The Question that will Split the Forum

[Asphalt_World]

There is a lot of dislike of animals based on their owner's actions.

Therein lies the root of the problem for dislike of both animals.

Cat owners have (much) less control over what the animal does but this is a known risk when owning a cat - at the end of the day it's a territorial carnivore - neutering them curbs the wandering somewhat but you're never going to curb hunting and fighting - late-night screeching matches anyone!

A cat in a built-up area with dangerous places to investigate and traffic is a not a good idea.

Dogs that are allowed to defecate and are not looked after properly are equally as problematic - it's the owners that take full responsibility for this - a dog needs a lot more care and attention - and this is a known risk when owning one. I'll never understand owning a dog like a pit bull terrier to "look hard" which seems to be a common thing around where I live - the dog has no chance with an owner like that.

Don't hate the animal because of the owners is the moral here.

Whilst I totally agree that the owners are significantly to blame for issues relating to animals being a nuisance, the fact remains that I have my garden fences in and there is no way my dogs can get out. However I have yet to see a garden that is cat proof. They are such good climbers and jumpers that they can get out of gardens with ease. Have you ever seen a garden cat proofed with massive fencing around it that a cat can't climb in or out of? I certainly haven't.

Therefore even with the best will in the world and a very conscientious owner, cats can in general wander around the neighborhood going to the toilet in other peoples gardens, walking over other peoples cars and eating wildlife that other people are actually trying to attract to their gardens. And this all appears to be totally legit!

[Alienturnedhuman]

There is a lot of dislike of animals based on their owner's actions.

Therein lies the root of the problem for dislike of both animals.

Cat owners have (much) less control over what the animal does but this is a known risk when owning a cat - at the end of the day it's a territorial carnivore - neutering them curbs the wandering somewhat but you're never going to curb hunting and fighting - late-night screeching matches anyone!

A cat in a built-up area with dangerous places to investigate and traffic is a not a good idea.

Dogs that are allowed to defecate and are not looked after properly are equally as problematic - it's the owners that take full responsibility for this - a dog needs a lot more care and attention - and this is a known risk when owning one. I'll never understand owning a dog like a pit bull terrier to "look hard" which seems to be a common thing around where I live - the dog has no chance with an owner like that.

Don't hate the animal because of the owners is the moral here.

Whilst I totally agree that the owners are significantly to blame for issues relating to animals being a nuisance, the fact remains that I have my garden fences in and there is no way my dogs can get out. However I have yet to see a garden that is cat proof. They are such good climbers and jumpers that they can get out of gardens with ease. Have you ever seen a garden cat proofed with massive fencing around it that a cat can't climb in or out of? I certainly haven't.

Therefore even with the best will in the world and a very conscientious owner, cats can in general wander around the neighborhood going to the toilet in other peoples gardens, walking over other peoples cars and eating wildlife that other people are actually trying to attract to their gardens. And this all appears to be totally legit!

Dogs are pack animals which are designed to be trained to follow instruction of their pack leaders. Cats are totally different animals, they are not really domesticated creatures. They live with humans because it is convenient for them - if it stops being convenient for them they will leave.

Trying to compare and expect the behaviour of a different type of animal upon another is ludicrous. A cat going to a toilet in a garden is totally different to a dog going to the toilet in a garden because - unless the cat is ill - the cat will do it somewhere where it can bury it. Dogs will go to the toilet anywhere they feel like it. My car get covered in bird excrement, there is excrement from animals all over the place. The reason dog owners have to clear up their pet's faeces in public places is because they a) they have taken their pet there are are supervising it and b) because it is usually done on somewhere where people walk like a pavement or a path.

You may say "ah, but a cat is domesticated whereas birds are wild" - well you just said yourself that you put out food for birds, and unless you live in the middle of no where that means you are attracting birds to defecate over your neighbours' properties - and birds are even less bothered about there they choose to go than dogs are.

