They are NOT little dogs!

I wish Holland would "fetch". One of her new favorite games is running after her ball when I throw it for her. She just doesn't bring it back. I guess she figures I need the exercise too.

I have to admit...I'm guilty of saying my dog thinks he's a cat. He plays with the cats he sleeps like the cats on the back of the couch. He rolls on the floor for belly rubs like herc and fatman do. Its funny to me because the cats are all bigger than franklin and he is maybe around one dog for maybe an hour a day once a mth. He just has no other canine socialization but he was raised with the cats and knows who rules the roost. Them. Although I do love that gigi picked up a habit of franklins and likes to run around the house with her toys in her mouth like franklin does when its chase the kitty time. She runs right along with him, him with rita and her with her catnip buddy. Its adorable but in no way doglike its just her mimicing something franklin does that she thinks is fun.

I definitely think animals living together, even of different species, will pick up characteristics and habits from one another, that is just the way things happen.

This is a very interesting thread. I am guilty of comparing one of my cat with dog when I first got my 2 cats. They both have very different personality and, because I did not know better at the time, I thought that one was more cat-like and the other dog-like (she just acted more the way I would have expect a puppy to act). I now know a lot better. I got to know my cats, I've had a dozen fosters cat over the past 3 years and I read so much about cats.
I now get angry too when people compare my cats to dogs and I always tell them that they act exactly like..cats! I tell them about the many different personalities of the cat and explain to them that you can't expect a cat to act like your best friend if you don't take care of him/her because you think they don't need to taken care of, loved and entertained. My cats are my best friends. People laugh when I say I would be in grief if they died. They say, "come on, it's a cat!". Would they say that if it was a dog?

Marilou

When I first got Jake everyone in my family said he acted like a dog every time he fell asleep on his back. My dad said a cat never lies on its back..Same thing happened when he was fetching.
It's mostly out of ignorance that people say this, because they don't know enough about cats. My dad never had a cat before so he wouldn't know how a cat normally acts.
I haven't heard anyone say the cat thinks it's a dog though. But I have my suspicions that Jake thinks he's a human or that I'm a cat...but does it make a difference

As far as cats being solitary, I agree that they are not but everyone knows cats are a lot more independent than dogs, and dogs are all clingy and needy. Maybe that's what the person who said they are solitary meant to say.

A lot of people say dogs are more intelligent than cats, but IMO they don't know what they're talking about. Cats don't follow orders because they don't see how listening to a human is something worth doing- listen to a human simply because it will make the human happy and make the human approve?? What kind of a lame incentive is that??
Dogs on the other hand would do anything to gain their human's approval. It is kind of sad because it leaves them soo vulnerable.

This cracks me up because our shelter uses a vet that gets really annoyed with people who say that a cat is "just like a dog." He says, "Why does it have to be like a dog, why can't it just be a great cat?" This vet LOVES cats and has several of his own, but now when ever I hear people make these comments I notice it & think of him.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

A lot of people say dogs are more intelligent than cats, but IMO they don't know what they're talking about. Cats don't follow orders because they don't see how listening to a human is something worth doing- listen to a human simply because it will make the human happy and make the human approve?? What kind of a lame incentive is that??
Dogs on the other hand would do anything to gain their human's approval. It is kind of sad because it leaves them soo vulnerable.

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I think this is very true about dogs and cats. Cats can be trained if you give the right incentives... ie: food, treats, attention. It just takes more time because a cat is not going to openly beg for your approval.

I've noticed though even though they don't beg for my approval when they do get it they seem to be in heaven. That's because I also give approval in the form of treats and attention... so its things they like. In the end both my cats know the meaning of the word down. They don't jump up on counters and surfaces that aren't allowed. They use the litter box unless sick, and scratching well... they haven't completely torn up the wrong carpets. I end up putting carpets on top of carpets so the floor survives. That is about all the training I need with my cats.

Cats may take less time and effort to take care of, but the time and effort you put in will strengthen the bond you have with your cats. My two are senior and sleep a lot these days. I still put aside time for a 30 min play session with string/wand games too. They really seem to enjoy that. I think most people seem to have a stronger bond with their dogs because a dog will demand more time and effort. If you put the same time and effort in with a cat the cat will reward you same. I don't really think laziness contributes to this more then people just not realizing this fact.

