The Weekly Random Question: Cat or Dog

[Encyclopedia]

No, just a difference.

Okeydokey! 👍

Really?

See, dog behaviour is relatively easy to understand. They're habitual pack animals and all of their behaviour is based around the pack. Properly trained, they see people as big dogs - with a strange smell and odd way of walking. A dog doesn't love you because you're a person, it loves you because you're another dog with a slightly higher social standing. It licks you to groom you, like a wild dog grooms its pack leader. It lies on you to share body heat with you, like a wild dog lies on its pack leader. It weaves between your legs because you can protect it, like a wild dog sticks close to its pack leader.

Train a dog well and it treats all people the same - except those from outside its immediate pack it perceives to be threatening. Indy's already treating our baby - who's 1 - as a social superior.

It's not obedience - it's pack behaviour.

I know all that. It's still obedience, towards the pack leader/higher ups, and that's the problem to me. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it's the lack of independence that I don't like.

It is fortunate though, considering how powerful some dog breeds are. It's also a good thing when it comes to kids.

A cat is more like a buddy to me. Acts more like an equal which I like personally.

 

[Emptyone]

Cats, though given I've had at least one in the house all my life, I'm slightly biased.

Though, there is nothing like walking a dog and throwing a ball for it as a peaceful activity for the mind.

 

[Famine]

I know all that. It's still obedience, towards the pack leader/higher ups, and that's the problem to me. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it's the lack of independence that I don't like.

Which is exactly what you get with indoor cats - a complete lack of independence.

Cats like Roffle are independent. We feed him, sure, but we don't need to. When he was originally found he was fending for himself - clearly he'd been a proper pet because he was affectionate to all humans, but abandoned for some reason (or maybe he got out and got lost) - so he can provide for himself without any trouble at all. He just likes it in the warm, inside place where he's got two dogs to rub against, four people to give him attention and he gets meaty-smelling biscuits if he doesn't feel like wiping out the local ecosystem today. He still does it though - cats love the game.

Most indoor cats wouldn't survive two weeks outside - probably a good deal less from taurine deficiency. They're not independent at all.

Here he is again:

 

[XPOWER180]

It's a dining room by name only, not by use. By use it's "the cat room" - though we're planning some house modifications that will change this.

See, the cats are limited to that room in the house - to keep all their hair, smell, vomit, cack and small animals in various states of living to just the one room. The room has a door to the outside world with a cat flap in it and we use other rooms either side as airlocks.

Wow, you sound like you really love your cats. What on earth is the point in keeping 2 animals if you are going to lock them away in one room from the rest of the family? My cat has the complete run of the house, no where is out of bounds and he has never once peed, dumped or yacked anywhere. He has a litter tray in the utility room that he has never used once!!! He mainly stays in my garden when he goes out due to it being surrounded by high fences. Never once, and i mean once have i found any poo on the patio or the grass and when i do the borders it's rare i find some unburied poo. As for dragging home little presents, he's bought a couple of Robins back to the back door but never in the house. And talking of in the house, there is absolutely no smell of cat in my house, everyone who visits will testify that. Maybe yours smells because you force them to live in one room where naturaly an odour will be amplified. I'm still in shock that you, a man who comes across so preachy and righteous to the rest of us has publicly admitted that you keep 2 of your pets confined to one room. 👎

 

[Famine]

Perhaps you'll want to read the part about the door to the outside world (with a catflap) before you have a tantrum about confinement.

 

[XPOWER180]

Not having a tantrum at all, citation needed on that one. I read that part about the cat flap, it makes no difference to me. You are still shutting them away from the rest of the family unit.

 

[Famine]

Uh-huh. Being limited to the dining room when they're indoors - to prevent them doing anything they shouldn't anywhere they shouldn't, to keep the live animals they bring back from infesting the rest of the house and to give them a safe space (all cats need a safe space, as I'm sure you know) - means no-one ever sees them and they never see anyone. Got it.

