Twenty & Change | Dignity in pets: Why I prefer cats to dogs

David Feimster sends the racing hot dogs out of the gate during a Hot Dog Pig Race at the 2012 York Fair. You?d never see a bunch of cats in an event like this. Daily Record/Sunday News photo by Paul Kuehnel.

When I found out about Animal Planet?s upcoming special ?The Year in Pup Culture,? in which puppies will be dressed up to represent memorable moments from 2012, one thought crossed my mind: ?There is no way a cat would be caught dead doing this.?

I have had cats my whole life, so maybe I?m a little biased in this opinion, but I?ve always thought cats made for better pets than their canine counterparts. Don?t get me wrong: I love dogs. They are a ton of fun to play with, they can actually serve public duties as guides, they can offer strong companionship to just about anyone, and they can tag along with you as you go for a jog.

But here?s the thing with cats: They don?t need their owner?s constant, undivided attention to survive each second of each day. Dogs are needy creatures, and because of that desire to love, they subject themselves to ridiculous events like ?The Year in Pup Culture.? They will let people dress them up in absurd costumes that they do not need and do not love because their human friends love to treat them like their own infant children.

Try to get a cat to wear those costumes. Go on. I?ll wait. ? OK, now that you?ve been given some sizable scratch marks all over your arms and face, let me say that cats have an unparalleled sense of pride, at least as far as domesticated animals go. They don?t need human affection to get by every day; as long as their dish has food and water, their litter box is clean and there?s a windowsill to sit on and glare out of, cats are cool with life. My family has left our cats at home alone on vacation for weeks at a time, with a friend having to just come by once a day to refill the food dish. We couldn?t have left for a day and left a dog alone in the house.

Point is, cats don?t need to please their human counterparts. You want to play with them a while? Cool, toss me that crumpled-up receipt in your back pocket. You want to leave me to my own devices? Cool, I?ll be sprawled out in this patch of sunlight if you want me later. Cats are easily contented; with dogs, you?ve got to work for it, and I just don?t feel like taking care of a child at this point in my life.

Now, of course there are certain kinds of dogs who are much more dignified than others. But most of them are just too old to care anymore. And yes, there are times when cats want some attention, and they can be more than a bit noisy about it. The kitten currently living in my apartment certainly falls in that category. But I can still just sit back and read for a few hours and let him bounce off the walls while I do so, only getting up to occasionally pick up the stuff he?s knocked over. And I know he?d never let anyone dress him up like Mitt Romney.

Source: http://www.yorkblog.com/twenty/2012/12/13/dignity-in-pets-why-i-prefer-cats-to-dogs/

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