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| Dog | 62% | 2549 votes | Total: 4088 votes | |
| Cat | 38% | 1539 votes |
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Add to FavoritesIf you're trying to decide whether a dog or a cat would make a better pet, the first question is to ask yourself whether YOU would make a better dog-owner or a better cat-owner. I currently belong to both clubs, and although I prefer dogs I can understand how they might not be the best pet for everyone.
The first thing to consider is the amount of time you have to spend with your pet. Got a job that requires you to work for oh, at least 8 hours a day? For your cat...no problem. For your dog? Big problem. Although most dogs learn to adapt to their humans lifestyle, they are by nature companion animals, and generally thrive on having you nearby. Also, there's that pesky issue of having to go outside to go to the bathroom. Cats, on the other hand, use litterboxes and often don't seem to mind being alone all day. In fact, if you're home they might find you to be quite annoying. If you have the type of lifestyle in which you go away overnight a lot, a cat may be a better choice. Once grown, cats can often be left alone for a few days thanks to the miracle of self feeders. And, cats are often fine without their owners. For long absences, such as a vacation, a cat's requirement may just be a friend stopping in every few days to scoop the litter box and replenish the food and water. Dogs, on the other hand, are pack animals that generally need frequent human contact to be happy. Plus, they need to be let outside to go the bathroom several times a day. Leaving a dog for an extended period of time usually means checking them into a boarding kennel, taking them to a friend's house, or having a pet-sitter come multiple times a day.
You should also consider your emotional expectations when trying to figure out which species makes a better pet. Dogs are much more engaging, much more likely to lick your face when you're sad and run around excitedly with you when you're happy. They're always eager to go anywhere that you go, whether it be on a long walk or just to the next room. Cats, on the other hand, tend to be a little bit more aloof. If they like you, and want to curl up on your lap, they will, but most cats aren't going to just drop everything they're doing to come snuggle with you the way a dog will. (Of course, the dog probably won't be doing anything besides focusing on you, his favorite thing in the whole world.)
Even though every animal comes with their own personality, dogs can often be molded to fulfill the needs we have of them, whether it be as a hunting companion, a lapdog, or a buddy for the kids. Cats, on the other hand, usually come hardwired and generally aren't pliable to changing through methods of socialization and handling. Although some say that cats are trainable, my feeling is that there are just some cats who are good-natured enough to play along with us silly humans. A perfect example is my cat-I adopted her as a kitten, handled her a ton, exposed her to people and other animals, played with her constantly, and tried to teach her that biting was not acceptable. But...she likes to bite. As a kitten she would simultaneously purr and chomp on my hand. And now, at 5 years of age, she will rub up against my legs in affection and moments later take a bite out of my calf. If my need for a cat was something to pick up and hug and kiss each day, it would definitely not be met. But if my need was an inquisitive companion who likes to be near me but doesn't really care for being touched, than I've met my perfect match! (I'm still uncertain as to what my needs as a feline owner are!)
Hygeine is another aspect to consider. If you want to maintain a hairless home, there are a lot more non-shedding dog breeds than cat breeds. And, you will most likely have a hard time nailing down a cat breeder and can expect to shell out a lot of money. On the other hand, cats are generally very clean pets, especially indoor-only cats. You will obviously need to clean the litterbox, but for short-haired breeds there is little, if any grooming involved. Cats like to do it themselves! Dogs on the other hand, often require more grooming, tend to track in more dirt due to their pesky need to go to the bathroom outside. They are more likely to make a mess by sloppily drinking from the water bowl, whereas a cat might gently dip his paw in and lick off the water drop by drop. Each animal can be messy in their own right (cats are notorious for digging dirt out of houseplants and breaking vases) but in general, if cleanliness factors high on your list, you're probably a cat person.