I'm sure that they somehow love the dogs without ever seeing them and that I can pick them up and cradle them like babies and photograph them while they're shut away from us and imprisoned in the entire planet (save 7 rooms). Or something.


Incidentally, sourced that "thousand different sounds" claim (or the "approximatley 10" [sic] one for dogs) yet?

 

[XPOWER180]

No, because the day i have to prove anything i ever say to you is the day i hack my own ball sack off with a blunt saw. I have a million and one better things to do in my life than provide anything for you. Best that me and you have no interaction what so ever from now on. Ignore list is a handy thing after all.

 

[Famine]

No, because the day i have to prove anything i ever say to you is the day i hack my own ball sack off with a blunt saw. I have a million and one better things to do in my life than provide anything for you.

You made the claim that cats make a thousand different sounds and dogs make "approximately ten". That's quite the claim and there must be some research to back it up, otherwise you're just making things up - and if you're making things up just for an internet site discussion about which is better, cats or dogs, it rather suggests your "to do" list is a great deal shorter than you pretend.

Not to mention that this poses yet another AUP issue for you.

Best that me and you have no interaction what so ever from now on. Ignore list is a handy thing after all.

You choose your interactions and I'll choose mine. You chose to make an unreferenced claim about two animal species and then you chose to make a long, badly typed, unparagraphed post denigrating my personal character over the living arrangements of two of my pets that you clearly have failed to comprehend - vetted, as they were, by the rescue centres that we got both pets from.

You'll find the ignore list to be of very little use - for your safety.

 

[XPOWER180]

For my safety? Is this some kind of threat?

 

[Famine]

Only to people determined to perceive things as such.

It's actually a statement of how forum Ignore lists work and why. But hey, take it how you wish.

 

[Skuh]

DOGS

I love both, but dogs in my opinion are the better pet. Theyre more loyal, they would kill themselves defending/saving you and have done hundreds of times.
It's just the responsibilty for me, that's why I have chosen cats as my personal pet. They are not quite the same bond as dogs, but you can still get a close relationship. Theyre just so much easier to look after. You shouldn't have a dog if you are not going to look after it properly so I have to have cats.

 

[Nessy]

You shouldn't have a dog if you are not going to look after it properly so I have to have cats.

You shouldn't have any pet, unless you're prepared to look after it properly (that includes Fish).
(Not pin-pointing on you Skuh, just in terms of generally).

@ Famine & XPOWER180.
I thought your discussions were both lighthearted, then all of a sudden it feels to have gone all serious. None of my concern, but what happened?

[EDIT]
Doesn't matter, i guess on the internet we sometimes read stuff in different tones (for want of a better term).

 

[XPOWER180]

Ignoring an admin. Neat trick that would be.

Explain?? Just because he's an Admin' does that make him any more special than me, you, the next person or anyone else? I'll defend myself against anyone no matter what their social status is.

It will take more than a mild disagreement, the threat of a suspension or even a ban for me to deny my freedom of speech. As an individual, I have respect for Famine and what he does for the community. But that doesn't mean he's got some kind of imunity from being grilled or asked questions does it?

And throwing the old grammer police trick in to the pool just serves to aggrivate. If I constantly used txt speech I could understand but for the most part my messages are typed out in a perfectly readable manner. They're never cryptic or full of slang. This is the universal problem with internet forums. Relaying information will often come across in the wrong way whereas if we we're all sat in a room the atmosphere would be vastly different, emotions are portrayed in such a clearer manner and you certainly wont get picked up for not satisfying a punctuation criteria!

 

[Famine]

Explain??

Forum ignore lists will not allow you to ignore staff - nor will it allow staff to ignore anyone. This is for the safety of the forum as a whole.

As I said, an explanation of how they work and why.

 

[Dennisch]

A bit of fun thrown into the serious discussion.
One of my cats has caught a gold fish. And a pretty big one too. Looks pretty silly to see a cat with a flapping gold thingy in his mouth.

