I don't know. I've been thinking about this recently and decided to put my thoughts down on paper.
A million people are excited to talk to you about how dogs are better than cats or cats are better than dogs or they are equal or they hate all animals or whatever. Although...what kind of person hates animals? I don't know.
The point is, I don't believe that one is better than the other. But, I do firmly believe that there are cat-people and dog-people and that I am a cat-person. I'd like to discuss this.
But first, I did actually read an article on this subject a while ago which made some interesting points on why some people are cat-people and some people are dog-people and I think it made a hell of a lot of sense. Do I remember what this article said? Not really. But it made a lot of sense at the time.
Let's get into it.
I am a cat person. I think it may be genetic. I can remember loving cats since before Andy Sydney was born, and that was a long time ago.
I remember the first cat I loved. His name was Punch. He was all black and he lived next door at this neighbor's house and I constantly wanted to be over there to pet him.
I can remember the time that my parents took me to FAO Schwartz and my dad called my name while putting a little mechanical white cat on the floor that started meowing and shuffling toward me. I was in love with that mechanical cat. Santa brought it for me that Christmas and I named it Snowflake. I made it a collar out of red ribbon with a paper heart name tag and I played with it constantly until its mechanics failed and it wouldn't run any more, despite all of the 9-volt batteries my dad pumped into it.
I can remember the first moment when my mom brought my first cat home in a cardboard box from the Humane Society. I knew it was my cat because of the logo on the outside of the box, and I ripped it open to find a tiny tiger cat inside who jumped out and ran into my bedroom and under the bed. I named him Cindy Fluffy Mittens Easter Sydney.
My dad and I used to play Kitty. I was the kitty and he was the owner, and the game was the same every time. I would build myself a kitty cage out of sofa cushions and he would come to the "pet store" to pick out an animal. Despite all of the other tempting animals available; snakes, hampsters, puppies, fish...he would always pick the little kitty. Then, he would bring me back to his house, put a bowl of milk on the floor for me, and the game would continue with various characters like the evil Aunt Harriet who didn't like kittens. Anyway, you get the idea.
Now, on the flip side, I can also remember hating and fearing dogs from a very young age. I can't ever remember a time where I bonded with or really felt affection for any dog when I was young. Quite frankly, I have never really bonded with or felt a ton of affection for any dog. But, that's why we're having this discussion.
When I was little, I couldn't be around dogs. I had to be held, high off the ground, sobbing, because I was so afraid when one came along. And it wasn't as though I had never been bitten by or even really threatened by a dog! I just simply did not like them.
I remember my dad's friend's dog chasing after me because I was holding a frisbee and I thought he was going to literally kill me. The terror. It was awful.
So, how can behavior like this be so visceral from such a young age? How can it be that I came out of the womb loving cats so much and disliking dogs? There must be some biological or sociological component and I would appreciate your thoughts on this, because I don't believe I am alone in this.
With maturity, I grew to appreciate dogs. I grew to not fear them at all. I made friends with the dog next door, Brewster, even though he would get so excited that he would pee on my feet. To be clear, I didn't like this. I would pet other peoples' dogs and express how handsome they were. I would throw a ball or a stick and play tug - though thoroughly grossed out by the slobber on any of these toys. The fact of the matter was - I understood that other people loved these dogs and I understood that it would be insulting for me to not respond to the dog's overtures of friendship, so I played nice with dogs.
Let's examine some of the things that really turn me off about dogs:
1) Slobber. I cannot and will not ever understand what is nice about having a dog lick you. I also do not understand why it is in any way nice to hold a tennis ball that is soaking wet with slobber and covered in grass. Or, have an encounter with a dog and then realize that there are huge spots on my pants where the dog's face has been. I am just so grossed out by it and am unable to get over it.
