I think dogs are better than cats for many reasons. I’m sure it is not without reason that dogs are called “man’s best friend. ” They are loyal, obedient, and also protective. Even if their attempts at protection are sometimes unnecessary, at least they try. On one occasion while our family was setting off various fireworks on the Fourth of July, we set off a ground bloom. A ground bloom is basically a firework that spins around on the ground spewing fire in such a way as to look like a flower. Murphy, our terrier, assumed that we had fallen prey to some unknown creature of the night.
He attempted to bite the thing, only to be promptly “bitten” back. Undaunted, he charged in again with the same painful result. One of us was then able to grab onto a very bewildered Murphy until the firework died. Murphy came out of the ordeal with a slightly singed muzzle and a better understanding why not to play with fire. This is more than can be said for cats, which don’t care one iota whether you live or die, so long as they have premium kitty food and a plush velvet cushion for their beauty sleep. Our own cat would rather (and often does) sit out in the rain rather then come into the house through the dog door.
Cats seem to think that they’re a superior species who deserve the very best treatment, and should never associate with other animals of a lower status. They also need to learn to toughen up a little bit. Everything they have has to be soft and fuzzy or extra chewy, ensuring that they exert as little life energy as possible. At times they don’t seem to be much more than small and furry sloths. Cats have no concern for the well-being or comfort of fellow creatures, and will not hesitate to take advantage of other weaker or kinder-hearted animals.
If one of their worldly comforts is compromised in any way, they become very moody and go off to sulk until the situation is resolved. An animal with such drastic and sudden attitude changes is certainly not going to be the best pet in the world, although they may very possibly be the worst. They are also terribly ungrateful, showing no thankfulness whatsoever if they are given special treatment of some sort. They just generally assume that any special treatment is nothing more than what they deserve. Cats are overly independent as well, and enjoy pretending that they don’t need you or anyone else.
Cats should definitely not be considered your best friend. For a while, our cat’s bed was a soft towel folded up on top of the nice warm hot water heater which suited her just fine until she learned that the dog had a cushion to sleep on. So whenever she had the chance, she kicked the dog off of his cushion and used it herself. We eventually decided to fix the problem by getting the dog another cushion and giving the cat his old one. The new cushion was slightly larger than the old one, which was just as well since it fit him better.
The slight change in size however, did not go unnoticed by the cat, who decided that she would share with the dog and give him back his old cushion. Now the dog sleeps in the nice warm house on his large plush cushion, and the cat sleeps in the back room on her small cushion. Dogs’ eagerness to please their masters is also a commendable trait which cats simply don’t have. Without this, it would be very difficult to train dogs for the many jobs they now hold, from aiding law enforcement personnel and herding sheep, to seeing-eye dogs and even helping exterminators locate hard-to-find infestations.
Cats on the other hand are difficult to train, and once trained, will rarely perform the task on command, preferring to sleep instead. Murphy certainly wouldn’t be the type of dog used for most jobs, but he’s demonstrated his ability to be trained in other ways. When I decided that I would teach him to beg, I only had to put him through the motions for around 20 minutes each day, and he learned in about three days. He learned to roll over in a similar amount of time. Now he’s even learning to walk on his hind legs!
I tried to teach the cat to beg for the fun of it, but she just flopped around when I tried to hold her up, and went back to her bed as soon as I let go. She showed no talent at all as far as willingness or comprehension of what I wanted her to do. Murphy just kept trying until he hit on the right thing, and then caught on almost immediately. Dogs have also performed many heroic deeds from warning a sleeping family of a house fire to fighting to the death to protect their master. (Whoever heard of a heroic cat? ) This is why I think dogs are better than cats.