 

[Skuh]

You shouldn't have any pet, unless you're prepared to look after it properly (that includes Fish).
(Not pin-pointing on you Skuh, just in terms of generally).

@ Famine & XPOWER180.
I thought your discussions were both lighthearted, then all of a sudden it feels to have gone all serious. None of my concern, but what happened?

[EDIT]
Doesn't matter, i guess on the internet we sometimes read stuff in different tones (for want of a better term).

This is true, but it is easy to look after cats properly, it isn't easy to look after a dog. They have to be walked 3 times a day, it's unfair to leave them for long periods, cats can just go out on their own for the day. If a cat stays out overnight it isn't usually a big deal, if my dog stayed out overnight i would be out of my mind with worry. If i want to go away I can get someone to come round, pop in feed the cats and leave them to it. With a dog they have to give up more free time to be able to walk the dog, then come back to walk it again, and again.
This is what I meant my look after properly, thats all.

 

[nobuffalo]

Live in the country, let your dog be an outside dog. Super easy.

Gotta choose dogs too.

 

[Encyclopedia]

Which is exactly what you get with indoor cats - a complete lack of independence.

Cats like Roffle are independent. We feed him, sure, but we don't need to. When he was originally found he was fending for himself - clearly he'd been a proper pet because he was affectionate to all humans, but abandoned for some reason (or maybe he got out and got lost) - so he can provide for himself without any trouble at all. He just likes it in the warm, inside place where he's got two dogs to rub against, four people to give him attention and he gets meaty-smelling biscuits if he doesn't feel like wiping out the local ecosystem today. He still does it though - cats love the game.

I see what you mean, but they still won't do what you tell them to do. Which is what I'm getting at. Still a strong will of their own.

Most indoor cats wouldn't survive two weeks outside - probably a good deal less from taurine deficiency. They're not independent at all.

You'd be surprized how intact cat's instincts are, even if they're indoor cats. My cat was mostly indoors, only being outside in the summers. You'd think he'd never been anywhere but outside how comfortable he was with it. Mind you, the first days he would always come running in to go to the litterbox.

 

[Skuh]

I see what you mean, but they still won't do what you tell them to do. Which is what I'm getting at. Still a strong will of their own.



You'd be surprized how intact cat's instincts are, even if they're indoor cats. My cat was mostly indoors, only being outside in the summers. You'd think he'd never been anywhere but outside how comfortable he was with it. Mind you, the first days he would always come running in to go to the litterbox.

Both of our cats go out, stay out for hours. Come in, use the litter tray and go out again.
One of them is now 12

 

[Adamgp]

A bit of fun thrown into the serious discussion.
One of my cats has caught a gold fish. And a pretty big one too. Looks pretty silly to see a cat with a flapping gold thingy in his mouth.

My dog has caught 3 squirrels on 3 different occasions while on a leash.

The first time she did it, I don't remember laughing that hard. She had a fat squirrel in her mouth and looked up at me as if to say "now what?"

Oh yeah, add me to the list of dog lovers.

Rarely met a cat I liked.

 

[Mrs. Famine]

Hi XPOWER180 *waves*

You speak of my two cats who despite being "shut away from the family unit" are actually very healthy and well provided for cats. They have shelter, a place to use the toilet should they wish to, constant access to outdoors, food and water constantly supplied plus some nice soft beds. And a cat tree which I believe isn't required under "looking after a cat" law but hey ho.

You seem to forget that cats aren't people. They're not human so why should I treat them that way? I don't want the cats upstairs in my home, personal choice. The dogs don't go upstairs either - you can stop a dog with a stairgate but not a cat...!

It seems you're suggesting I'm somehow being cruel by not allowing the cats in the rest of the house. Perhaps have a chat with your local animal welfare centre, make sure you let them know that these two cats who have the things I mentioned above, also have regular human interaction, are taken to the vet when necessary and also have their own room which is 10 feet by 10 feet square. And then watch as they laugh at you and tell you to go away.

