Dogs or Cats?

[HEthePrimate]

I bear witness that cats are God's chosen animals. Dogs are beloved by God as well, but cats have been granted a higher station in life, and like humans, have a large measure of free agency. Besides, Koko the gorilla loves cats.

HEP

[Iggy]

Bini, I don't know what kind of cats you were around, or where you are pulling your facts from, but every single cat I have had- to date probably about 8- have been pretty intelligent.

From personal experience I have found that when you treat the cat like an intelligent sentient being, you will get the reaction of an intelligent sentient being.

The two cats I now have are brother and sister that were "rescued" from the Newport OR bay front. Some drunks thought that the kittens and Mommy living under the ramp to the docks needed to be rescued. These well meaning eejits didn't realize that the kittens were barely 5 weeks old. WAY too young to be taken from Mommy.

Mommy, being the wild cat that she was, booked out of there when the drunken bozo's snatched up her babies.

I got the two out of the five that looked closest in coloring. I had to hand feed them heavy cream mixed with a little bit of rice water. They lived in the huge pockets of my bathrobe. I used wipe-n-dipes to clean up their itty tiny kitty poops and I washed the robe daily to rid it of kitten pee.

The female weighed 1 lb 4oz when I got her. After 6 days she weighed 3 lbs. The male weighed only 8oz and it was touch and go for him. After 6 days he finally weighed in at 1 lb 6oz!

They graduated up to Gerber's strained turkey along with heavy cream for about two weeks, then I put down some dry kitten chow.

The female, Ethel, could eat the chow. To this day she still has the sharpest teeth and scalpel sharp claws. She is also the largest. She weighs about 12 lbs. The male, Fred, weighs in at 5 1/2 lbs. He is the snuggler. His nickname is: Fearless, Farting, Flip-flopping, Fuzzy Bottom, Feline Fred. Ethel gets in a snit when ever we try to attach a nick name to her.

I have talked to these two animals as though they were adult humans encased in a four legged furry body. I tell them when it is time to go to bed, and they dash into the bedroom and wait for me to get settled and turn out the light.

I have never yelled at them, or hit them or thrown things at them in anger. I have tossed small cat toys across the room for them to fetch. Fred attacks it and Ethel gives me a dirty look.

Yet if it was cat treats- edible- then she is on it in a heart beat.

Both cats understand what I am saying, they know my body language as well as I know theirs. Fred talks to us- not just meowing for food or treats. He comes running when Husband gets home from work. Waits until the shoes are off and then he talks to Hubby. Rubs up on his legs and feet and then arches his back to get picked up. He then butts his head against hubby's chin and licks hubby's chin. Then he wants down. He talks better from the floor up at ya.

Ethel waits until we are either on the sofa or in bed. Then she sits on Hubby and puts a paw on me. She doesn't want us to touch her- she wants to sit and touch us. Fine by me. As long as the claws are kept in check. She has learned by me telling her to get her claws back in, I gently hold her paw away from me, and then put it back on me and tell her, no claws, just soft paw.

We can leave both of them home alone for up to three weeks. That is the longest the water will hold out. When we go on vacation I put out three litter boxes. They normally have two. At first it was because Ethel tormented the beejeebies out of Fred when he went into the little box. Have a cover on them. So he just wouldn't go in it. He would potty on her section of the blanket in their basket bed.

I thought it was a scream- the way Fred paid her back. Anyway, I got another covered litter box. Now they both use them. One is to pee in and the other is to poop in. THEY did that on their own!!

This December they will be 8 years old. The older Ethel gets the more playful she gets. When she was a kitten she was such a sorrowful old lady- that is why I named her Ethel. Fred was a cracker. He was absolutely fearless. He still is.

I have had dogs too- I much prefer mutts. My last dog was a mix of Gordan Setter, St.Bernard and Shepard/collie mix. She was brilliant, loving, and almost always six steps ahead of my ex husband. I talked to her the same as I talked to the cats. Brilliant dog. Brilliant cats.

I prefer cats, love their attitudes. Love that I can cuddle them, that they fit just perfectly behind my knees in bed. Or as with Fred, under my chin.

[personne]

I like both, but dogs are my favorites .. I hesitate to take one or. I've had cats all died crushed. I have other animals that live outdoors only negative thing is that I can not cuddle. they are wild. We harvest fruit. the impression that dogs are our state.

I'm an expert in the training of my other animals, they are not afraid at all .. you could say it's a dog, she is not afraid of me when I lie down in the sun she jumps on my lap .. lol I could do circus.