2) All up in your business: I have never met a dog who is not all up in my business. I do not like having any creature be all up in my business unless I have specifically solicited this behavior. I do not like being jumped on. I do not like having a nose in my crotch. I do not like fending off. Now, I acknowledge that cats can be all up in your business. I totally recognize this, because my own kitties can be kind of annoying sometimes. BUT, they are so small and relatively easily deterred! If my cat is being annoying - like bothering me while I'm trying to sleep or whatever, I can toss him away and he basically leaves me alone. And even if he won't leave me alone, at least he settles down and curls up into a little ball and is not breathing and drooling on me.
3) All dogs smell like dog. I don't care if you bring it to the groomer and wash it. They still smell fundamentally bad to me. I can't help it. And, they make the furniture and the house smell like them. I can't deal with it.
Moving on. Why cats are great:
1) They are clean. Most of the time. And I love how they are self-cleaning and how obsessive they are about this. They actually smell really good! I love burrowing my face into my kitty's neck and smelling her. She smells sweet and fresh, like the outdoors.
2) They are quiet. Most of the time. Sometimes, they make a lot of noise. But for the most part, they are SO quiet. And I love how carefully they place their paws when they are walking, so as to not disturb anything around them. Except for when they are playing or running away, in which case, they can knock over a lot of stuff.
3) They are loving in a non-obtrusive way. Kitties who love you (or at least feel some form of affection) will show you they love you by bumping heads with you, purring, rubbing up against you, or snuggling with you. Typically, this behavior is done in a quiet, gentle manner. It is the opposite of "all up in the business".
4) They are pretty. I read a quote once that said, "There is no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat." It is so true. Cats are inherently handsome animals. Their postures are so regal. Their big eyes, the way they stare at you, are so gorgeous. I spend so much time just staring at my cats, reveling in how beautiful they are, and this makes makes me very happy.
5) They are funny. There are plenty of funny dog videos out there, but cats doing funny things is that much MORE funny because they are such prideful animals. So when you see a cat doing something ridiculous, it's incredibly entertaining. Also, since cats are virtually un-trainable, whenever a cat does something cool or interesting, it's like a special treat. My Daisy loves to play fetch sometimes. Listening to her little meow when she's ready to play and carrying a toy in her mouth is a priceless moment.
That's basically it. Those are my main reasons.
But I feel the need to caveat this because there are some dogs in my life that I like, and there have certainly been cats in my life who have sucked.
I'd like to give props to the dogs who I like.
Right now that my favorite dog is my dog-niece Emmy, who belongs to my brother and his wife. I like Emmy. She's small enough such that when she wants to be up in my business, she's not overwhelming. But, what I especially like about her is the fact that I am one of her *special* people. I have been told that she loves me and that she acts differently around me than she does with other people. This makes me feel flattered, and I do not know where this is coming from, but I can appreciate what it feels like to be loved by a dog.
I lived with a roommate and his giant Rottweiler for about 6 months. I tried so hard to like that dog, and I just couldn't. He was an overwhelmingly sweet and well-trained animal. But, he wanted to be near me all the time and I couldn't deal with it. He would come and sit next to the sofa where I was lying down, and he would pant this hot breath in my face and it smelled bad. He pooped these massive, massive turds that I would pick up and gag over. And he got black fur everywhere. People think that having two long-haired cats is bad. This rottweiler shed worse than any animal that I've ever been around. I can't even. Anyway, I was trying to say something positive. This dog was a sweet dog and very well behaved.
Well, this has been a pretty pointless essay. I didn't really figure anything out and I basically just said a bunch of stuff that's already been said by a million other people. But, I felt like writing about it, and so I did.
Oh, and I found the article I was thinking about. It basically says that dog people are more extroverted and cat people are more introverted, which makes sense to me.
But it also says cat people are more anxious and impulsive. And it says dog people are agreeable and relaxed. So maybe what's going on here is that I basically suck as a human being. That could be it. I don't know. But I do know that my husband wants us to have a dog one day and I am vehemently against this plan. So we'll see what happens.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/dog-people-cat-people-science-pets_n_1594909.html
A million people are excited to talk to you about how dogs are better than cats or cats are better than dogs or they are equal or they hate all animals or whatever. Although...what kind of person hates animals? I don't know.