If you truly do appreciate the birds as nature then you'll be aware there is a food chain which is a core part of nature and natural selection. If you don't accept that then the birds are essentially your pets and if you are getting annoyed about cats going to the toilet in your garden and feel that cat owners should clear up their cat's faeces then you should pay a visit to each of your neighbours with a hose pipe and a scraper every time their car gets covered in bird poo.

[Asphalt_World]

1. I do live in the middle of nowhere now that you are asking.

2. Regardless of the fact that dogs are pack animals and cats are not (although that's not exactly true in all cases of wild cats but that's a different argument) they are both animals that are living in the environment they do because of humans. Therefore if a neighbours cat lives next door and enters my garden or house it is not unreasonable to hold the cats owners at fault?

3. As for mentioning the food chain, well that's laughable unless of course you accept that it is totally acceptable if we lived next door to each other and your cats came in to my garden and my dogs ripped them to pieces, after all it's just the food chain

Wild birds that I feed could indeed defecate on a neighbours car but then again we have to draw a line somewhere. I feed birds because despite living in the middle of nowhere the food available for them is being reduced year in year because of various changes to the environment caused by humans. Therefore I am giving a little back. However feeding the odd wild Goldfinch is slightly different from say keeping a large number of doves who would fly around the local area in large flocks and could cause quite a mess is they all chose to sit in a tree above a neighbours car!

[minchy]

There is a lot of dislike of animals based on their owner's actions.

Therein lies the root of the problem for dislike of both animals.

Cat owners have (much) less control over what the animal does but this is a known risk when owning a cat - at the end of the day it's a territorial carnivore - neutering them curbs the wandering somewhat but you're never going to curb hunting and fighting - late-night screeching matches anyone!

A cat in a built-up area with dangerous places to investigate and traffic is a not a good idea.

Dogs that are allowed to defecate and are not looked after properly are equally as problematic - it's the owners that take full responsibility for this - a dog needs a lot more care and attention - and this is a known risk when owning one. I'll never understand owning a dog like a pit bull terrier to "look hard" which seems to be a common thing around where I live - the dog has no chance with an owner like that.

Don't hate the animal because of the owners is the moral here.

You hit the nail on the head there for me. It's the dog's owners that are mainly the problem other people, but it's cats themselves that cause problems for others IMO therefore a good argument that dogs (as an animal) are better pets!

I have a few 'look at my dog, I'm hard' people around my area, some of the owners I know and even though they have staffies or rottweilers they're good owners and the dogs are really friendly and they don't have them to look hard. Others (usually in their early 20's who hang around outside shops and the like drinking special brew of frosty jacks) do have these dogs to look hard, I find it really annoys them to look at the dog and talk all cute to it, then compliment them on such a little cutesy!

Issue with a cat in my area, it's taken to s**ting in my garden. Now when my dog goes into the garden for one, or does one out on a walk, I know she's done it and I pick it up. So it's great when my little girl goes out to play in the garden and I find cat poo. I think Bill Bailey said it best - a cat pooed in his garden so he went round to confront the owner who said 'he's just marking his territory' to which Bill says 'but it's not his territory, it's mine, how about when I need the toilet I come round and s**t in a box in your kitchen!'

[RichflysVs82]

A dog took a gherkin on my golf clubs. I voted cats.

[Khazrak134]

Added a "Both" option

[Amon]

I like both and like the points that are expressed here pro and contra.

I had to think of this:
If animals could express themselves like we do, I wonder how popular us humans would be in their eyes as we are not exactly generous in sharing territory with them...

[Rachie_D]

Thank you for the both option!

[Argentum]

This is one of those threads that comes up regularly. I waited for a both option.

I came across the following a little while ago, which made me smile, and posted it on the old forum, the last time this came up.

