Dogs vs. Cats

2

Comments

  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    At the risk of being extremely annoying, may I remind everyone not to get too aggressive over this?

    I've never had a rabbit, but one of my best friend rescued one who was abandoned in the park where she works. From this one example, I'd say rabbits are very close to cats, except they're much more fragile, don't purr and eat different food.
    She also has rats and I've always loved rats and found them awesome, but having cats I'm a bit scared of what could happen to them. It wasn't a problem with my guinea pig, but I suspect it's because the one cat was too old, and the other one joined the house after the guinea pig and seemed to consider her his mom (and oh god did he love her. Kept licking her clean, we joked that he was trying to get a taste of her).

    I think kittens are adorable, but to be honest I prefer adult cats. It seems to me by that time they have a more established personality and are more interesting individuals. You do tend to have closer bounds if you've known them since they were kittens, though.

    I think a lot of it is misunderstanding (I said that before, I thing). I just don't understand how dogs work. I realise the have a very established hierarchy and stuff like that, but I couldn't have a pet who's trained so much, because I'd never know if they do things because they want to, or because they think I want them to, because they're trained to, or because they don't even know they have a choice. I'm always confident that whatever my cats do, they do it because they feel like it, so I don't have to worry about that kind of stuff.

    I know that finding cats creepy isn't that rare. They're more quiet and silent, so you might turn around and there is a cat there, just sitting and watching you. Some people are freaked out by that, but as far as I'm concerned (with my own cats) it's such a loving stare with a big smile, to me it's more of a nice surprise to see one of my cats was watching me lovingly, making sure not to disturb whatever I was doing. But there again, if you don't know body language, they might as well be saying "I'm watching youuuu..." menacingly for all you know, so I can understand finding that creepy.
    I also like how they come close to you and put their paw on you gently, kinda like they're saying "heya, what's up?" although I wish Lumpy wouldn't do it in my sleep quite that often :p

    My cats always come and greet me when I come home, and they usually come when I call them. Just not if they don't feel like it. So these things aren't unique to dogs, I guess the difference would be a dog would be more likely to put its front paws on you and try to lick you, and a cat would be more likely to rub against your legs and purr, but in the end I'd say the message ("I'm glad you're back, I missed you") is just the same.
    Don't get me wrong, cats kept in the house are fine (or kept under supervision outside the home, like dogs), and quite nice. But when they are given free roam of other peoples property, thats where i draw the line. I just don't see the point of pets which spend must of their time elsewhere. I'm sure plenty of people would get equally annoyed if i chucked my rabbit over the fence let my rabbit loose in their gardens, eating their plants. What people keep as pets is their own business, but it shouldn't affect others.

    Oh and Cat fights are annoying. Especially when they happen in your driveway at 2 in the morning...
  • edited June 2010
    Pale Man wrote: »
    I've never once seen a cat that was attempting to kill humans. The worst any cat I've ever seen has done is accidentally draw blood while playing, I've never seen one actually trying to hurt someone, unless it was horrified or being harrassed.

    Yeah, well, that cat would do it without provocation. It did look rather abused when we took it in, though; half its tail was gone when we found it.
  • edited June 2010
    Friar wrote: »
    Don't get me wrong, cats kept in the house are fine (or kept under supervision outside the home, like dogs), and quite nice. But when they are given free roam of other peoples property, thats where i draw the line. I just don't see the point of pets which spend must of their time elsewhere. I'm sure plenty of people would get equally annoyed if i chucked my rabbit over the fence let my rabbit loose in their gardens, eating their plants. What people keep as pets is their own business, but it shouldn't affect others.

    Oh and Cat fights are annoying. Especially when they happen in your driveway at 2 in the morning...

    I think people who live in the city and let their cats roam free should be slapped.
  • edited June 2010
    Dunno i like cats a lot more due to many different reasons but there also exist a few nice dogs. What i can't stand are those tiny things who bark all the time or seem to get a heart attack any second. Those who are big as a horse are weird as well.
  • edited June 2010
    You're allowed not to like pets, Power46, by the way. Don't want you to be made to feel guilty. As long as you don't get pets for the purpose of torturing them or something like that, as far as I'm concerned it doesn't mean anything negative about you. It's not like you get to decide what you like and dislike.

