One of two things happened when you saw the title of this post. You either said, “YESSS!” and did a happy dance, or you said, “Whatever! I’ll come back later when you are talking about a real animal-like a DOG!” The cat vs. dog debate has been going on since Fred Flintstone was putting out their prehistoric feline every night, but I really don’t have anything bad to say about dogs or the owners who love them. I may have fought you on the point of which animal is “better” overall a few years ago, but I think I’ve come to realize that people just want different things out of pet ownership and those differences usually dictate which type of pet they prefer. I am obviously a self-proclaimed cat connoisseur (all the pictures are of our kitty Charlie), and I’ll sum up my few tops reasons as to why:

1.) Cats do their “business” inside. Now this may seem like a negative feature to some that think it’s gross, but unless that objector also has an outhouse (rather than indoor plumbing) for their own personal use, then I don’t really get that argument. Also, who wants to take Fido for a walk and a tinkle break in the middle of winter? Not me. Live ten flights up in a sky-rise apartment? Well, Rex needs a fire hydrant NOW, so you better get to stepping then, shouldn’t you? That’s what I thought.

2.) Cats are chillaxin’ 99% of the time. Ever walked into a house to have a dog the size of a small donkey knock you over with their enthusiasm before they hump every available corner of your body while you silently weep for your stolen innocence and youth? Cats don’t do that when they see you. Oh, sure, you may get an icy cat stare from under the bed at your friend’s house, but I’ll take that over a “slow-motion-slobberfest-like-that-one-scene-in-the-Beetoven-the-dog-movie-when-he-shakes-his-head-and-slobber-is-going-everywhere-and-I-mean-EV-ER-Y-WHERE” type of greeting any day of the week.

3.) Cats need “me time.” Again, this is another point that may not sound like a plus at first, but the truth is that I need “me time” too, so it actually works out really well. I love that there are times when Charlie is a total doll-face and follows me from room to room just to keep me company or naps with me on the couch for hours at a time. I also love that I don’t feel bad if I’m not with her every moment because I know that she also likes to take sleep on and off throughout the day, watch birds out the window, or just hide under our bed because she wants to be alone. She’s with us when she wants to be and retreats when she doesn’t feel like hanging out. Being an introvert myself, I can understand that need to recharge after a certain amount of interaction, so I never feel smothered by her and vice versa.

Anyway, these thoughts are obviously generalizations of both the feline and canine species, and your animal experience depends more on the personality of that particular pet rather than the actual category in which it belongs. I have met some mean cats and angelic dogs, so I really do love members of both camps, but I’ll probably only be a cat owner for the reasons listed above.

It’s totally ok if you’re not a “cat person,” but I am, and there’s a sleeping gray furball on my lap as I type this post and that’s just the way I like it.