Looking forward to having you put me on your ignore list!

 

[JacksHerer]

miss handled dogs need to be controlled, on the other hand miss handled cats try to control you lol

 

[XPOWER180]

Hi XPOWER180 *waves*

You speak of my two cats who despite being "shut away from the family unit" are actually very healthy and well provided for cats. They have shelter, a place to use the toilet should they wish to, constant access to outdoors, food and water constantly supplied plus some nice soft beds. And a cat tree which I believe isn't required under "looking after a cat" law but hey ho.

You seem to forget that cats aren't people. They're not human so why should I treat them that way? I don't want the cats upstairs in my home, personal choice. The dogs don't go upstairs either - you can stop a dog with a stairgate but not a cat...!

It seems you're suggesting I'm somehow being cruel by not allowing the cats in the rest of the house. Perhaps have a chat with your local animal welfare centre, make sure you let them know that these two cats who have the things I mentioned above, also have regular human interaction, are taken to the vet when necessary and also have their own room which is 10 feet by 10 feet square. And then watch as they laugh at you and tell you to go away.

Looking forward to having you put me on your ignore list!

Thanks for your reply. You could have saved yourself the effort, your husbands was already enough. (just gonna get my Mrs to fight my corner) ;-)

 

[Antonisbob]

Never had either, but been around them plenty. I say dogs because they aren't useless like cats are.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I'd pick a dog any day of the week. A well-trained dog is an absolute joy to deal with.

Having grown up in the countryside on farms and the like, dogs are the obvious choice. To me cats are pretty useless, if I wanted something to take care of and clean up after i'd adopt a small child that has the possibility of growing up to get rich and pay for my retirement yacht.

I think the pack instinct of dogs is awesome, they rely on you and you rely on them, just as I do with colleagues and friends (mainly in the case of working dogs). Not much better than coming home after a hard day working in the field, relaxing on the sofa, and listening to the dog snore while it's led on the rug in front of the fire.

I've never owned or been around anything other than a working dog for long enough to learn the difference between them and a dog that is just a pet. I do know that I cannot stand poorly trained dogs, especially when the owners seemingly do nothing to discipline them and then blame the dog for misbehaving!

 

[CodeRedR51]

Allergic to cats.

Dogs it is then...

 

[Keef]

Most indoor cats wouldn't survive two weeks outside

We have a mom and baby. The mother cat we found outside as a stray when she was all of 2 years old or so. She'd be able to live outside (though she's scared of everything) but the baby would be useless. He still wants to chase the squirrels but the first time a car drove by he'd be running for the hills. They're scared of everything and they've lived in the house now for a couple years.

Still fuzzy and soft though.

 

[homeforsummer]

Cats here. Plenty of my friends have dogs and I get on with them fine (both the friends and the dogs) but ultimately I prefer cats, as the pet I grew up with was a cat.

I tend to think smaller animals are preferable as pets. That rules out large dogs, and since small dogs tend to suffer from "small man syndrome" (i.e. they make up for their smallness by being loud, irritating bastards) then it pretty much leaves me with cats.

I also find cats more pleasant to stroke, I admire their evil genius, and cat videos on the internet are infinitely funnier than dog videos. And as you move upwards in the animal kingdom, the biggest cats are a whole lot more awesome than the biggest dogs.

So cats.

 

[Mrs. Famine]

Thanks for your reply. You could have saved yourself the effort, your husbands was already enough. (just gonna get my Mrs to fight my corner) ;-)

Ahhhh haaa. Ahhahahahahahahaha.

You think I need to fight my husband's corner? I need to stick up for Famine??

I think I might've just died laughing

No, I was actually defending myself and my choices. However, feel free to have your wife join in. I'm sure she'll have some useful and valuable things to contribute 👍