I'd probably have to go with dogs (actually im a fancy rat person), mainly for thier conditional abilities. and the pack aspect. too bad lions weren't domesticated and breed to a more managable size.
Professor, geology, Whatsamatta U Evolution - Changes in the environment, caused by the interactions of the components of the environment.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." - Bruce Graham
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
"I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things, but I'm highly ignorant about everything." - Moose
As you may know, I have a part time night job cleaning a veterinary clinic. I spend a couple hours cleaning and many more hours on the internet.
Anyhow, tonight we have 3 dogs and 1 cat here, all really nice critters -
1) A German Shepard cross - Came in with uncontrolled diabetes. Pretty skinny, but seems to be doing well now.
2) A Pug(?) - Blind. Has had one eye removed and (seems to me) to have cataracts and/or glaucoma in the other eye.
3) A Pomeranian which had all it's teeth pulled today.
4) A kitten that has some sort of neurological problem. A little sweetie, but wobbles around as if drunk. The doctor told me to be very careful to not get bit - Rabies is a possibility.
An odd collection of ailments. Not the more common collection of spays, declaws, and "having something done tomorrow". Or sometime an empty house at night.
Speaking of declawing, my 5 cats all have all their claws, except for big old Marvin who lost 1 toe to an infection (that's why he ended up here from the shelter - I adopted him directly out of the clinic). 3 of the 5 cats I adopted out of the clinic. 1 cat (kitten at the time) had been at the clinic and was in a temporary foster home. The 5th (Teddy "the weasle") came from the local shelter.
A lot of locations are outlawing declawing cats. What I see, is that declawing is a pretty humane procedure, and gives a lot of cats homes where having claws could be a problem.
By the way, the avatar cat of the moment (Tan, subject to change) is Squeak. She was the one in the temp foster home.
Moose
Professor, geology, Whatsamatta U Evolution - Changes in the environment, caused by the interactions of the components of the environment.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." - Bruce Graham
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
"Yesterday on Fox News, commentator Glenn Beck said that he believes President Obama is a racist. To be fair, every time you watch Glenn Beck, it does get a little easier to hate white people." - Conan O'Brien
"I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things, but I'm highly ignorant about everything." - Moose
A lot of locations are outlawing declawing cats. What I see, is that declawing is a pretty humane procedure, and gives a lot of cats homes where having claws could be a problem.
Outlawed in the UK. And a good thing too. It's barbaric: if one can't keep a cat don't mutilate one to fit yours needs.
I used to think I was a dog person. You can play with a dog. They fetch and they're stupid and fun. Kinda like me. I used to think I would always get a dog one day because cats are more like footballs than pets.
Then I finally got to a place where I could actually get an animal and did some thinking about what sort of animal I'd get.
A dog needs to be walked, and excercised and taken out to poo. And I need to search for, find and pick up it's poo wherever it does such. Yeah... no dog for me. I'd feel horrible if I got a dog because I know I'm too lazy to do these sorts of things as often as they should be done. So, did I get a cat? No. Cats are too similar to footballs and I don't want to be kicking my pet through the windows of the house all day. Such would be cruel.
Then my wife moved in with her cat. Chloe. Chloe is a siamese-snow-shoe. She's also forever-growth-stumped at "teenager size" for a cat because of whatever-the-hell-happened-to-her before she was picked up by the shelter. She is a scared kitty that runs from new people. But a needy kitty who will always sit on your lap (if she knows and loves you). Sometimes she bites. She has her claws, but never acts up with them in any way anyway.
I found out I'm a cat person. She poops in the same place all the time. All I have to do is dump one pan out every few days. She exercises herself and cleans herself. I get a kitty to pet whenever I'm watching TV. It's like the best world of everything.
Eventually we got Willie, a regular black cat from the shelter. He's not abused-scared of everything. He's pretty crazy and needy too. He also has all his claws, but doesn't do much with them. We keep them trimmed, though. My wife clips them once a week or so. And he poops in the same place the other cat poops... so I still only dump one pan every now and then. He also cleans himself and exercises himself. Now I have two kitty's to pet whenever I'm relaxing.
Cats are not footballs, they're pets.
Dogs are smelly and too much work for my lazy 'ol ass.
A lot of locations are outlawing declawing cats. What I see, is that declawing is a pretty humane procedure, and gives a lot of cats homes where having claws could be a problem.
Cats always come up when my wife and I talk about the ever-changing mores of society. When I was a kid, except in cities most cats were outside cats. Declawing was accepted for indoor cats (I don't how common it was). I assume that declawing an outdoor cat has always been understood to be a bad thing.