EXCERPTS FROM A DOG'S DIARY
Day 180
8:00 am—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am—OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am—OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am—OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon—OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 pm—OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE!
4:00 pm—OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 pm—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 pm—OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
Day 181
8:00 am—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am—OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am—OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am—OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon—OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 pm—OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE!
4:00 pm—OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 pm—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 pm—OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
Day 182
8:00 am—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am—OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am—OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am—OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon—OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 pm—OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE!
1:30 pm—OOOOOOOH. BATH. BUMMER!
4:00 pm—OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 pm—OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 pm—OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
EXCERPTS FROM A CAT'S DIARY
DAY 183
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant.
DAY 184
Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair… must try this on their bed.
DAY 185
Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was… Hmmm. Not working according to plan.
DAY 186
I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid. My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth.
DAY 187
There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the foul odor of the glass tubes they call "beer". More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
DAY 188
I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird on the other hand has got to be an informant, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room, his safety is assured.
But I can wait, it is only a matter of time.

[Tufty]

I love those diaries!!

I'm not sure whether to vote cats, or both.

I've never met a cat I don't get along with, although with my grandparents' last one [a VERY traumatised rescue cat who despised men, tolerated women to a degree and refused to eat for a fortnight when we got him] it was a very strange relationship, very much on his terms, even for a cat.

Dogs on the other hand... I love retrievers and labs. Some collies I also get along with, but otherwise I tend to avoid dogs until, as with the majority of them really, they let slip the fact they are total softies.

[NeverCryWolf]

Good point about cats using the children's sandbox as their litterbox - many parents are tiddled at cat owners for letting them out on their own, since kids tend to put sand in their mouth and it has caused some illness if a cat has used the sandbox as a litterbox

In fact I have loved only one cat but it behaved like a dog, sleeping right beside me and not causing any fear at all

@ Asphalt_World, you have one of those old German Shepards, right? You don't see them often

With cats you never know what they will do next, that's the thing that makes me uneasy. A dog is way much easier. If the dog is big and showing teeth, then all you need to do is go down and not look the dog in the eyes so that it can make sure you are not an enemy.

A few years ago I agreed to look after a wolfdog for two weeks. I had never seen a wolfdog before and got a detailed description of it's behavior. It had been trained in a special way. The owner had the puppy for six months and was instructed to let it do what it wanted without interferring. So the wolfdog chew almost everything in his apartment

The point was to let the instincts develop naturally. Then after six months two guys came from Belgium and started to train the wolfdog. After that the wolfdog served as a bodyguard and a watchdog.

As an example; one night he was doing his rounds and walking with the wolfdog. He didn't see that an aggressive dog was running his way to attack him from behind. When the dog was in the air the wolfdog turned around in a split second and grabbed the dog nearly killing it. The dog had all instincts alert all the time and was fully aware of everything happening around and also capable to strike at the exact moment.

The wolfdog tried to sit in my small lap every chance it got, it was a huge black creature and so sweet and loving - I never got to see the aggressive side, heck it slept in bed with me on it's back and snoring out loud

Dogs are easier to understand and interpret. Even aggressive dogs, in fact they are the easiest to read.

Cats again, I don't know what sets them off or how to read them Hence they scare me

So it's not really rational to be afraid of small animals but not big, still the fear is real

[Asphalt_World]

@ Asphalt_World, you have one of those old German Shepards, right? You don't see them often

Almost, she is 3/4 German Shepherd and 1/4 Lab. Just coming up to her first birthday!

[NeverCryWolf]

@ Asphalt_World, you have one of those old German Shepards, right? You don't see them often

Almost, she is 3/4 German Shepherd and 1/4 Lab. Just coming up to her first birthday!

Wow, she is a beauty

And looks just like those old long-haired German Shepards, massive and big, even the ears that drop a little - IMO they started to breed German Shepards to the point where it was a miracle if the bone structure was okay. They also got smaller.

But you have a beautiful dog

[NeverCryWolf]

Here is a picture of an old German Shepard:

[Asphalt_World]

@ Asphalt_World, you have one of those old German Shepards, right? You don't see them often

Almost, she is 3/4 German Shepherd and 1/4 Lab. Just coming up to her first birthday!

Wow, she is a beauty

And looks just like those old long-haired German Shepards, massive and big, even the ears that drop a little - IMO they started to breed German Shepards to the point where it was a miracle if the bone structure was okay. They also got smaller.

But you have a beautiful dog

Thanks. She is lovely. Sadly the Kennel Club has a lot to answer for imo with it's breed standards.

