cats and dogs

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm thinking about getting a dog...



So I'll use the occasion to open discussion on the perennial question: Cat or dog?



Seems like most folks like one and really don't care for the other.



In my case, I really don't have much enthusiasm for cats (although let me hasten to add for our cat loving members that I fully respect their choice. It's just that it makes me uneasy having the Devil's familiar around waiting for me to fall asleep so it can steal my breath).



I know cat people think dogs are stupid and dirty; I think cats are not nearly as smart as they apparently believe themselves to be and even if they have better hygiene than dogs cat owners let them get the hell all over everything so that when you are visiting cat owners you always get the feeling they let the cat do some nasty cat business on the plate that you're eating dinner off of.



But enough about me. You?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 81
    neoneo Posts: 271member
    My computers are my pets. What else should i say?



    -Neø
  • Reply 2 of 81
    Dogs give unconditional love.



    And cats don't.



    The only cat I've ever owned, we used to take down to the creek and throw it in the waterhole just to undermine its over-inflated opinion of itself (it's not cruel - they swim perfectly well).



    Anyway, it worked a treat. Ended up not being hoity toity at all. In fact, it acted like a dog. Unfortunately, it got a tick and died.



    I want a dog again. I miss not having a dog so much. But I can't because the farm I'm living on has a blue heeler which Pa Kettle (the property owner) says "doesn't like other dogs".



    When it comes to blue heelers, this translates as "it will rip the throat out of any other dog that gets within barking distance of it."



    So no doggy for Chester. Boohoo.
  • Reply 3 of 81
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    "You're nobody until you've been owned by a cat."





    I have 3 cats now and all of them are solid black. I found that stray cats are much smarter than non-stray cats. (Open doors and even 2-way communication through gestures) However non-stray cats tend to be more affectionate and have an IQ of a brick in mud.
  • Reply 4 of 81
    tmptmp Posts: 601member
    I don't like things slobbering all over me unless they've bought me dinner and a cocktail first, so I'm more likely to go for a cat. Having said that, I'm allergic to cats, which they, evil ba$tards they are, seem to be able to sense; they seem to all want to sit in my lap and cuddle.
  • Reply 5 of 81
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    I like them both. Cats are great because, though you have to earn their love, it makes it that much nicer once you have, and cats really know how to cuddle. Dogs are great because they are always happy to see you, love to play games, and follow you around(though my cat used to follow me around)
  • Reply 6 of 81
    faust9faust9 Posts: 1,335member
    The day I can take a cat pheasant or duck hunting is the day I get rid of my Brittany or Black Lab. I don't see that happening anytime soon, so Dogs it is.
  • Reply 7 of 81
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by faust9

    The day I can take a cat pheasant or duck hunting is the day I get rid of my Brittany or Black Lab. I don't see that happening anytime soon, so Dogs it is.



    While not pheasants or ducks, my old cat was quite the hunter. And since he was very loyal to me, he would go out, slaughter small birds and rabbits and then bring me their corpses. My cat was great because he had many of the endearing qualities of a dog, but he was as lovable as a cat.
  • Reply 8 of 81
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tmp

    I don't like things slobbering all over me unless they've bought me dinner and a cocktail first, so I'm more likely to go for a cat. Having said that, I'm allergic to cats, which they, evil ba$tards they are, seem to be able to sense; they seem to all want to sit in my lap and cuddle.



    I've got that problem too, when I visit these particular friends their cats start to move in on me. I know it's because they want me dead, you can sense these things.
  • Reply 9 of 81
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I have a friend who takes their dogs to go hunting. Well, its mostly for competitions now. Dogs can do some amazing things.



    If you want to teach an animal tricks, get a dog. If you want a companion, get a cat.
  • Reply 10 of 81
    crazychestercrazychester Posts: 1,339member
    As I'm an animal lover, I don't actually mind cats that much. But I would like to see them eradicated from Oz.



    Feral cats have done some terrible damage to the delicate ecology of this country (far worse than wild dogs). They're one of those animals (along with foxes and rabbits) that should never have been allowed to come here. And, IMHO, we'd do better to get rid of them. The native animals are defenceless against them.



    There's an environmentalist dudey name Dr John Walmsley who goes around killing feral cats and making "Cat Hats" out of them (basically involves wearing the cat skin on your head - bit more of a cat mantilla than a hat really but neat anyway).
  • Reply 11 of 81
    tmptmp Posts: 601member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by addabox

    I've got that problem too, when I visit these particular friends their cats start to move in on me. I know it's because they want me dead, you can sense these things.



