Cats or Dogs?

Mandy and I have had a long running “feud” over which is the better pet, cats or dogs. She is more of a cat person, I am (much) more partial to dogs. I even tried to convince her that it would be a great “learning opportunity” for the children if we were to get a dog last year, so they could learn responsibility, to which Mandy made it crystal clear that I was living in a fantasy world, so that subject is officially off the table for the next 20 years or so. So even though this is a somewhat silly discussion because it will be many years before we ever seriously consider obtaining yet another mouth to feed in our home, I thought it important to set the record straight as to who’s right. The following is, of course, a completely objective view of the way things are, my apologies to any cat lovers who may be offended:

Cats:

-Will not play whenever you want, will only do so on their own terms

-Cannot be trained to provide security in your home or to lead the blind

-Have personalities that are too hard to figure out, they can be playful, moody, pouty, annoyed, angry or anything in between. I can't spend that much energy on an emotional relationship with a member of another species

-Will disappear for hours at a time, you don’t know if they are breathing, sleeping, hiding, or secretly plotting nefarious ways to take over your house

-Cause me a potentially life threatening asthma attack whenever I’m around them or if I’m around anybody that’s been around them (probably should be my reason number one for preferring just about any other pet, including a hedgehog)

Dogs:

-Are ready to play whenever, wherever

-Will protect you in the case of an attacker

-Are loyal to a fault

-Can be brought to the park for a picnic, on a hike through the woods, in the car for a ride, on a campout, out for a jog, to the beach to catch frisbees…

-Can be taught many more tricks

-Lassie, Benji, Balto, Old Yeller, Scooby Doo…(need I go on)

I think my aversion to cats goes back well before my allergies got so bad around them. When I was a teenager, we had 3 cats that mainly stayed outdoors. In fact, there were times where we wouldn’t see them for days before they would show up looking for something to eat. However, I remember one instance where I was not feeling very well and was lying down on our living room couch. I don’t remember why, but one of our cats was inside at the time, so I picked it up to lie down next to me. I’m not sure if the cat had a bad dream or was spooked for some reason, but I thought we were both resting comfortably when all of a sudden the cat dug its claws deep into my leg. Afterwards, I decided that would be the last time I would ever try to bond with a feline of any type.

Having said all of this, I’m not completely oblivious of the appeal of cats to some, but when being around them cause the muscles surrounding the airways of the lungs to become tight and the air passages to swell leading to wheezing attacks and long-term shortness of breath that once lasted for 3 weeks, you tend to be somewhat biased against them.

My brother and his wife have cats in their home, I have always wondered if they’re trying to tell me something?