Qualities and characteristics of cats and dogs, a comparative essay

Cats and dogs are the most popular pets in this side of the globe, and also popular culinary dishes in the other side of the world, but that is a subject that we won’t discuss here. Dogs have receive the title of “man’s best friend”, while cats have being relinquish to a second level. I am not trying to convince anyone that one is better than the other, but there are some differences that should be taken into consideration.

When you get a new puppy or kitty, potty training can be difficult, like when you are potty training a 2 year old. Puppies, I have found, are more difficult to train than a cat. A puppy needs to be taught that they have to do their peeing or popping outside of the house, since it can leave a bad odor in the floors, sofas, beds or the house in general. Cats are easier to train. Once you show then where their litter box is, they know where to do it, and it’s very difficult that they do it around the house. You can also teach your kitty to use the toilet seat with a fantastic DVD sold by Litter Kwitter.

Dogs are easier to take out for a walk. You can put a leach on them and walk or run with them around your neighborhood or a park. Some people are taking their dogs everywhere, including malls, with their leach or a dog stroller. Yes, now dogs have strollers too, like babies. Cats do not like the leach. They like to be free and walk whenever and wherever they want. I tried to put a leach on my cat, Maquiavelo, once since he was so energetic. I thought I could take him out for a walk. But he paralyzed when I put it on. I have desisted on this idea, also because he scratched me when I took it off.

Dogs cannot clean themselves. Depending on the dog and the dogs surrounding, you have to bathe them at least every two week, sometimes a week. If you have a dog that has a lot of hair, you also need to brush their hair, almost twice a week, so it doesn’t get tangled. Cats clean themselves, not because their owners are lazy, but because their body is prepare for that. Cats have in their tongues backwards-facing spines made of keratin. They are rigid and function like a brush when they lick their fur. Since I suffer from asthma and allergies, I bathe my cat at least once a month. He really hates it, and I have to do it with long sleeves because he will scratch me till I am done.  

On the other hand, dogs have a schedule more or less equal than humans. During the day is when they concentrate more their activities. Dogs have a sleep time average of 10 hours per day, like humans do. And they tend to have dreams. Play during the day, and sleep during the night, like most humans do. Cats pretty much do whatever they want regarding their schedule, and are more nocturnal. They tend to be active during the early mornings. They take a lot of naps during the day, and are active during the night, like hamsters. This is called crepuscular behavior. After finding this fact, you might think cats are more Twilight fans than dogs are. This can be a problem, because sometimes you want to sleep, and you cat wants to play. That’s when they start licking your neck and pushing their little paws on your chest, that can hurt because their nails come out and scratch you.

Dogs can be taught tricks; they will catch a ball or a Frisbee. Roll over and play dead. Cats will look at you, yawn, and then cat nap again. The only time I have seen my cat play dead is when he was a little kitty and was trying to play with Felix, the older house cat. Felix doesn't like to play with Maquiavelo, he still doesn’t understand why. One day he was ready to play, started running towards Felix, and when he hissed at him, Maquiavelo suddenly stopped and “drop dead”. It was funny, and I have only seen it once. Too bad I didn’t have a camera with me at the time.

People say that dogs will wait for their owners at the door when they come from work, but everyday my cat waits for me at the door. They also say dogs can feel when their owners are sad, depressed or happy, and they can join the happiness or try to cheer them up, but this is a characteristic I have seen in cats too. They are both certified breeds for Emotional Support Animals, as well as monkeys, ponies, and birds. So this quality can be questionable.

Being a past dog owner and a recent cat owner, you can see that both animals have their own traits and qualities. And although dogs can be call “man’s best friend”, it’s a personal choice when you choose the kind of pet you want to have, because both have their own uniqueness’s.