German Shepherds often suffer from dreadful hip and rear leg issues due to the pathetic sloping back they are supposed to have these days. It's a real shame. The Belgian Shepherd is a much better shape.

Fortunately our Amber has a nice straight back and tall rear legs so hopefully no problem with her.

I do hate the Kennel Club though!!!

[Asphalt_World]

Here is a picture of an old German Shepard:

And sadly what too many have to look like these days to suit human image requirements, not the dogs health.

[minchy]

@ Asphalt_World, you have one of those old German Shepards, right? You don't see them often

Almost, she is 3/4 German Shepherd and 1/4 Lab. Just coming up to her first birthday!

Wow, she is a beauty

And looks just like those old long-haired German Shepards, massive and big, even the ears that drop a little - IMO they started to breed German Shepards to the point where it was a miracle if the bone structure was okay. They also got smaller.

But you have a beautiful dog

Thanks. She is lovely. Sadly the Kennel Club has a lot to answer for imo with it's breed standards.

German Shepherds often suffer from dreadful hip and rear leg issues due to the pathetic sloping back they are supposed to have these days. It's a real shame. The Belgian Shepherd is a much better shape.

Fortunately our Amber has a nice straight back and tall rear legs so hopefully no problem with her.

I do hate the Kennel Club though!!!

Exactly, don't know how many breeds have been put at serious health risk in the last 150 years or so.

German shepherds - bad rear leg joints
Cavalier King Charles - small domed skull that their brains grow too big for (can't remember the actual term)
King Charles - Breathing problems with squashed face
Pekingese - breathing problems with squashed face
Pug - breathing problems with squashed face
Rhodesian Ridgeback - back problems from rib cage being low on spine (the ridge is actually a genetic defect that not all pups are born with and some breeders cull the pups who are born healthy without it at birth!)
British Bulldog - where to start? Breathing problems, rear leg joint problems, eyesight problems, can't give birth without cesarean.

That's just off the top of my head, don't know how many more there are. Plus inbreeding is one of the causes of naturally aggressive dogs in some breeds. I really think that a true dog lover should not take any notice of breed standards and also certain breeders should be given a criminal sentence and banned from owning animals on cruelty to animal charges.

[Tufty]

@ Asphalt_World, you have one of those old German Shepards, right? You don't see them often

Almost, she is 3/4 German Shepherd and 1/4 Lab. Just coming up to her first birthday!

Wow, she is a beauty

And looks just like those old long-haired German Shepards, massive and big, even the ears that drop a little - IMO they started to breed German Shepards to the point where it was a miracle if the bone structure was okay. They also got smaller.

But you have a beautiful dog

Thanks. She is lovely. Sadly the Kennel Club has a lot to answer for imo with it's breed standards.

German Shepherds often suffer from dreadful hip and rear leg issues due to the pathetic sloping back they are supposed to have these days. It's a real shame. The Belgian Shepherd is a much better shape.

Fortunately our Amber has a nice straight back and tall rear legs so hopefully no problem with her.

I do hate the Kennel Club though!!!

Exactly, don't know how many breeds have been put at serious health risk in the last 150 years or so.

German shepherds - bad rear leg joints
Cavalier King Charles - small domed skull that their brains grow too big for (can't remember the actual term)
King Charles - Breathing problems with squashed face
Pekingese - breathing problems with squashed face
Pug - breathing problems with squashed face
Rhodesian Ridgeback - back problems from rib cage being low on spine (the ridge is actually a genetic defect that not all pups are born with and some breeders cull the pups who are born healthy without it at birth!)
British Bulldog - where to start? Breathing problems, rear leg joint problems, eyesight problems, can't give birth without cesarean.

That's just off the top of my head, don't know how many more there are. Plus inbreeding is one of the causes of naturally aggressive dogs in some breeds. I really think that a true dog lover should not take any notice of breed standards and also certain breeders should be given a criminal sentence and banned from owning animals on cruelty to animal charges.

Chihuahua - 25% of them have hip joints with a groove too shallow for the leg to stay in place.