    Although that story about this cat just confuses me. I can't tell if the cat was insane or had gone through hell (or was insane due to going through hell or something).

    Cats do grab people's ankles and then run away as a form of play, but usually as kittens and they learn pretty fast that they're supposed to play with strings or lasers or toys, and that no part of a human is a toy. It's actually fairly easy to teach them that, although I've known people who didn't teach it to their cat as a kitten and, well, the more they do it, the harder it gets for them to understand why you want to stop them now when it was fine before.
    Especially since you were having so much fun! Note that for a cat, screaming (in a high-pitched tone) or chasing them means you're having fun and playing along (either as the play, or as the predator, meaning they're playing the prey now).

    Anyways, I'm sure some cats are aggressive, and well, cats generally don't hiss when they attack you in a playful way. Actually, the way to stop them IS hissing at them (or replicating it) so they know you're not playing or having fun and you're upset. So yeah, it either hated your sister, was scared of her or both, if it did that.

    Claws fully extended doesn't mean much though. Playing, for a cat, is hunting. They play with each other with claws fully extended and bite each other and stuff, too. They don't go the whole way, so for instance my cats never draw blood with each other, but sometimes there is fur flying. The fur that protects them and that we humans don't have.
    That's why it's good to teach them early on that humans aren't toys, even if when they're kittens they don't hurt you even with their claws and fangs, later they will if they still think you're a playmate in the same way other cats are.

    EDIT:
    Friar wrote: »
    Don't get me wrong, cats kept in the house are fine (or kept under supervision outside the home, like dogs), and quite nice. But when they are given free roam of other peoples property, thats where i draw the line.

    I totally get that. At that point, somewhere along the line, it stops being your pet and becomes a stray you give food to, or something. I certainly understand why you'd be annoyed to find your garden damaged by any animal, and be annoyed at the owner if the animal has one.
    I've almost always lived in apartments so I can't say I know what it's like for animals to come onto your property and damage it. I personally only ever let my cats out on some sort of leash or in an enclosed place, I realise they're my pets and shouldn't be imposed on other people. I already often feel bad when talking about them or posting picture because I can see how other people wouldn't care at all and that would mostly be annoying :p

    Plus, pets are pets for a reason. They're social animals. They like being around people. If they're out all day, I can see how they'd feel unhappy and lonely. I mean, strays don't typically go live in the woods and hunt for their food and stuff. They stick around where people live and go see them.
  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    You're allowed not to like pets, Power46, by the way. Don't want you to be made to feel guilty.

    I know. And I don't feel guilty.

    That cat would also attack you if you tried to pet it. After rubbing up against you, meowing like it wanted to be petted. It was most likely insane from being abused in some way before we had it. We actually found the other half of the tail on the street, so it was most likely ran over by a car, and part of its fur was gone.
  • edited June 2010
    That makes sense. Sounds like a cat who wanted to be petted, but the second you'd try to pet it, its fear from being beaten or otherwise abused caused him to go into "self-defence" mode. That's sad :(
  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    That makes sense. Sounds like a cat who wanted to be petted, but the second you'd try to pet it, its fear from being beaten or otherwise abused caused him to go into "self-defence" mode. That's sad :(

    That may be true. It doesn't mean it is not a mean cat, though.
  • edited June 2010
    Friar wrote: »
    Don't get me wrong, cats kept in the house are fine (or kept under supervision outside the home, like dogs), and quite nice. But when they are given free roam of other peoples property, thats where i draw the line. I just don't see the point of pets which spend must of their time elsewhere. I'm sure plenty of people would get equally annoyed if i chucked my rabbit over the fence let my rabbit loose in their gardens, eating their plants. What people keep as pets is their own business, but it shouldn't affect others.