    They do, don't they? My friends cats give me this narrowed-eyed look of total pleasure, like they're enjoying that lovely shade of blue I'm turning. I've managed to thwart them with an inhaler, though, and they are visibly annoyed. Love that.



    This allergy has been something I've developed since living without cats- I used to have a roomate who had them. One of them was a great cat named Nosh- he was the most imperious thing in the world: in winter, he would lie in front of the fireplace so close that the fat in his stomach would feel like if you stuck a pin in him it woud leak out like canola oil, had a purr that could be hear from across the room, and would get up in my lap, circle around until he nicked a nad, and settle happily, as if it I had personally snipped his. But I know that this animal loved me (as much as an animal can love a person)- even though he usually chose to show me this by sitting on my chest and staring soulfully into my eyes, purring loudly, while I was trying to concentrate on the latest New Yorker, or Knots Landing, or whatever.



    I have wonderful memories of the dogs I grew up with, from the phenomenally smart standard poodle I grew up with (he practically mixed drinks) to the doberman who never forgot the fact that I carried her around the house as a puppy, and wanted me to carry her like that for the rest of her life, but there's something about that attitude cats have....
  • Reply 12 of 81
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by crazychester

    As I'm an animal lover, I don't actually mind cats that much. But I would like to see them eradicated from Oz.



    Feral cats have done some terrible damage to the delicate ecology of this country (far worse than wild dogs). They're one of those animals (along with foxes and rabbits) that should never have been allowed to come here. And, IMHO, we'd do better to get rid of them. The native animals are defenceless against them.



    There's an environmentalist dudey name Dr John Walmsley who goes around killing feral cats and making "Cat Hats" out of them (basically involves wearing the cat skin on your head - bit more of a cat mantilla than a hat really but neat anyway).




    This dude is more a cat-hater than an environmentalist. His cat hat thing is childish : hunters are hardly environementalists.



    Feral cats are a real issue in aussie, but they are just a part of the equation.
  • Reply 13 of 81
    akumulatorakumulator Posts: 1,111member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by crazychester

    As I'm an animal lover, I don't actually mind cats that much. But I would like to see them eradicated from Oz.





    What species of animal is not a plague in Australia? It seems I hear of something new all the time overpopulating the country. I once saw a show about these large toads in Australia taking over and cars would just swerve to hit as many as they could.
  • Reply 14 of 81
    akumulatorakumulator Posts: 1,111member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by addabox

    Cat or dog?





    I'd hold off until the hybrid comes out.
  • Reply 15 of 81
    existenceexistence Posts: 991member
    Cat.



    Unless you can get this dog (Windows Media).
  • Reply 16 of 81
    akumulatorakumulator Posts: 1,111member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Existence

    Cat.



    Unless you can get this dog (Windows Media).




    Holy shit! That's unbelievable!
  • Reply 17 of 81
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    I'm thinkin' mid-sized terrier. Them dudes is smart, but you gotta train

    em right or they'll take over. I've got a friend with a Jack Russell, and he basically runs the show. Needs to get a job.



    I think it's amazing that every breed of dog on the planet is genetically a wolf.

    It's just many generations of selective breeding that accounts for all the variation.
  • Reply 18 of 81
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Existence

    Cat.



    Unless you can get this dog (Windows Media).




    Dude, if any dog can do that, it means you should be getting a dog. I mean, think what it says about the species....
  • Reply 19 of 81
    crazychestercrazychester Posts: 1,339member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Powerdoc

    This dude is more a cat-hater than an environmentalist. His cat hat thing is childish : hunters are hardly environementalists.



    Feral cats are a real issue in aussie, but they are just a part of the equation.




    Are you familiar with what Walmsley has been trying to do? The foundation he runs has been buying up land, fencing it off, eradicating all the non-natives (that's where the cats came from), and restocking it with natives (especially those most threatened).



    I didn't just mention cats. Unless you've lived in the Australian bush and seen the damage that's been done by introduced species, I'm not sure you're really in that much of a position to comment.



    There are no second chances with this environment. It's one of a kind. We lose it, it's gone for good. Personally, I'm of the opinion that we should do whatever it takes to keep what's left.



    And it's not just Walmsley. The CSIRO (government research organization) spends millions trying to find ways to get rid of things that have no business being here.
  • Reply 20 of 81
    crazychestercrazychester Posts: 1,339member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Akumulator

    What species of animal is not a plague in Australia? It seems I hear of something new all the time overpopulating the country. I once saw a show about these large toads in Australia taking over and cars would just swerve to hit as many as they could.



    Cane toads. May the car's aim be true. They're probably worse than feral cats. They get into Kakadu National Park and one of the most pristine environments on the planet gets snafued. No thanks.



    Like I said whatever it takes. It's too special to lose.
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