[TheNewChristina]

My hubby and I own a dog and four cats. I am the cat person and he, the dog person. Although I love all my furbabies, I tend to favor the cats. Two of them are anti-social, but the other two are loverboys. They'll cuddle with us and sleep with us. My oldest cat is 15 and he'll come up to my husband when he gets home from work and rub up all over him! Thus my husband has to pick him up and he'll just cuddle and purr like crazy! He even gives back massages! It's cute, if you are close to him while he is on the mantle or bookshelf, and your back is turned, he will keep kneading on you with his paws. It's so cute and we just call it massaging! The other loverboy, is my cuddlebug. He even has his own pillow next to me on the bed. The dog, loves to play with my husband and be held like a baby by him. As for me, she doesn't like being held by me, although she more or less guards me at night. She will sleep at the foot of the bed, sometimes even guarding me from the cats! LOL!

[theoriginalavatar]

I have enjoyed reading all of your comments so far, thank you!

[Nikkie85]

I love both! We have two cats and one puppy. I love my cats but they only want to snuggle when they want to snuggle. The dog on the other hand is so loving! She is always happy to see me and loves to snuggle. The love a dog gives you back in return is so awesome.

I also disagree with the crate comment. My puppy loves her crate and it keeps her safe when we are at work. I think it is sad to see a dog who is always outside and no one ever comes out to play with it or pet it. We have so many dogs like this in our neighborhood and it makes me so mad! What is the point of having a animal that is just going to just walk around in the back yard all the time? We walk Macy every day and go to the dog park everyday so she gets tons of exercise.

[annamaureen]

Totally agree with you, Nikkie. Why would you get a pet that needs love and companionship, only to dump it in the backyard all day?

[Dravin]

I also disagree with the crate comment. My puppy loves her crate and it keeps her safe when we are at work.

Is this in reference to my comment? I ask because I can expound on it and then we call all pick it apart and tell me how wrong I am. :) If it is in reference to someone else's comment, well we can pick on them!

[Nikkie85]

Is this in reference to my comment? I ask because I can expound on it and then we call all pick it apart and tell me how wrong I am. :) If it is in reference to someone else's comment, well we can pick on them!

I am not sure if it was your comment or not. Someone had said that they would never crate their dog. I think crating is a wonderful way to keep you dog safe when you are not home and to help with potty training. I didn't necessary say you wrong I said I disagree:p I live in a rural area full of snakes and poisonous plants which can be dangerous to my dog so I keep her safe in her crate. Plus puppy stealing is very common and I would be worried about Macy digging under the fence. If Macy (my dog) did not get tons of exercise I would think it would be cruel to keep her pinned up all day just like I think it is cruel to have a dog on a eight inch chain at all times.

[Dravin]

Ah, okay. I never said I wouldn't crate a dog. I just did a quick ctrl + F for crate and the only instance I found was your post (in the thread) and though you might be talking about my comment. *shrug*

[SMG]

I would have to pick cats. I was very frightened by a stray dog when I was a small child and have never gotten comfortable with them, with the exception of a Pomeranian that one of my Mom's boyfriends had when I was a kid. That little poochie was sooo cute and I loved taking it on walks!

My cats have been very intelligent. I adopted one as a 5 year old and the other two as 6 month old kittens. The eldest, called Cupid, comes when I call him, "talks" to me when I come home from school or work, adores being picked up and held, likes to snuggle, greets EVERYONE at the door and likes to be near me whenever I'm home. In fact, he's sleeping in his usual spot near my computer as I type! I speak to all 3 of them as if they were human children and they respond to me.

My cats aren't much for doing "tricks" on demand, but they know when they're being scolded, praised or called to their human owners. That being said, I did some training with them when I first got them, so that they associate good behavior with things like being petted or catnip.

[Guest mirancs8]

I love dogs and like cats. So dogs are definitely my preference :) I've had a German Shepherd which was an awesome dog to have. Heck no one could come near me even my ex LOL! We also had 2 chocolate labs which were beautiful BUT they are very playful dogs so you better be ready to invest some play time or they will destroy your house unlike the German Shepherd who could have cared less about playing. If you have kids labs are great. We had a yellow lab as well and a cat.

Love all kids of animals but between cat and dog I'd say a dog. Bad thing is when you have to go away for a few days it's a pain when you have to kennel the dog. Unless you go somewhere (camping etc) where you can take the dog which is great too.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104013&id=1015435227&l=00142990d3

[Maya]

Cat defenately! Dogs sudden barking startels me... I like things to be quiet. If someone is fighting in the family I usually sneak away...