The point is, I don't believe that one is better than the other. But, I do firmly believe that there are cat-people and dog-people and that I am a cat-person. I'd like to discuss this.
But first, I did actually read an article on this subject a while ago which made some interesting points on why some people are cat-people and some people are dog-people and I think it made a hell of a lot of sense. Do I remember what this article said? Not really. But it made a lot of sense at the time.
Let's get into it.
I am a cat person. I think it may be genetic. I can remember loving cats since before Andy Sydney was born, and that was a long time ago.
I remember the first cat I loved. His name was Punch. He was all black and he lived next door at this neighbor's house and I constantly wanted to be over there to pet him.
I can remember the time that my parents took me to FAO Schwartz and my dad called my name while putting a little mechanical white cat on the floor that started meowing and shuffling toward me. I was in love with that mechanical cat. Santa brought it for me that Christmas and I named it Snowflake. I made it a collar out of red ribbon with a paper heart name tag and I played with it constantly until its mechanics failed and it wouldn't run any more, despite all of the 9-volt batteries my dad pumped into it.
I can remember the first moment when my mom brought my first cat home in a cardboard box from the Humane Society. I knew it was my cat because of the logo on the outside of the box, and I ripped it open to find a tiny tiger cat inside who jumped out and ran into my bedroom and under the bed. I named him Cindy Fluffy Mittens Easter Sydney.
My dad and I used to play Kitty. I was the kitty and he was the owner, and the game was the same every time. I would build myself a kitty cage out of sofa cushions and he would come to the "pet store" to pick out an animal. Despite all of the other tempting animals available; snakes, hampsters, puppies, fish...he would always pick the little kitty. Then, he would bring me back to his house, put a bowl of milk on the floor for me, and the game would continue with various characters like the evil Aunt Harriet who didn't like kittens. Anyway, you get the idea.
Now, on the flip side, I can also remember hating and fearing dogs from a very young age. I can't ever remember a time where I bonded with or really felt affection for any dog when I was young. Quite frankly, I have never really bonded with or felt a ton of affection for any dog. But, that's why we're having this discussion.
When I was little, I couldn't be around dogs. I had to be held, high off the ground, sobbing, because I was so afraid when one came along. And it wasn't as though I had never been bitten by or even really threatened by a dog! I just simply did not like them.
I remember my dad's friend's dog chasing after me because I was holding a frisbee and I thought he was going to literally kill me. The terror. It was awful.
So, how can behavior like this be so visceral from such a young age? How can it be that I came out of the womb loving cats so much and disliking dogs? There must be some biological or sociological component and I would appreciate your thoughts on this, because I don't believe I am alone in this.
With maturity, I grew to appreciate dogs. I grew to not fear them at all. I made friends with the dog next door, Brewster, even though he would get so excited that he would pee on my feet. To be clear, I didn't like this. I would pet other peoples' dogs and express how handsome they were. I would throw a ball or a stick and play tug - though thoroughly grossed out by the slobber on any of these toys. The fact of the matter was - I understood that other people loved these dogs and I understood that it would be insulting for me to not respond to the dog's overtures of friendship, so I played nice with dogs.
Let's examine some of the things that really turn me off about dogs:
1) Slobber. I cannot and will not ever understand what is nice about having a dog lick you. I also do not understand why it is in any way nice to hold a tennis ball that is soaking wet with slobber and covered in grass. Or, have an encounter with a dog and then realize that there are huge spots on my pants where the dog's face has been. I am just so grossed out by it and am unable to get over it.
