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I don't hate or dislike cats, I'm just not absolutely crazy about them. I guess I just see the loyalty and love a lot easier in a dog's personality. After all, if someone came into my house and tried to attack me I have a lot more faith in my dogs that they'll protect me. I've always gotten the feeling that a cat would just wait till I was dead and the bad guy gone before it started nibbling at my dead body.
Yeah, pretty much... but that's simply because it's not within their nature (nor physical ability for domestic cats) to protect a human. And that is why I have cats AND a dog! Rudy the dog can protect our home, while the cats can focus on warming my lap.
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Originally Posted by catsmom21
I do not doubt the bonds that humans form with their dogs are profound. I had a beagle girl for a year whom I rescued. She died of a broken heart from being abandoned by her people after 8 years. She had an illness, yes, but the illness didn't HAVE to be fatal. But happy as she was with me, she missed her first family so much, she just gave up.
Cats also are capable of bonding with equal profundity.
Cats can and do form deep emotional attachments to humans, other cats, dogs, and birds to name a few. They grieve and pine from loss, just like dogs and humans.
The cat brain is organized most like the human brain, especially in the portion of the brain that houses emotions. You can look it up.
I have no doubt that cats are clever critters and I have had many cats over the years that I was close with. I must say that I remain a little bearish on the similarity of feline and human brain structure and very bearish on the similarity of feline and human "brain allocation", but I'm certain that the affection between a cat and a human is very real. What I was attempting to get at is that the relationship between cats and humans is more of an association whereas the relationship between dogs and humans is more like symbiosis and we share work.
A non-scientific observation from my experiences with dogs and cats: I've had the pleasure of living with various cats and dogs with overlapping tenures. Sometimes the cats and dogs get along, other times not. When a cat passes away, dogs that had an amicable relationship with the cat will actually grieve. When a dog passes away, cats that had an amicable relationship with the dog console the human. It's a very different soul between those two species.
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Originally Posted by jimboburnsy
It's a very different soul between those two species.
Another thought - for a dog, its pleasure lies in the doing. For a cat, its pleasure lies in the leisure that follows the doing. I hypothesize that this is also the principal difference between cat people and dog people. Do you like to do or relax?
I like cats, I just don't like litter boxes very much. Cats can be very sweet, loving, playful little creatures. And they are not as needy as dogs are...
But I prefer dogs for lots of reasons. I love playing fetch with them and taking them on walks, hikes and trips - camping, ocean, etc. They are loyal and protective. They do their "bizness" outside. They even let us dress them up in goofy Halloween costumes . How could you not love a dog?
I used to not like cats, but now prefer them to dogs
I grew up with pet dogs and canaries and didn't like cats when I was a kid because I was ignorant and thought that they were all aloof and selfish creatures.
After I grew up and moved out of my parent's home, I 1st rented a condo that allowed cats, but not dogs. I got my 1st cat from the Humane Society and I became closer to that cat than I was to my dog who I grew up with.
Even though dogs do their "bizness" outside (at least here in Hawaii) you still have to go into the yard and pick up and dispose of their feces, a childhood chore that I hated!
Now that I live in a highrise smack dab in the middle of Honolulu surrounded by dozens of other highrises, I find that cats are much easier to take care of. Litter boxes don't bother me in the least, because I just scoop it twice a day and use the toilet as a disposal.
Besides with a dog you still have take them outside for a daily walk rain or shine. Sometimes it storms here like a miniature monsoon with lighting and that's when I'm glad I have a cat, and not a dog.
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I used to not like cats, but now prefer them to dogs
