Friday OT - Raining Dogs and Cats
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
If the truth be known, I'm not any type of person. I've had cats and I've had dogs in the past, but I haven't had any kind of pet going on 30 years now. If push came to shove, however, I'd rather have a cat. Dogs are too much for me. They're always jumping on you and slobbering all over you. The only dog I would consider having at this point is a golden retriever because they seem to be more calm than a lot of breeds. I like cats because they can take you or leave you and are not always demanding attention.
I think my aversion to dogs began at a young age. I had a beagle-like puppy at that time that was smart as a whip. I had taught him to beg and sit and other tricks and everyone knew he was my dog. He was still just a puppy and my mom kept him in our basement when no one was home, but one day, he chewed through the wiring on the furnace and we had to end up paying someone to fix it.
That was the last straw for my mother. Because of that and other incidents, she took him out to a farm, a real farm, not the kind of farm they say they will take a pet to when they are really going to have it euthanized. I know this because the farmers were friends of our family and we visited them often, so I would see my dog there. Anyway, it broke my heart to lose my dog, and I wanted nothing to do with dogs ever since.
To be fair, you're a horrible roommate.
I think this is case with whichever you don’t have. I can immediately tell when a house has or had cats. It’s a smell you’ll never get out of the carpet and floors for me I can tell when dog owners don’t keep up with bathing their dogs, but in most cases I don’t notice any smells. Probably like smokers that don’t realize they or their home reek of smoke.
I know the person who has some extra cats...
My wife and I own two dogs, so I'm a dog person. They are very loyal and loving and they are a huge enhancement to our quality of life. That said dogs are super needy and high maintenance and every time that my wife and I are both away from the house for more than like six hours involves having to think about our dog logistics. None of our adult children live anywhere close to us so they aren't an option for letting them out to potty and we don't have another dog sitter option yet. This leads to us having to take them to the kennel for boarding if we are going to be gone which we don't like doing because it is stressful for our dogs and us, Oh well, no one forced us to get them so that's ultimately all on us. I will say that I do admire the independence of cats in that respect.
I'll echo the "animal lover" moniker. I've had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, a chinchilla, a rabbit, ferrets, fish and a cockatiel. Ferrets were cool, but you really can't get past the smell. Never again.
I grew up with farm dogs and cats and preferred dogs as a kid. Any more, I like both equally, but I only have a cat now. She is super sweet and is cool getting attention in spurt, which works for our schedule.
I don't really have the time to devote to a dog so I don't think it would be fair to the pup. I also have serious issues with my SIL and her husband that have always had enormous dogs, yet keep them confined in a house, barely take them out for walks, and then wonder why they always have hip issues. It ******* pisses me off and it probably makes me overly concerned about being a dog owner.
If I had a place with a ton of room outside to run, I'd 100% have a dog.
I grew up with farm dogs and cats and preferred dogs as a kid. Any more, I like both equally, but I only have a cat now. She is super sweet and is cool getting attention in spurt, which works for our schedule.
I don't really have the time to devote to a dog so I don't think it would be fair to the pup. I also have serious issues with my SIL and her husband that have always had enormous dogs, yet keep them confined in a house, barely take them out for walks, and then wonder why they always have hip issues. It ******* pisses me off and it probably makes me overly concerned about being a dog owner.
If I had a place with a ton of room outside to run, I'd 100% have a dog.
Got to go with cats. I love the aggressive indifference that cats possess. We currently have 2 - 1 super social and the other is still afraid of me even though we have had it for 5 years.
Grew up on a farm with both but somewhere along the way I figured out that I get really anxious around dogs - doesn't matter if its a little tiny puppy or some giant breed - just can't be comfortable around them. Not really afraid, just a general unease.
Grew up on a farm with both but somewhere along the way I figured out that I get really anxious around dogs - doesn't matter if its a little tiny puppy or some giant breed - just can't be comfortable around them. Not really afraid, just a general unease.
I have been really lucky in the pet dept. I had a great dog that lived 15 years and was very smart. My son had a really cool and social hamster ( it would sit on my shoulder and watch me read books without moving for long periods of time). Currently I have a cat and she is the sweetest thing ever. She's like a dog (greets me at the door when I get home, sits on my lap when I am reading and loves to play). NOTE: Got the cat after the Hamster died... I have a feeling the cat on my lap and the hamster on my shoulder would not have worked out very well.
I grew up with a dog, and had dogs until my late 40s.When the kids moved out and our last dog died we didn't replace her. Dogs need people around, and we were both gone all day. We travel too much now to have a dog.
Overlapping the dogs, I got my first cat in my early 20s and I have had one or more cats consistently since then. They require less maintenance and can be just as loving as dogs.
Someone upthread mentioned that they didn't like a cat because it always hid. Our cats typically retreat if someone comes in, and several may never appear until said person has been there for several hours. But when it's just us they're extremely affectionate. And they all have their specific preferences as to when and how they get their personal times with us. Except for Milo the Dork. He sticks to me like glue 24/7.
I still love dogs and will pet them and love on them whenever the opportunity presents itself. It's just that cats are more convenient for our current lifestyle.
I have thought about this with relation to my siblings' dogs. They know their dogs' ability to behave or not in my home or another setting. Thus they only bring the dog when that is comfortable for them. But we are all responsible adults. If your kids are the same it should be no problem.
If a dog is well behaved it is welcome here.
If they feel there might be a problem a frank discussion is in order. They should initiate it if they are bringing Fido. And they should expect you to make the decision on the risk.
If there is history of Fido not behaving in your home and no efforts have been made to train/correct the pet, you have every right to politely refuse to allow the dog in your home.
JMHO
Our pride now sits at four. That wasn't intended, but it happened. Two are ARL rescues (city cats) and two are off the farm. The farm cats are very much hiders, but just as playful and affectionate when relaxed. Our 15-year-old needs meds, and that's when they become more like dogs. When their day-to-day health depends on you events require planning ahead.
Of note, when free roaming neighborhood cats visit, which is rare, the ARL cats will scream and fight each other. (They never leave the house, except rarely supervised on our 2nd story deck.) The farm cats will cower under the bed.
That happened early on, but we finally had to tell them that their dogs stressed out our cats, and despite the fact that we loved their dogs, the cats live there. They all took it pretty well.