    Oh and Cat fights are annoying. Especially when they happen in your driveway at 2 in the morning...

    Cats are independent animals, those that keep them inside (without good reason, such as injury) are the worst. People I know have never had a problem with cats, if they do there are products which keep cats away. A male domestic cat has a range o 484.2 m in a rural area, should you confine it? Dogs by their very nature are a submissive creature, yet the majority of cats require solitary time.

    Keeping a cat inside a house is tantamount to keeping a horse in a stable all of the time, it's incredibly cruel.
  • edited June 2010
    Power46 wrote: »
    That may be true. It doesn't mean it is not a mean cat, though.

    I don't know about that. Would you say that for instance a woman who was raped and beaten for years and doesn't let men touch her as a result is mean? Sure she might scream and slap you if you happen to tap her shoulder because she's dropped something, but it's not like she's doing it without any reason behind it.

    I don't think you should expect the same from a creature who has been abused and one who hasn't. They require different care.

    I find it absolutely normal that a victim of abuse would need a lot of time to be able to trust again and things would require to be taken slowly. I'm not accusing your family either, it's not like everyone is able to deal with these things. It seems to me with different owners the cat would have been happier, as would you guys have been with a different pet.
  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    I don't know about that. Would you say that for instance a woman who was raped and beaten for years and doesn't let men touch her as a result is mean? Sure she might scream and slap you if you happen to tap her shoulder because she's dropped something, but it's not like she's doing it without any reason behind it.

    I don't think you should expect the same from a creature who has been abused and one who hasn't. They require different care.

    I find it absolutely normal that a victim of abuse would need a lot of time to be able to trust again and things would require to be taken slowly. I'm not accusing your family either, it's not like everyone is able to deal with these things. It seems to me with different owners the cat would have been happier, as would you guys have been with a different pet.

    Maybe I should say that it doesn't mean I should like it, nor does it mean I should really feel sorry for it. I don't like feeling sorry for things or people. It feels horrible to me, as I feel emotions to a great extreme.
  • edited June 2010
    patters wrote: »
    Cats are independent animals, those that keep them inside (without good reason, such as injury) are the worst. People I know have never had a problem with cats, if they do there are products which keep cats away. A male domestic cat has a range o 484.2 m in a rural area, should you confine it? Dogs by their very nature are a submissive creature, yet the majority of cats require solitary time.

    Keeping a cat inside a house is tantamount to keeping a horse in a stable all of the time, it's incredibly cruel.

    Well, if you can't keep them in your property, should you really keep them at all? I wouldn't expect someone in a town or city to keep a horse in their backgarden, and let it roam the streets when it felt like it. For instance, rabbits are used to large field, and larger warren complexes, but ours makes do with our garden, and his double-decker hutch, and is happy enough. Animals make the most of what they have, and if they don't know any different, how can they want it?

    Plus won't cats get solitary time whilst you are at work/college/whatever?
  • edited June 2010
    I guess I see what you mean. Yeah, if something/someone is horrible to you, you're entitled to dislike them and don't have to be sorry for them, no matter what they've gone through. I would agree with that.
    Doesn't mean I will personally dislike them or that I won't try to help them, but I'm not going to blame you. It's not like you're the one who abused them after all.
  • edited June 2010
    I had a dog, he drooled all over me. So I got three cats. They're awesome.
  • edited June 2010
    splash1 wrote: »
    I had a dog, he drooled all over me. So I got three cats. They're awesome.

    For some reason, you reminded me of this!
  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    I guess I see what you mean. Yeah, if something/someone is horrible to you, you're entitled to dislike them and don't have to be sorry for them, no matter what they've gone through. I would agree with that.
    Doesn't mean I will personally dislike them or that I won't try to help them, but I'm not going to blame you. It's not like you're the one who abused them after all.

    Then we are in agreement. Nice talking to you, Avistew.
  • edited June 2010
    Friar wrote: »
    Plus won't cats get solitary time whilst you are at work/college/whatever?