2) All up in your business: I have never met a dog who is not all up in my business. I do not like having any creature be all up in my business unless I have specifically solicited this behavior. I do not like being jumped on. I do not like having a nose in my crotch. I do not like fending off. Now, I acknowledge that cats can be all up in your business. I totally recognize this, because my own kitties can be kind of annoying sometimes. BUT, they are so small and relatively easily deterred! If my cat is being annoying - like bothering me while I'm trying to sleep or whatever, I can toss him away and he basically leaves me alone. And even if he won't leave me alone, at least he settles down and curls up into a little ball and is not breathing and drooling on me.
3) All dogs smell like dog. I don't care if you bring it to the groomer and wash it. They still smell fundamentally bad to me. I can't help it. And, they make the furniture and the house smell like them. I can't deal with it.
Moving on. Why cats are great:
1) They are clean. Most of the time. And I love how they are self-cleaning and how obsessive they are about this. They actually smell really good! I love burrowing my face into my kitty's neck and smelling her. She smells sweet and fresh, like the outdoors.
2) They are quiet. Most of the time. Sometimes, they make a lot of noise. But for the most part, they are SO quiet. And I love how carefully they place their paws when they are walking, so as to not disturb anything around them. Except for when they are playing or running away, in which case, they can knock over a lot of stuff.
3) They are loving in a non-obtrusive way. Kitties who love you (or at least feel some form of affection) will show you they love you by bumping heads with you, purring, rubbing up against you, or snuggling with you. Typically, this behavior is done in a quiet, gentle manner. It is the opposite of "all up in the business".
4) They are pretty. I read a quote once that said, "There is no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat." It is so true. Cats are inherently handsome animals. Their postures are so regal. Their big eyes, the way they stare at you, are so gorgeous. I spend so much time just staring at my cats, reveling in how beautiful they are, and this makes makes me very happy.
5) They are funny. There are plenty of funny dog videos out there, but cats doing funny things is that much MORE funny because they are such prideful animals. So when you see a cat doing something ridiculous, it's incredibly entertaining. Also, since cats are virtually un-trainable, whenever a cat does something cool or interesting, it's like a special treat. My Daisy loves to play fetch sometimes. Listening to her little meow when she's ready to play and carrying a toy in her mouth is a priceless moment.
That's basically it. Those are my main reasons.
But I feel the need to caveat this because there are some dogs in my life that I like, and there have certainly been cats in my life who have sucked.
I'd like to give props to the dogs who I like.
Right now that my favorite dog is my dog-niece Emmy, who belongs to my brother and his wife. I like Emmy. She's small enough such that when she wants to be up in my business, she's not overwhelming. But, what I especially like about her is the fact that I am one of her *special* people. I have been told that she loves me and that she acts differently around me than she does with other people. This makes me feel flattered, and I do not know where this is coming from, but I can appreciate what it feels like to be loved by a dog.
I lived with a roommate and his giant Rottweiler for about 6 months. I tried so hard to like that dog, and I just couldn't. He was an overwhelmingly sweet and well-trained animal. But, he wanted to be near me all the time and I couldn't deal with it. He would come and sit next to the sofa where I was lying down, and he would pant this hot breath in my face and it smelled bad. He pooped these massive, massive turds that I would pick up and gag over. And he got black fur everywhere. People think that having two long-haired cats is bad. This rottweiler shed worse than any animal that I've ever been around. I can't even. Anyway, I was trying to say something positive. This dog was a sweet dog and very well behaved.
Well, this has been a pretty pointless essay. I didn't really figure anything out and I basically just said a bunch of stuff that's already been said by a million other people. But, I felt like writing about it, and so I did.
Oh, and I found the article I was thinking about. It basically says that dog people are more extroverted and cat people are more introverted, which makes sense to me.
But it also says cat people are more anxious and impulsive. And it says dog people are agreeable and relaxed. So maybe what's going on here is that I basically suck as a human being. That could be it. I don't know. But I do know that my husband wants us to have a dog one day and I am vehemently against this plan. So we'll see what happens.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/dog-people-cat-people-science-pets_n_1594909.html
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