive noise.

Yes

I admit part of my attraction for the ferals is they aren’t in my home. My old dogs are incredibly spoiled and master manipulators.

I love both, but we’ve only ever owned cats. I like the convenience of cats – it’s easy to go out for long periods of time and not have to worry about having to come home to walk them, like my friends who have dogs do. Also, when we travel, the cats can stay in the house and someone comes to feed them, easy peasy, whereas with dogs, they’d probably have to go to a kennel and around here, a kennel is at least 50 dollars a day.

I wonder if, in the future, I would ever have a dog. The other issue with dogs is when it’s cold and raining or snowing, you still have to take the dog for a walk, unless you have a fenced in yard. I love dogs, I really do, but I’m used to the freedom we get when we have cats.

I’ve had a cat that was a feral and she trusted me but was always leery. When strangers were in the house, she totally disappeared from sight.

Right now, we have four cats. The hard thing with cats, and with any pet, is the mess. Hair flies through the air. That’s the biggest mess. The litter is another thing that can be an issue. Our cats go out, especially in nice weather, and they pretty much stay around the yard and deck.

We have had two birds. I liked both of them but they do need socialization, as someone said above. These birds were both nice and they both liked me but I know when a bird is not nice, it’s hard to deal with and they can be scary and hurt.

My daughter and her friends all went through the guinea pig stage, and what a mess that was. Also fish – another fun pet but can be work with the aquarium cleanliness and the water Ph and all that. It was amazing how you can spend as much on a guinea pig or pigs as you could on cats or dogs.

Right now, we also have a red earred slider turtle which is in a tank. For the summer, his tank is on the deck. In the winter, the tank is in the living room. Different tank.

@tinyfaery You crack me up. Dogs are dummer than cats. HA! Good one!

Cats keep themselves clean, can do their toileting indoors, can sniff out bad food and don’t eat turds they find randomly, and don’t need your constant care and attention or to be told what to do.

Dogs will often eat shit. They don’t know when to stop eating food and eat almost anything, no matter how rotten or moudly. Dogs can barely function without careful maintenance and being commanded dozens of times a day—which control freaks believe makes dogs “smart”.

I prefer cats. I think no animal is superior to others, but I have had some really bad experience with dogs. I was bitten by a dog as a child. I had several close encounters with dogs, one of which I shared here. These experiences made me really cautious around dogs unless I’m absolutely sure the dog is of no harm.

One reason I prefer cats to do is because cats always let you know you mess up before attacking. It’s easy to prepare and back off and usually if you back off they will leave you alone. Dogs can attack without warning. They sometimes even come to you when you don’t even do anything to them. Dog’s bark is also much harder to dicipher than cat’s meow. You can easily tell how a cat feels through their meow. Dog’s bark just sounds the same in every situation.

Sorry for all the dog lovers out there. I don’t mean anything. I think your dogs are all great. I just have severe trauma from dogs in general.

@Kropotkin Some dogs can learn the names of objects. A lot of objects like a hundred or more.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/how-much-language-do-dogs-really-understand/

How many words can my cats learn? I don’t know but it’s pretty close to zero. My cats love getting their treats yet after 4 years of calling them by saying, “treats”, they just stare at me with that look (like WTF). But if they hear the sound of the treats (rattling in the jar) or the sound of the food can being opened then they’ll come running. They get the direct relationship with the food sound but can’t seem to connect the dots of the non-food sound (“treats”) with the food. A dog, even a dog with a low IQ could master the meaning the word “treats” PDQ.

I like both but I’m highly allergic to cats. So I put out several water bowls around my house to help out any thirsty kitties.

The feline in my avatar says, “My taxonomic order by a slight margin!” ;)

I like dogs a lot. Some of my favorite breeds are huskies and beagles.

When I was about 10 years old, we had a black German Shepherd named Eric.
One night my brother, our cousin, and I were playing Hide & Seek.
It was my turn to seek.
They were hiding somewhere in the dark, on our property.
I was across our street, with Eric.
Instead of immediately crossing the street to find them, I got Eric’s attention and pointed to our place.
Our beloved quadruped took off and I followed him right to their where they were hiding.

Dogs and horses have been so beneficial to human existence.

Wolves are some of my favorite animals, and I’ve done what I can to defend their rights to exist free from human predation and habitat destruction.

My feline friend, Roofy has some adorably canine traits.
She loves cuddling and hanging out with me; when I move to another part of my house or my yard, she almost always follows me.
Usually, if I try to stop her from jumping into my lap, she won’t take no for about her first 3 attempts.
Occasionally she’ll do a short, abruptly ended meow that sounds a like a high-pitched bark. Instead of saying “meooooooo ooooowww….”, she’ll mew something like “MEYOWP!”
Also, sometimes she’ll come when I call her!

I consider animals to be individual people.

And I do like many dogs quite a bit.

But I have been a cat lover all my life. I tend to relate to (and sympathize with) their personalities and behavior, demeanor, etc, far more than I do dogs.

I don’t know if I can answer this one.

I think I prefer dogs over cats. And then I meet an awesome cat that changes my answer.

Then I think I prefer cats over dogs. And then I meet an awesome dog that changes my answer.

And so on and so forth.

Though I will say that I’ve never met a small dog that changed my mind.

So I guess my answer is:
[large dog=cats]>small dogs

There’s a meme on Facebook that I just reposted a few weeks ago that has a photo of a dog and cat and says “a dog is able to learn up to 250 words and gestures. A dog can count up to five and can learn simple math. Equivalent human age: 3. A cat doesn’t give a fuck and is sick of your shit. Equivalent human age: 42.”

I love them both.
I have loved (deeply) both, and lost both…

Any amicable interaction with other animals is indescribably great. Relationships with other animals is a gift…

@jca2 I do love the cattitude. Dogs are usually very sweet and happy but my cat is like, what can you do for me human? It’s funny.

@MrGrimm888 I wish I could love dogs as much as you do. I still have some trauma to get over :(

Wait, I think I’ve got to amend my answer.

I’ve never met a cat that made me prefer dogs more.

But I’ve met many a small yippy dog that’s made me prefer cats more.

So I guess cats win for me overall.

Mimi. I’m sorry for your trauma.

Precaution in regards to being around other animals is not unwise. It’s smart.
Sadly, some of us are bitten or attacked by dogs. It happens. Especially when people are children. Children instinctively run or scream, in the presence of dogs. In turn. This instinctively activates some dogs to act in a undesirable manner.
Having a relationship with a dog, that would never do that is a priceless experience.

I find it relevant to note, almost all dog attacks on children are just mistakes by parents/guardians.
When children, especially very young children, are not observed closely and consistently bad things happen…