[NeverCryWolf]

Here is a picture of an old German Shepard:

And sadly what too many have to look like these days to suit human image requirements, not the dogs health.

OMG

Thanks for the picture and the information (A_W, Minchy and Tufty). After reading your comments and remembering especially that horrid picture of the German Shepard, I didn't know what to say

Many friends have German Shepards and they all fear for the checkup, if their dog is diagnosed with A, B, C, D or even E hip dysplasia. The saddest thing is to see how worthless a dog becomes to an owner based upon the verdict, they live for the dog shows and feel that their dog is useless if it can't be a show dog

Is it breeding or something else that causes the diseases? Someone told once that after the Lassie-movies everyone wanted a Lassie-dog, people started to breed collies on public demand and in the end the collies were born with some kind of illness or abnormalities due to the mega-breeding...

Remembering that story I wanted to make sure to get a healthy and unpopular dog, so I checked the list in Finland of the most popular dogs and chose a breed that was down the list - a bearded collie.

When taking the 6 months old puppy to the vet, who fortunately proved out to be a really good one and had practiced for decades, he raged at me like a maniac when seeing the puppy's feet - they were not growing straight.

Actually he started raging after learning what I fed the puppy, following the orders the breeder had given, and according to him people are killing their dogs with the vitaminized food they give them.

The vet ordered to give normal dog food without any vitamins and blending it in buttermilk - and nothing more. He said that earlier dogs were healthy and back then there was no dog food in the stores, dogs ate what people ate and were just fine.

After feeding my puppy with normal dog food and buttermilk for three months we went for another checkup. Amazingly the feet had straightened and grew normally.

Can the vitaminized food also cause some problems for dogs, like in my case?

That picture was horrid, it gave flashbacks of young German Shepards whose legs suddenly don't carry.

How much has the Kennel Union have to do with it? Sorry, I'm not aware of these things

[Harpo]

Rescue DOGS, Police DOGS, Search DOGS, Guide DOGS... need I say anymore?

That's something you can praise the cats for : No police cat, not even a single one, ever, no matter how hard you try to tame one !

[NeverCryWolf]

Rescue DOGS, Police DOGS, Search DOGS, Guide DOGS... need I say anymore?

That's something you can praise the cats for : No police cat, not even a single one, ever, no matter how hard you try to tame one !

So what does it leave? Cats are for company at the most. Or killing rats and birds.

Dogs on the other hand can save lives and help those who can't help themself

[Water]

Dogs can have lots of useful things to do, but personally, there's something about me and dogs that does not compute.

They can like me, but we still cannot get along. And I mean not at all. I usually don't get along with animals anyway (horses are an exception) but my mind does not care about what the owner says about playfulness. If a dog jumps on me in a greeting, my mind will tell me to run to the hills at the very least. And yes, I know dogs are faster than me. It just triggers something deep down.
The strange thing is, the only animal I've ever been hurt by is a cat that attacked my knees quite ferociously. However, with the sheer size of dogs and the behavior of some of them.. I'm more scared than anything, and I don't really find them cute.

Therefore, it's cats, no matter if they're plotting to take over the world or not. Horses would win by a massive margin though.

[SnakeSVT2003]

No question about it - Dogs!!!!

No offence to cat-owners and cat-lovers but the ones I know can be a pain sometimes. Try looking through 150 photos of the precious and one and only cat while the owner is looking at you and expecting you to comment on the photos...

After a while you run out of things to say, it's the same freaking cat in every photo and I'm expected to comment on how fabulous the cat looks

Nowadays I quickly leave the table when a cat-owner digs up their photos from their bag, can't take it anymore

Surely that is the owners being the pain, not the cats? There is no doubt, there are plenty of very strange, very eccentric, very irritating cat owners out there.