But attitudes about cats as outdoor animals have changed. Our current cats are pure breds, and when we purchased them we had to sign a form agreeing to keep them indoors. Today most cats are indoor cats, at least around the North East here in the United States. People are becoming more and more surprised when they find you have outdoor cats, and they can't believe we tolerate their chipmunk/mouse/mole smuggling activities. I fear that kitty doors may become a thing of the past.
We of course ignored the forms we signed, believing it cruel to keep cats exclusively indoors. Friends tell us there are fishers and coyotes out there, and I know they're right because I see the fishers occasionally and some people tell me they occasionally spot coyotes, so we close the kitty door at night. If we lose a cat I will be very, very sad, but I see their joy when they're outside, and I couldn't take that away from them.
About cats and claws, every cat I've had has been bad about scratching something. You can work at it and get them to stop, but they'll probably just switch to another piece of furniture. Scratching posts and such help, but like people, cats like variety.
I'm both a cat and a dog person, but I won't keep a dog because they're high maintenance, though it's a great way to stay current with the neighbors who stop and chat during their daily walks. I have a low tolerance for monotony, and few things are more boring for me than walking a dog.
I used to foster cats for the animal shelter. I usually ended up with litters or siblings they didn't want to split up. I'm always fascinated by the various personalities. Two of them were adopted by my neighbor. They grew into gorgeous (spoiled) golden cats.
This winter we did take in a kitten starving in the cold. He grew like a weed once we got some food into him. He is all boy. When the weather gets warmer he will be an outside cat. He is too wild for indoors. He needs more space.
My old white cat will stay in the house and retire from mouse duty.
My "barn" cats are spoiled. I always bring them in when the weather is extreme, whether heat or cold. Needless to say they have both been inside this winter.
Josie, my mouser, is getting along with Bugzy, the kitten, so they will both be outside and Lady, the old white cat, will stay in the house and retire. Lady is about 15 years old and sleeps most of the time.
Bugzy is a classic tabby and bursting with energy. He loves playing with grandson though, which is nice. Lady just hides.
I haven't been able to get him to stop biting though. It's playful biting, but it gets a bit rough sometimes. He also likes to grab at legs and tends to get underfoot. He's like a road block. My mother was going to take him, but he causes me to trip and lose balance. I don't need him tripping my mother who is already a bit unsteady. So he's stuck with us.
He's a beautiful cat. I told my daughter when our old cat died, that I didn't need to go looking for cats. Those in need manage to find me.
We tied a 2x4 to a pole in the basement. My cats have been great at keeping to the 2x4 for scratching. Bugzy is still learning. Of course the 2x4 doesn't really mix with the decor, but it does save my furniture.
I keep cats to keep mice out of the house and convince the chipmunks to relocate. That's why I have cats outside and at least one cat inside.
The barn cats eat what they catch, which is probably better food for them than the dry food we give them. My Mom uses chemicals to keep chipmunks and mice, but she's losing the battle. That's why she thought of taking Bugzy.
My cats have a job. In our 15+ years here we haven't had one mouse in the house. One squirrel ran into our garage right into our two big cats and realized his error just in time.
I figure a dog will be good when I'm old and just walking is actually exciting.
I prefer dogs but I could live with a cat. We only have a 9 week old Miniature Schnauzer right now but I do like cats also. The only thing keeping me from getting one would be the wife's allergies to them.
Very impressed with the Schnauzer breed of dog though. Very very intelligent dog from what I've read and this one is holding that up pretty well. Easy to train and gets along with the kids real well.
Cat people might be brainier than dog people, but are they brainier than their cats? I know, I know, how could a cat compete in brainpower with an owner who has an advanced degree, but we may be using the wrong criteria for intelligence. After all, while people domesticated dogs, cats domesticated people. In fact, cats often argue that the domestication of people was the single factor most responsible for their modern lifestyle of ease and free room and board.
The history channel ran a program called the canine conspiracy where they pointed out that canines have become the perfect parasite of humanity. Now that I think about it, the cats are light years ahead of the dogs in terms of how to be the perfect parasites. Dogs need to learn how to do tricks and please the people who feed them. Cats just do whatever they want and most cat owners would actually have to bend over backward to please their cats.
My brother and his family have 2 cats and 2 dogs. The dogs stay in a cage whenever the nobody is home. The cats get free roam of the house. Whenever the dogs need to go outside, they get to stay only in the fenced in backyard. The cats get to disappear sometimes for days and then come back for free food. As far as I know, the cats have been sleeping in the same bed as his kids while the dogs get to sleep in the kitchen.
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