highrider
Banned
Yep.
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Americans: Dogs are liked more and more popular than cats
- Thread starter The Librarian
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That doesn't matter; the point is the cat doesn't view itself as inferior or subservient.
BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO
Junior Member
Cats are known for killing babies while they are asleep irc. They suck the air out of their lungs.
The Librarian
Banned
But it is inferior and it should be subservient. You're its caretaker after all.
Princess Viola
Member
How do you reconcile this with the idea that dog's are "man's best friend"?
What you're describing is more of a relationship between that of a parent and a child, and while parents can be friends with their children, it's a fundamentally different kind of friendship than the kind that exists between strangers.
highrider
Banned
Great post. I love dogs but have always felt a greater bond with cats. The way you phrased this was much better than I ever could.
Henchmen21
Banned
What? You do know how evolution works?
Pretty sure I do. Do you know how domestication works?
The Librarian
Banned
A friendship can exist among unequals. "Man's best friend" simply has been with him for a very, very long time. You're friends, but in the end you're superior.
It's your pet, dude, not another human being. Sheesh.
Princess Viola
Member
You just don't understand cats.
The Librarian
Banned
Cats are lazy and boring.
This is probably the key difference between dog-lovers and cat-lovers. Dog lovers see an animal, cat lovers see a peer.
Henchmen21
Banned
Yeah but domestication is hardly "genetic mutilation". Besides, you'd have to say the same thing about cats since they're domesticated too.
You might as well be arguing for your favourite colour at this point. It's clear you've never had a bond with an animal.
The Librarian
Banned
Nice to know you see yourself on the same level as an animal that has an IQ of 30 at best.
lol, sure pal.
Round or flat?
I haven't read too deeply into this subject so take everything I say with a grain of salt, but the domestication of dogs wasn't an incidental thing. It was a conscious effort by ancient humans to render a wild animal into a servant/food source.
Cats, on the other hand, didn't follow the same path toward "domestication". Rather, it was probably happy coincidence. Once humans shifted to an agrarian lifestyle, it was necessary for them to store food. The food attracted mice, and the mice attracted cats. To the cats, the humans provided bait for mice. To the humans, the cats were pest control (and I guess a food source as well).
A lot of the modern day cat's behaviorisms reflect this. Mothers still teach kittens how to move and hunt, and once grown, they will try to hunt for themselves (and sometimes for their owners) even if their owners provide all the food they need. It's the same instinct that led them to human civilization in the first place, and it's something they never lost.
Dreams-Visions
Member
first post, etc.
I can picture cats getting domesticated in much the same way my 3 Cats came to me. One climbed in the window and jumped on my chair and has been there for the last 13 years. The other two wandered in looking for scraps and liked the hotel enough to stay.
The Librarian
Banned
Round or flat what?
Schweinehund
Member
I've had better experiences with dogs. Dogs seem to be more open to strangers most of the time and will usually come straight to you. Cats are 50/50 in my experience, sometimes they'll rub against you other times they'll be really territorial except to their owners. I'm more timid petting a cat than I am a dog because I can read dog body language easier (unless its some demon hissing cat).
I also live in a nice neighborhood, I don't have trashy people that abuse larger dogs (its the owner not the pet). Fuck yeah I'm scared of a pitbull/larger breed (if it is agressive), but I see more mean cats than I do dogs.
NEOPARADIGM
Banned
They've domesticated foxes by continuously breeding the ones that exhibit tamer behavior over and over until they get ones you can keep as pets - they actually started exhibiting many of the same physical "tells" as dogs do relative to wolves. (Ears changed, colors changed, etc.)
Are you talking about the Russian silver foxes? I've heard about them but I didn't know the specifics. That's very neat.
Randolph Freelander
Member
Listen, polls such as these might be accurate enough for politics (except you, Gallup), but for matters as important as dogs and cats, I'm calling bogus.
Henchmen21
Banned
Cats: The pet of the hipsters.
Yup, that's the program.
Yeah pretty much.
KillerMan91
Member
Well cats can be mean but I don't know how someone can be scared of so small creature. When it comes to dogs though I know several people that are very scared of big dogs. I was too when I was a child.
D
Deleted member 102362
Unconfirmed Member
Spot! Runter! Runter ist goot.And I bet the average American likes JJ Trek better than previous Trek.
I like both dogs and cats.
Yup. S'all I got.
captainnapalm
Member
It's a testament to just how cool dogs are that they beat cats, who are pretty awesome creatures themselves. You can't beat that man-dog relationship.
Cats are "mean" because they don't know and/or trust you. Same way you get Lions who'll suddenly jump up and hug people they know. Unless you have them since they're a baby, bonding takes time.
Davey Cakes
Member
Dogs are more actively entertaining and friendly, cats are more passively entertaining and friendly. Dogs are higher maintenance and more like actual family members, where I agree that cats certainly come off more as "pets." It's just in their nature, and it's not really a knock. I'd love to have a cat specifically because they're lower maintenance.
You can develop a wonderful relationship with either. I do feel like dogs are called "man's best friend" for a reason since they can be much better companions than cats, but cats serve a great purpose in being like a cool friend that you always have around.
People who can own cats and dogs and live in harmony are really lucky.
You can develop a wonderful relationship with either. I do feel like dogs are called "man's best friend" for a reason since they can be much better companions than cats, but cats serve a great purpose in being like a cool friend that you always have around.
People who can own cats and dogs and live in harmony are really lucky.
Davey Cakes
Member
I'm more afraid of a "dangerous dog" than a "dangerous cat" I guess, since one seems a tad more lethal purely due to strength.
That said, I feel like in more common contexts, cats often come off as uptight. Like, if it doesn't absolutely trust you 100% it'll either scratch you or bite you if you try to pet it. You're just trying to be nice but the cat is a little bitch. With domestic dogs I feel like they warm up to people much faster unless they feel like there's an active threat abound.
Obviously it's not black and white, but overall if cats aren't friendly or indifferent, they're avoidant and hostile. Dogs have their quirks but observations lead me to believe that "family dogs" instill less fear or hesitance in people that are interested in engaging them.
So being more inclined to love is a bad thing?
Sometimes I feel like cat people are influenced by their cat's bad attitude.
Necromanti
Member
It takes a lot more effort to get a cat to love and bond with you compared to dogs. I've noticed a lot of cat owners who don't know how to handle their cats and then wonder why they don't show as much affection as a dog would. Dogs can be more relatively more open and willing to initiate bonding with strangers.
Yeah most cat owner homes just smell like kitty litter
Ravensmash
Member
Cat shit has a horrible smell to it, I'd argue that it's worse than dog's business.
Saying that though, many domestic cats do their business outside - and this often doesn't require any extra training.
...and they bury it too!
speculawyer
Member
Afraid of cats? They seem too small to be afraid of . . . if they caused you problems you could just kick them.
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