Well, cats too

We have the same dilemma, my twinsister and I, some weird horror for cats. We both freeze when a cat comes in the room, if the cat jumps in the lap then it gets even more worse since people don't take the fear seriously when hearing 'take it away, take it away' - they say 'it's only a cat'. Only a cat

We are those kind of people who never visit anyone who has a cat. Once I was forced to spend the night in a house with a cat and begged my friend to close the door to the bedroom. She said that she has to hear when her father wakes her up in the morning and besides... the cat has never set foot upstairs in her bedroom.

Trusting her I fell asleep. And woke up in the middle of the night to see that the cat was on my chest staring at me one centimeter away from the face!

Her family just laughed when the cat climbed up the back of the sofa where I sat on - using claws. 'A cat can't stand another cat' ha ha ha

Only logical explanation for our fear is when a girl showed up at school with her face in bandage. They said that she had been attacked by a cat. It has to be that specific thing that put horror in us.

People see cats differently. I see them as unpredictable and ambushing animals who can anytime decide to attack you. Sure, they smell the fear, but huge and aggressive dogs are something completely different, those are easy to calm down and I have never feared a dog for showing teeth and growling.

Anyway, from my experiences even the cat-owners are sometimes afraid of their cat. Often the cat dominates their owner's life in some way. Like if a cat wakes you up every night then you get up and play with it, stories like these. Not everybody of course.

This tells it all: A woman went to the butcher to buy herrings and the finest beef they had. The butcher said: ah, you have a cat! The woman replied: yes I have, the herrings are for me and the beef is for the cat

Anyone else here afraid of cats by the way?

You'd love my cat. He isn't the type to just jump on people or even force himself on them. He lures you with his cuteness. He doesn't walk to you. You walk to him.

[Harpo]

Rescue DOGS, Police DOGS, Search DOGS, Guide DOGS... need I say anymore?

That's something you can praise the cats for : No police cat, not even a single one, ever, no matter how hard you try to tame one !

So what does it leave? Cats are for company at the most. Or killing rats and birds.

Dogs on the other hand can save lives and help those who can't help themself

One of my cats saved the life of my old neighbour... And I'm not kidding.

On the other side, you don't love people because they are useful. I hope you don't...

[MrMuttley]

Rescue DOGS, Police DOGS, Search DOGS, Guide DOGS... need I say anymore?

That's something you can praise the cats for : No police cat, not even a single one, ever, no matter how hard you try to tame one !

So what does it leave? Cats are for company at the most. Or killing rats and birds.

Dogs on the other hand can save lives and help those who can't help themself

One of my cats saved the life of my old neighbour... And I'm not kidding.

On the other side, you don't love people because they are useful. I hope you don't...

If we just went on practicality we would all drive Mondeos, Previas and Micras. An Alfa or a BMW would never make the grade.

[Harpo]

One of my cats saved the life of my old neighbour... And I'm not kidding.

On the other side, you don't love people because they are useful. I hope you don't...

If we just went on practicality we would all drive Mondeos, Previas and Micras. An Alfa or a BMW would never make the grade.

There are practical cats : Rum Rum Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, Mr Mistofefelees (the Original Conjuring Cat), Bustopher Jones, and many others, including the Gumbie Cat...

[domdonald]

My wife wanted a dog, so we got a (don't know the name in english) rough-haired Dachsund. Small, pretty cute but completely dense. Her complete stupidity drives me nuts, as does the crapping on the floor during the night no matter how many times you've been out during the day and no matter if you've taken the food bowl away. This breed of dog is well known for it's craziness and stubbornness and ours doesn't disappoint. Very well behaved generally in the house and in the car, put her outside and she'll make a break for it in an instant - so we spend a lot of time coaxing her out of neighbours' gardens when she's on cat hunt. If we take her for a walk and then let her off the lead, she'll make a run for it and would be happy to run a couple of miles just to get at a cat, or the smell of one.

Dachshunds are supposed to be hunting dogs and go crazy near cats or other animals, but for some reason, a mouse could run right past her nose and she wouldn't have a clue it was there. Totally dozy in that respect.

Dogs and cats are both users of humans for their own ends, but cats have no qualms with showing their total disdain for humans. So whilst my dog gets on my nerves, she is always the first one to greet me when I get home and the only one who continues to apparently love me no matter how much I swear at her.