As you can see, there are a lot of pluses and minuses to consider about each species when trying to decide which makes a better pet. And for the most part, your own personality and lifestyle will determine whether you find a cat or a dog to be the optimal companion. As for me-although I consider a dog to be a better fit for my lifestyle, I can appreciate the benefits of both types of animal companions.
Learn more about this author, Lindsay Horvath.
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Cat
Answering this question is hard considering the simple fact that all people differ in their taste in companionship. Dog lovers always talk about how smart and loyal their dogs are and cat fanciers like to pipe about how much personality their feline life partners possess. While both arguments hold weight in this court I think it is important to try and answer this question by scoring each animal in several categories. For the purposes of this article I will score on a winner take all super delegate basis in each category.
-Which animal is easier to potty train?
-Which animal is more loyal?
-Which animal is smarter?
_Which animal is more self sufficient?
-Which animal Is more useful to humans?
Lets start with the issue of potty training. Whether your trying to litter train your cat or yard train your dog there can be difficulties with both. Cats propose a challenge in this area due to their perceived tendencies to leave packages not randomly but because of some factor such as an unclean litter box, not being fed on time or lack of attention. Most cats I have had would only go the floor for one of these reasons. I have even heard of cases where people have managed to teach their cats to use the toilet.
In my life I have had five dogs that lived primarily in the house. It never failed that every time I thought I had trained the dog to go only outside it would just start randomly pooping and peeing on the floor. There was no rhyme or reason and no consistency in the animals timing and frequency. Maybe I'm training wrong but this seems to be the case with most dog owners I know. It would stand to reason that if the animal were intelligent enough to learn commands he should be able to figure out where to drop the remains of the day.
Round one goes to the cat.
Next up we tackle the question of loyalty. Most people would automatically give this one to the dog because of old pop culture stigmas like Lassie and Old Yeller but I think some deeper discussion is warranted. While it is true that dogs almost never want to leave their masters side where as cats sometimes don't even seem to know you exist I think cats are much more loyal than people give them credit for. You can let a cat outside and sometimes he won't come home for days but odds are he will eventually come back looking for affection (and probably food too).
Dogs are often times fitted with microchips for the simple reason that they many times if let loose unrestricted will wander off and never be seen again. This may be due more to inferior intelligence than independence from their owner but I will admit that dogs are much more dependent and unconditionally loving of their owners and it is for this reason (and also so I seem objective) that I give the nod to Fido on this one.
Round two goes to the dog.
On the issue of intelligence I think you must look past the ability of dogs to learn tricks and commands because I believe that this is a product of intense training and repetition more so than intelligence. While dogs do have the natural ability to perform certain tasks such as guarding the house and chasing down animals I feel this is a product of instinct and not intelligence.
Cats often seem to have personality and moods ranging on a much wider scale than a dogs. Dogs pretty much have 3 emotions; happy, sad, and on alert whereas cats appear to experience emotions such as boredom, indifference, and loneliness. I contend that cats possess emotional intelligence while dogs are mostly instinctual creatures.
Round three goes to kitty.
Self sufficiency is something both animals have but I think it varies in dogs according to breed. Larger hunting and sport dogs would do pretty well in the wild for a period of time but eventually they would be rooted out by larger animals such as the bear or wolf. I believe this is why you generally only see stray dogs in areas populated by humans or their waste( i.e. garbage dumps). Toy breeds are pretty much screwed without a human to feed and care for them.
Cats are very independent and self abiding. They can live in the wild largely without any human intervention for many years and if necessary they can sustain their species. It is for this reason that many feline species exist in the wild but very few canine examples exist.
Round four goes to the cat.
I feel to be fair I must give the final category to to man's best friend. Dogs are useful in may ways to humans mostly because of their hearing and smell being very sensitive. They fill many roles in our society including being great companions and guardians. I love dogs and have owned many but I feel that pound for pound cats are easier to care for, possess much more personality and and are much more relatable to humans because of their superior intellect.
Winner by split decision- Cat
Learn more about this author, Shawn Dennison.
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