Cats vs. dogs?

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Pets are very important in my life; they have been known to cause an increase of feel good chemicals called Oxytocin in you and they have helped me through many tough times in my life.

I have a few pets: one dog and two cats. My dog is named Wally (after the Red Sox mascot), and my two cats are named Bonnie and Tucker. My dog is 10 and my cats are each about 1 year old. 

They have definitely made me more responsible; feeding the pets, cleaning the litter box, and walking the dog have all made me more independent. 

 When we first got our cats about a year ago, Wally did not get along with them at all. If one of them was laying on his bed, he would not sleep on his bed until they got off. More recently, Wally has been tolerating the kitties, and sharing spots with them. I wouldn’t call it cuddling, but Wally has definitely improved on hanging out with Bonnie and Tucker. 

Some people wonder which one is an easier starter animal, which I have to say cats are easier, but it’s all on preference. I think cats are easier to take care of than dogs because you don’t have to let them out to do their business. If it’s an indoor cat you just have to clean up their litter box everyday, or if they are an outdoor cat you don’t even have to worry about cleaning up after them for the most part. 

You still have to entertain your cat by playing with them, which you have to take time to learn what type of toys they like to play with. Don’t worry about experimenting with new types of toys, especially when they are kittens, with how inexpensive cat toys are. If they don’t like them you can just try out another type. 

If you decide on getting a cat as your first pet you take care of, I would suggest keeping it an indoor cat, even though you have to do the extra work of their litter box, it heavily outweighs the ease of not cleaning up after your outdoor cat. You can get to know them a bit more than an outdoor cat since they usually hang out with you a lot more. With outdoor cats you have to worry about larger animals hurting them, other humans hurting them, and even the things you might not think about like parasitic worms, fleas, ticks, and harmful diseases infecting them. 

If you were to get a cat as your first pet, or any pet in fact, I strongly suggest you do a lot of research on how to care for your pet. Many people get overwhelmed with having a pet and abandon them. According to the abandoned animal stat report in the USA, approximately 6-8 million cats and dogs are surrendered into shelters in the year of 2021 , and even more are never found. 

A common thought I always think about is, are cats or dogs smarter? The cats explore a lot more and seem to learn a lot quicker. After we feed the dog, he goes outside and they wait by the door to see if they can sneak out. Or, how impressive it is how they seem to calculate their jumps accurately, or that they can open the doors? While my dog just seems to be just happily walking around, sitting down and chilling around the house. Is it just determination, motivation, and interest levels, or is it something along the lines of intelligence?

According to a  PBS article labeled, “Which are smarter, cats or dogs? We asked a scientist.” It is proven that dogs have more neurons in their brains than cats do, so on a technical level dogs are smarter than cats, however, neurologist Dr. Herculano-Houzel said, “Please love your pets (cats and dogs) alike as much as you want, regardless of how many neurons they have.” 

Comparing which animal is smarter is not a very easy thing to do and is like asking, which tool is better, a hammer or a screwdriver. They both have very different jobs and are good at different things. All animals have evolved to fit their needs and ability to survive, which makes them totally different from one another.