[NeverCryWolf]

No question about it - Dogs!!!!

No offence to cat-owners and cat-lovers but the ones I know can be a pain sometimes. Try looking through 150 photos of the precious and one and only cat while the owner is looking at you and expecting you to comment on the photos...

After a while you run out of things to say, it's the same freaking cat in every photo and I'm expected to comment on how fabulous the cat looks

Nowadays I quickly leave the table when a cat-owner digs up their photos from their bag, can't take it anymore

Surely that is the owners being the pain, not the cats? There is no doubt, there are plenty of very strange, very eccentric, very irritating cat owners out there.

Well, cats too

We have the same dilemma, my twinsister and I, some weird horror for cats. We both freeze when a cat comes in the room, if the cat jumps in the lap then it gets even more worse since people don't take the fear seriously when hearing 'take it away, take it away' - they say 'it's only a cat'. Only a cat

We are those kind of people who never visit anyone who has a cat. Once I was forced to spend the night in a house with a cat and begged my friend to close the door to the bedroom. She said that she has to hear when her father wakes her up in the morning and besides... the cat has never set foot upstairs in her bedroom.

Trusting her I fell asleep. And woke up in the middle of the night to see that the cat was on my chest staring at me one centimeter away from the face!

Her family just laughed when the cat climbed up the back of the sofa where I sat on - using claws. 'A cat can't stand another cat' ha ha ha

Only logical explanation for our fear is when a girl showed up at school with her face in bandage. They said that she had been attacked by a cat. It has to be that specific thing that put horror in us.

People see cats differently. I see them as unpredictable and ambushing animals who can anytime decide to attack you. Sure, they smell the fear, but huge and aggressive dogs are something completely different, those are easy to calm down and I have never feared a dog for showing teeth and growling.

Anyway, from my experiences even the cat-owners are sometimes afraid of their cat. Often the cat dominates their owner's life in some way. Like if a cat wakes you up every night then you get up and play with it, stories like these. Not everybody of course.

This tells it all: A woman went to the butcher to buy herrings and the finest beef they had. The butcher said: ah, you have a cat! The woman replied: yes I have, the herrings are for me and the beef is for the cat

Anyone else here afraid of cats by the way?

You'd love my cat. He isn't the type to just jump on people or even force himself on them. He lures you with his cuteness. He doesn't walk to you. You walk to him.

I doubt that

That's a common line I hear: oh no need to be afraid, the cat has never been interested in people so you can be completely relaxed... So far all of them have taken their owners by surprise by showing immense interest in me. I sit paralyzed and beg them to take the cat away

So methinks he would walk to me. Correction: after me

[dizlexik]

Cats are better!

[SnakeSVT2003]

No question about it - Dogs!!!!

No offence to cat-owners and cat-lovers but the ones I know can be a pain sometimes. Try looking through 150 photos of the precious and one and only cat while the owner is looking at you and expecting you to comment on the photos...

After a while you run out of things to say, it's the same freaking cat in every photo and I'm expected to comment on how fabulous the cat looks

Nowadays I quickly leave the table when a cat-owner digs up their photos from their bag, can't take it anymore

Surely that is the owners being the pain, not the cats? There is no doubt, there are plenty of very strange, very eccentric, very irritating cat owners out there.

Well, cats too

We have the same dilemma, my twinsister and I, some weird horror for cats. We both freeze when a cat comes in the room, if the cat jumps in the lap then it gets even more worse since people don't take the fear seriously when hearing 'take it away, take it away' - they say 'it's only a cat'. Only a cat

We are those kind of people who never visit anyone who has a cat. Once I was forced to spend the night in a house with a cat and begged my friend to close the door to the bedroom. She said that she has to hear when her father wakes her up in the morning and besides... the cat has never set foot upstairs in her bedroom.

Trusting her I fell asleep. And woke up in the middle of the night to see that the cat was on my chest staring at me one centimeter away from the face!

