Interesting. It will be interesting to see how our forum feels. Plus in this poll people don't have the benefit of both or neither. Simply which they prefer, in any capacity. I know there are quite a few hardcore cat lovers on this forum, we'll see if the numbers favour them or not.
I'm not voting as there is no option for which one would you own, I like them both but I would not own a dog as I work full time and don't think it's fair that it should be stuck indoors all day. I would have a cat but wife hates them, they scare her, kids love both and would have both.
I like dogs! ....but I LOVE cats! What really strikes me (from just observing people I know and talking to them) is that while most cat lovers also like dogs (like me) and the vast majority of people at least kinda likes both, there is a statistical peak in dog lovers who outright tell you they are hating cats, which is something I don't understand. I think I have met ONE person who really hates dogs. I have met persons who fear dogs and persons who don't particularly like any animal. But if I met somebody who told me he hates cats he was always the owner of a dog. EDIT: Also who is scared by cats? Except mummies that is.
I don't know, I think most dogs living with cats are just implicitly ordered to be lower in rank than the cats, by their pack leader (a human) while most cats don't give a f*** about hierarchy. So the dog isn't really scared of the cat, but his pack hierarchy instinct tells him he has to be. Case in point: Dogs who don't know cats and/or don't have cats in their pack hierarchy just go and kill them, just like they would kill a squirrel. A normal sized dog (I dont count Chihuahuas or similar ones here) who "lose" a fight against a house cat weren't really trying. A cat cannot kill a Dachshund, but vice versa. There is no reason for a dog to fear a cat except when the cat is attacking the dog and a human is telling the dog not to kill the cat. Which is a dick move by the human who should either enable his dog to fight back or prevent the cat from attacking the dog. The reason why the dog doesn't attack the cat is not that it fears the cat, but that it fears consequences by its pack leader, the human. I love cats, but there is a reason why there are attack dogs but no attack cats. Dogs are on a higher power level.
Oh... No. I was saying dogs are obviously preferable to cats due to being useful and loyal, rather than just using you for food like a cat.
And this sums up my opinion on the matter. (when I was a boy, i would have put dogs in the first place. I wonder if someone else noticed a similar shift in personal preferences during the passing of years)
Ah! Sorry I misinterpreted your post as an answer to my rhetorical question wbout who might be scared of cats. Well, Cats have their uses, too! I don't have mice in my house, but since I have a cat I was not once stung by a mosquito for example. The cat hears it, the cat jumps after it, the cat disposes of it. I admit I did have scratches from the cat though, when she jumped into my face at night whilehunting a mosquito... Spiders in my house? Nope. Get killed by the cat. Which is good because my wife is scared of them a bit. Unfortunately my cat seems to think that when she killed a extraordinarily big one she should fetch it. So they sometimes end up dead, legless and slurped wet... in bed. Or in my slippers. Also my cat is cuddly and makes my daughter happy. She also sits on my lap warming me in winter. Not useless at all. My wife likes dogs, and sometimes I think about having one, but then I remember that I have to walk it, and you can't leave a dog alone in the house for long, and taking it to vacations is meh. The cat is easier to handle. I'd pretty much end like the father in the "Beethoven" movies
This is actually quite a tricky one for me. I LOVE dogs, but I've more recently had cats so I feel I have a bit of a bias towards them right now :S Both are amazing pets, both with their own unique charms and uses In the end, I think I need to go with dogs out of principle XD Fun fact: From owning cats I now know that they are not, in fact, snobby slave drivers. It turns out they just LOOK like that. They are actually complete idiots (more so than dogs XD )
I figured this would make for a good poll. Looks like we've got quite the contest on our hands. I'm surprised to see that @PhoenixTheCat hasn't weighed in on the issue. I wonder what selection the jelly donut will make.
I like dogs better, but I also like cats and cats take a lot less upkeep in both time and money. I am currently without a pet, but am more likely to buy a cat despite my preference for dogs. If I want a cat I need to move to a bigger place and set aside a single room as a "Store my minis room" no cats allowed or invest in shelves with doors. I'll stick with minis instead of pets...for now.