    Or when you're sleeping. Or when they're in their spot. Or whenever they're in a part of the house/apartment where you're not.
    Honestly, cats and dogs aren't meant for roaming free in cities, where they're likely to be ran over any second. And I sincerely agree with Friar that if you have a pet, it's not everyone's job to barricade their properties to keep your cat out. It's your responsibility wherever the cat goes. And if you just want to feed them and let them live outside, I don't think you can call them your pet. Obviously your home isn't their home, it's their hotel or something.

    There is also a difference between keeping a bet in a cage-sized place or in an apartment or house where they can run around. It's like with fish. putting them in these tiny round bowls is probably pretty bad for them because it's so tiny, but if you have a bigger tank, they don't need a lake/river/ocean (depending on the type of fish).

    My cats stay in or go outside in an enclosed space (balcony, patio) or in a monitored way (for instance on a leash, or where I can always see them) and while you're free to believe that makes me a monster, they're happy cats and don't bother anyone. It just seems outrageous to me that some people would think that just because they own a pet, everyone else has to put up with them. They're my pets, they're my responsibility, not anyone else's.
  • edited June 2010
    I voted cats.

    I like dogs too, just more of a cat person. I have 2 currently, Ezzie and Azlan. [yeah yeah I know it's a terrible name....]


    edit: a lot of my neighbors have outdoor cats, that shit is so annoying, they just fight each other all the time and I have to hear it, plus they wander into my backyard and try to start fights with my cats who happen to be looking out the window. Also they try to kill the squirrels and birds which I feed, so that's annoying as well. My cat brothers live inside, and they do just fine. Sometimes I take them out in the backyard for 5 or 10 minutes in the summer as long as they behave themselves. Or if it snows...
  • edited June 2010
    I feel that cats are intelligent and manipulative, generally selfish.

    Aparrently scientists have found cats give off a scent that makes women calmer, so that could explain all them crazy cat ladys lol

    I have a feeling more Girls will say cats, Im a Boy and prefer dogs

    Dogs express more emotion and respond more to your own. have that pack mentallity but for the love of bunnies dont ever get the pack leader puppy they are very difficult to train.

    As a child I used to think that all Dogs were Boys and all Cats were female lol
  • edited June 2010
    Dage wrote: »
    As a child I used to think that all Dogs were Boys and all Cats were female lol

    Really? That's weird. How did you think they reproduced? I mean, I guess I can see how an all-female species could reproduce, with the XX thing, but with only males? What would happen if some ended up as XX or YY? And how would they carry the babies?

    Well, I guess you were a kid, it's not the kind of thing that you think through :p
  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    That makes sense. Sounds like a cat who wanted to be petted, but the second you'd try to pet it, its fear from being beaten or otherwise abused caused him to go into "self-defence" mode. That's sad :(

    Or it could just be one of those odd aggressive cats.

    I used to work at a veterinary hospital and one of the tech's had this cat that was pretty mean to everyone, except a few people. That cat loved me, and would rub up against me, lay on my lap, purr and all that jazz. She let me pet her, but if I pet her 'the wrong way' or tried to pick her up there's no doubt in my mind she would have torn me to shreds. :)

    Also I couldn't approach her while she was in her room, or 'cage/run' thingy [she lived at the vet] that was her territory and off limits to anyone except her owner. :)

    Also, no history of abuse.
  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2010
    I like both. Any particular preference would depend on the specific dog/cat.

    I've been hurt by a cat, but it was completely my own fault. Someone was mowing the lawn, I came up behind the cat to take it inside. It couldn't hear me approach over the noise of the lawnmower so when I went to pick it up it was massively startled, and reacted by raking its claws down the inside of my forearm. Weird thing is that it wasn't at all painful at first - I still remember looking down at my arm impassively and thinking the amount of blood coming out was quite cool. :p

    That happened about 15 years ago and I still have a couple of thin white scars on my wrist/forearm.
  • edited June 2010
    I've been cut countless times, although none were really severe, just enough to be itchy and leave a mark for a week or two. Almost all were from playing/roughhousing.