Her family just laughed when the cat climbed up the back of the sofa where I sat on - using claws. 'A cat can't stand another cat' ha ha ha

Only logical explanation for our fear is when a girl showed up at school with her face in bandage. They said that she had been attacked by a cat. It has to be that specific thing that put horror in us.

People see cats differently. I see them as unpredictable and ambushing animals who can anytime decide to attack you. Sure, they smell the fear, but huge and aggressive dogs are something completely different, those are easy to calm down and I have never feared a dog for showing teeth and growling.

Anyway, from my experiences even the cat-owners are sometimes afraid of their cat. Often the cat dominates their owner's life in some way. Like if a cat wakes you up every night then you get up and play with it, stories like these. Not everybody of course.

This tells it all: A woman went to the butcher to buy herrings and the finest beef they had. The butcher said: ah, you have a cat! The woman replied: yes I have, the herrings are for me and the beef is for the cat

Anyone else here afraid of cats by the way?

You'd love my cat. He isn't the type to just jump on people or even force himself on them. He lures you with his cuteness. He doesn't walk to you. You walk to him.

I doubt that

That's a common line I hear: oh no need to be afraid, the cat has never been interested in people so you can be completely relaxed... So far all of them have taken their owners by surprise by showing immense interest in me. I sit paralyzed and beg them to take the cat away

So methinks he would walk to me. Correction: after me

You'd be surprised. When people come over, he doesn't care until they walk over to him to pet him. If they don't, he doesn't even bother with them.

BTW, I have a few friends who are afraid of cats. They don't come over unless the cat is locked in my bedroom. It's ok, really. I'm afraid of spiders and they're much smaller than cats.

[andrew]

Dogs.

[Fozzie]

Was out one night 6 year ago and when we got back my 2 Boxers were doing backflips with excitnent, and one had blood on her face so obviously thought the 2 had been fighting but looked and realised they both fine, so went in the kitchen and saw this pool of blood leading to the window and said oh s#!¥ someone broke in... So phoned the Police and they ended up checking the Hospitals and found this man with a huge chunk of his left forearm had been ripped off by my dog, and they did all the CSI stuff and he went to jail for that and some other stuff, so if you haven't guessed my vote is for Cats... No seriously, Dogs 2 million percent.

[AravJ]

We had cats and dogs growing up.
I prefer cats because i dont need to clean up their poop, and they dont require as much attention as dogs do. I find dogs a bit too clingy.

[quere]

[ManicOversteer]

After seeing the post above about 'Cats making good Hats' i had to post this. (Although I hope it was in sarcasm).

I am completely afraid of Dogs so the question itself is very easy.
But I also find Dog fanatics far more violent in general and it worries me. There are far too many Dog lovers i know that find the idea of Cat violence funny. I have not seen large evidence of the opposite.

I am afraid of Dogs but i would never wish any harm on them. Anyone who does to any animal is just sick.

[minchy]

We had cats and dogs growing up.
I prefer cats because i dont need to clean up their poop, and they dont require as much attention as dogs do. I find dogs a bit too clingy.

You, my friend, are one of the reasons I dislike cat owners. Why is it not your responsibility to clean up your cats poo? I'm guessing if you don't clean it up, then you don't use a litter tray and let your cat poo where ever it pleases? When people see dog poo on the street they throw a wobbler, but forget about all the cats that are allowed to go anywhere.

If you do use a litter tray the your first statement was a lie!

Should also say that I'm one of the good dog owners who always cleans up after my dog.

[Fozzie]

Lost count of the times i've seen the same few Cats s#!¥¥ing in my garden, and my wife has a lot of pride in the plants and flowers she has and a Cat ruined one of them, so she went to the owner and had a few choice words i don't want to type here for fear my index finger rots.

[Banana Man]

www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com

[Guia]

If you happen to be a particularly selfish, indifferent, uncaring and callous individual with a tendency towards passive-aggressive behaviour marked by a frigid and often obdurate disposition then quite obviously you will prefer cats. Otherwise, you will like dogs.

[COG]

Both, but I have no pets of my own. However, the neighbours 16 yo mog has assumed ownership of our as well as his real household and is a daily guest.