Not necessarily true in terms of personality and affection. I have one of each and my cat is actually more attention seeking than my dog is, although it's close.
Agreed. It varies per individual. My last cat had a lot of "dog-like" characteristics and was very loving and affectionate.
My cat plays fetch and follows me around the house wherever I go. And sleeps at my feet the entire night.
The only thing I would say is if you can bring him with you when you travel, do it. I had to travel for two weeks for work about 3 months after we adopted our dog, and my fiancee told me how he moped around, wouldn't eat consistently, and just laid on my chair and my side of the bed all the time. And that was with her still home with him. They definitely can get depressed if they have a bond with you and you're gone for a while.
Have time where you can care for the lovable animal a dog could be ? If not ... Dont get a dog requires time and patience with training and raising
I think a lot of this has to do with how you treat them as very young kittens. Back in grad school during a summer session I got a kitten and played with it constantly, almost never put it down, literally rough housed wth it all the time and that cat never left my side. Always slept on the pillow above my head, would follow me everywhere and would sit on my lap and was very friendly and playfull with other people as well. A few years later, my GF/wife to be's mother had a cat that had kittens and we were basically forced to take one of them. No one had really played with the kitten when it was very young, not that it was ignored but no one really gave it much attention. We had that cat for 10 years and it couldn't be more stand-offish. Could not have given a fuck. _
Heh, I wish I could take credit for it. We have a greenbelt behind the fence in the backyard and there's a gully running parallel to the houses, and there are plenty of cats back there hunting rodents and such. Needless to say, a fair amount of cats find their way into our yard. This one charmed me from the balcony off our bedroom, I'm out there knocking back a glass of wine reading a book and I look down and she's in the yard, up on her hind legs pawing at me with her forepaws and trying to figure out a way to get up to me. Took a couple of days, but I fed her a couple of times and just gave in. The vet said they thought she was about 6mos at the time when I had her fixed. Never had a cat like this, though. She'll even have staring contests with you. Follows is around everywhere. Drinks from the faucet.
Change a couple of words there and sounds like you met an incredible chick. Being charmed from the balcony whilst knocking back some vino? Sounds like your eyes met across a smoky bar room. _
I agree that giving them lots of attention while they are young is definitely a good thing and also giving them freedom can make them incredibly loyal. Generally speaking, dogs wear their emotions on their sleeve while cats often are too proud to do that, at least it seems that way. If your dog is in pain you will usually know about it. Cats try to hide their pain because it's a big survival mechanism for them. My cat was raised in a house along with a chocolate lab and I think that's why she did a lot of "dog-like" things. The way she'd always greet me when I came home was totally like the lab. She'd run as fast as she could to come and say hello and then roll over onto her back for me to pet her belly. She never played fetch or anything like that but loved chasing the plastic balls and the toy mouse on a string. She also hunted outdoors. She had that wild side because she was born in the wild, but at the same time was the most loving cat I've ever met. She wouldn't be happy unless she was sleeping under the covers with me each night. Unfortunately she developed lymphoma at age 7 and by the time I knew what was wrong she had a week to live. That was like a dagger to me and honestly, I still haven't gotten over it. I mourned for her more than I ever have for any human. She was like a daughter to me. Anyways, it's been a few months now since she passed and I'm looking to pick up a couple new kittens this weekend, so I'm feeling this burden may finally be lifted. I'll never forget my kitty and she can never be replaced, but I will honor her memory by giving these cats the best lives I possibly can.
Nope. Pure bred champion blood Boston Terrier. Best dog I've owned so far. Smart as hell and so loving.
A former roommate had one, it was the most obnoxious dog I have ever seen. At first, I wrote that off to the owner, until I saw another 5 or 6 more Bostons that acted the same way. I know I'm probably wrong, plenty of people hate pits/amstaffs because of stereotypical exposure to/reports of the bad ones, but I have the most docile and amicable amstaff you will ever meet, he's a total pussy. Kittens curl up on him and lick his ears bore him and he just lays there. Three of my nephews abuse him incessantly during family get togethers and they all want to adopt him because he takes it and then just gives them a lick. I guess I just have to meet the right Boston. Hasn't happened yet.
Dog?!…that ain't no dog. That looks like bugged-eyed Tori Spelling if she were a rabbit. JStokes, correct about the relationship between kitten handling and the cat's sociability especially if they are handled before their eyes open. There are also 'social' cat breeds, a good example being Orientals - totally cool cats. Many years back I bought a young white shorthaired Oriental (named 'joe') in a pet shop in Paris for 850 Euro. Great jaunty personality, we hit it off right off the bat carrying on a 'cat sound' conversation. Even when I'd wander over to look at other animals in the shop and other people would come over to his cage, when I came back over to his cage, he'd "look around" them to catch my attention and start up again with his growling meows. I had to 'kick the tires' of this little beast, his personality was so on the money. Speaking of which, I even offered the shop keeper a tip to let me take him out of his cage with the "please don't touch" sign, but he graciously declined and instead took the cat out of the cage and let me play with him in a segregated corner of the floor. The cat was a total "dude" in attitude and it turned into a total impulse buy in no time flat. The Mrs. tried to dissduade me from buying 'joe' citing shipping, shots, insurance, etc., whereupon the owner pretty much said "shipping?-oui…shots?-oiu…insurance? - oui, oui, oui" at which point I said "wrap him up and mail him to me." That cat gave me many years of joy and I still think of him often. A total dude. I know they look like a cross between Yoda and a fruit bat with those ears but believe me, they're awesome. While slender-looking in build they're a muscular, athletic breed weighing more than it would appear.