    I have been bitten twice though, badly. Let me tell you, it hurts a lot.
    The first time was trying to take this one cat out of a carrier at work, it was really, really busy and I was in a hurry, so I wasn't as cautious as I should've been. The second time, I accidentally closed the window on one of my cat's toes, and he bit me in a panick when I went to open it back up. He was ok, better than I was in fact. :o
  • edited June 2010
    Friar wrote: »
    I'm sure plenty of people would get equally annoyed if i chucked my rabbit over the fence let my rabbit loose in their gardens, eating their plants.

    I used to let my rabbits run free in the backyard...which eventually led to them having free run of the neighborhood. It was really cute. :p
  • edited June 2010
    I think Chickens make great pets for intelligent people, if you have all the supplies to raise them properly. [and lovingly]
  • edited June 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    Really? That's weird. How did you think they reproduced? I mean, I guess I can see how an all-female species could reproduce, with the XX thing, but with only males? What would happen if some ended up as XX or YY? And how would they carry the babies?

    Well, I guess you were a kid, it's not the kind of thing that you think through :p

    It was well before I understood about reproduction, Cats just seemed more femmine/girly and Dogs masculine/boyish, maybe I watched cartoons with girl cats and boy dogs lol ironically I turned out to be gay lol
  • edited June 2010
    I guess it's just hard for me to get when I was raised in a language where they're both male by default and my family had 3 male cats (not all at once, 2 then 2).
    But I'm sure I have thought weirdest thing as a kid (or even an adult :p).
  • edited June 2010
    I was part of a long, emotional, and tragic epic tale involving the betrayal of a childhood dog.

    So... although I find dogs to be very adorable at times, I prefer cats. I have found cats to be the loyal animals out of the two. Plus cats like me instantly, all I have to do is make a -meow- sound and they stop and turn around.

    But since I'm allergic to most cats... and dogs, my pet of choice is the frog. Especially those that have that deep rumbling croak. It can be very soothing to listen to.
  • edited June 2010
    Cats, without a scintilla of a shadow of a doubt. My cat is very social and intelligent, more than the dogs I've met. I don't dislike dogs, I like them too, but I prefer cats, they're better for lazy people like me. I don't have to walk them every day, and they're more independent than dogs.
  • edited June 2010
    jeeno0142 wrote: »
    Oooh! How cute!


    Thanks! 21.gif
  • edited June 2010
    Cats, as they deserve, are in lead, although they wouldn't mind because they just know that they are superior. :O)*purring*
  • edited June 2010
    taumel wrote: »
    Cats, as they deserve, are in lead, although they wouldn't mind because they just know that they are superior. :O)*purring*

    Them's fightin' words...
  • edited June 2010
    Them's fightin' words...

    Them's true words...
  • edited June 2010
    Hey, I don't mind if it's someone's opinion that cats are better, but to be so elitist about it is just so...catlike...
  • edited June 2010
    Hey, I don't mind if it's someone's opinion that cats are better, but to be so elitist about it is just so...catlike...

    I'd rather be catlike than doglike.

    Doglike = "DURRRRRRRRRR OMG FOOD, DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR OMG A HUMAN, DURRRRRRRRRRRR"
  • edited June 2010
    ...Have you ever even met a dog?
  • edited June 2010
    taumel wrote: »
    Cats, as they deserve, are in lead, although they wouldn't mind because they just know that they are superior. :O)*purring*

    Lol that was good. :)
  • edited June 2010
    Pale Man wrote: »
    Dogs are brainless slobbering clumsy oafs that destroy everything they come into contact with.

    Hey! That sounds like Sam and Max!!
  • edited June 2010
    I really don't know how someone could choose this:


    BulldogChampsBossWhiteEnglish.jpg

    Over this:

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  • edited June 2010
    Now that's silly, someone could do the same with a picture of a flat-nosed cat vs two puppies snuggling.
    Plus not everyone thinks flat-nosed pets are ugly.
    And even among people who do, that's rarely the only or main reason to like a pet :p
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