Don't let the big eyes deceive you. He is convinced that he is terrifying to all and the size of an elephant!
Why get a cat or a dog when you can get a pet lizard? #ReptileMasterRace. But yeah, if I had to choose, would go for dogs. While this has probably been argued a lot already, I find that dogs have at least a modicum of loyalty. I expect a cat would abandon you in a heartbeat to save itself, even if you'd lived with it for years. You don't hear about cats attacking wild animal to save their owners. Dogs, on the other hand....
I'd say much more than a modicum of loyalty. If you treat that dog right, you'll be hard pressed to find greater loyalty anywhere.
Of course cats can be loyal too! I admit it isn't as strong as with dogs, but there are enough stories about cats staying with their dead owners and cats attacking dogs that threaten little kids that you just can't say they have no loyalty.
In a cat's view you can become a friend or a family member if you treat it right, with enough time. For a dog you can become God. A leader that is so powerful and clever and superior in every conceivable way that they completely submit and will do everything for you, even stuff against their most basic instincts. As long as their owner is there and strong enough they can switch off their own will. I am not saying that's bad, I respect and like dogs and I am impressed by their loyalty. But personally I prefer how cats tend to stay independent creatures with a fully developed own will.
I had a Cat kill a 3' rat snake in front of the main door of the house. (the snake wasn't venomous, but they are quite aggressive) My current cat (Smokey) growls when strangers approach the house.
My cat also growls when someone knocks on the door or so. A really eerie sound. Somewhere between a purr and a hiss. There are also nice videos of cats attacking bears in North America when they approach houses. I admit that some of it may just be territorial behaviour independent from the humans, but... if you look at cats behaviour in many other situations I don't think it is too much if a stretch to say that many cats do indeed know loyalty to humans. Not being pack animals it is much less strong than dogs' loyalty though, At least in most cases.
Haha that's a good one. You can see the bear isn't really scared, mainly annoyed, but the cat is dead serious about it!
I mean no disrespect, but being "brave" and "fearless" never saved anyone. It takes real strength. So the cat might scare off a bear, but if the bear really wanted to, there is nothing the cat could do. Are cats brave? Sure! Could they actually defend you or your child from a real threat? (Like a child predator) No. The cat wouldn't be able to stop a pedophile from grabbing your child. A dog (like a German Shepherd) would be able to stop the threat.
I think everyone is aware of that. We were talking about mindset, not about effectiveness. Cats are not useful in defending your home, just as most dogs nowadays.
Awww that's a bit unfair toward the dogs! Pet dogs are pets. Even fairly big ones tend to be rather harmless. A properly trained guard dog is a pretty deadly weapon. But that comes at a price. You have to break its will and kill its character to forge it into that weapon. You cannot use it as a pet anymore then. Which is not what most people want. And today's burglars just know that: in 99% of cases a dog is no problem. They watch the house for a short time and can tell pretty quickly if it is a guard dog or a pet one, regardless of its size a pet one is not a problem, since pet dogs will react like in the video above. Defending property is something dogs have to learn. Pet dogs can easily be bribed or just ignored. Same goes for defending people. Of course there is the occasional pet that might do something but most pets will be scared to death if they see their god-leader be in trouble. Even if they are Rottweilers or the like.