With that said I love both dogs and cats. I'm animal person in general, I even find the turtles that we have cute, and can tell them apart. I just have problems with having something as a pet that could potentially eat me(some reptiles).

Originally Posted by LisaR

If you put the same time and effort in with a cat the cat will reward you same. I don't really think laziness contributes to this more then people just not realizing this fact.

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I agree in that I think many people don't realize how playful cats are. But I do believe that cats require more time and effort to earn their trust. Some cats, anyway (mine included). Personally, I love that I had to work so hard for my cat's love and trust. I have friends and family with dogs and those dogs will be my best friend because I pet them or throw a ball for them. I think cats forcing you to work for their affection makes for a stronger bond.

Originally Posted by LisaR

I just have problems with having something as a pet that could potentially eat me(some reptiles).

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I have ALWAYS wanted a pet snake. I love snakes!! The only reason I don't have one is because I don't think I could handle feeding live mice to it...

Its not that I don't like snakes, its that I cannot handle having one.

As for time and effort I merely meant the time and effort spent on their basic needs, food, litter box and shelter. Dogs need to be walked or let outside where the litter box is a short 5-10min thing once a day. Cats are extremely playful animals. I just wish people would realize that. The other thing is earning a cats trust is no simple feat I totally agree.

Originally Posted by LisaR

As for time and effort I merely meant the time and effort spent on their basic needs, food, litter box and shelter. Dogs need to be walked or let outside where the litter box is a short 5-10min thing once a day. Cats are extremely playful animals. I just wish people would realize that. The other thing is earning a cats trust is no simple feat I totally agree.

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Oh I totally agree with you. I think because you don't have to let cats outside and because you can leave them alone for a night or two, people get the wrong impression of them and think they are low maintenance and don't need human interaction as much as dogs do. My family cannot understand that I refuse to leave my cat alone for ANY more than two nights (and that has only been a couple times). And I get looks too because when I leave her for more than a couple of hours I turn the TV or the radio on for her to listen to.

I can't say I blame people for their way of thinking about cats, because I was the same way before I actually had one. I brought Holland to my mom's house last Christmas because I was staying at her place for 5 days, and man - I swear she had more "luggage" than I did! I hauled her scratching post, bed, litter box, toys and food down to my mom's place and the only time Holland wasn't hiding under the bed was when I came in to spend time with her...

I'm guilty, but please don't flame me! When I got Daisy I told everyone she followed me around "like a puppy." I've had lots of cats, but none of them have ever stuck with me like that. I use animals in a lot of my descriptions though...I say Speck "jumps like a deer!" and my Bil has hair on his back "like a bear!"

Originally Posted by Mawilouwl

People laugh when I say I would be in grief if they died. They say, "come on, it's a cat!".

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That's what really upsets me is when people say stuff like that! I know exactly what you mean! I have lots of dog loving friends who really think cats are not as much a family pet as a dog. They do not understand my cats and my dog are my best friends. When people say that stuff its really unnerving.

Originally Posted by otto

This is something that annoys me greatly about how sometimes people talk about their cats.

"She thinks she's a dog because she...." this drives me insane.

A cat is a cat and acts like a cat. Anything a cat does, it's because she is a CAT, it has nothing to do with dogs.

Cats play fetch, they greet you at the door, they roll over on their backs to show yummy tummy, they go for walks with their people. They even come when they are called. It is all normal catly behavior.

The more attention you pay to your cats, the more their personalities will develop and you will discover many delightful things about them, but none of it has anything to do with dogs!

(I am not a dog hater, I love dogs too. But cats behave the way they do because they are CATS, not because "they think they are dogs".)

Thanks for letting me have my little rant.

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Yes! you are absolutely right!
I love dogs too, but I think so many more people like dogs and not cats that I like to compensate having only cats. That, " He thinks that he is a dog" attitude you are talking about is like giving dogs greater importance than cats, and that's not the case, give the cats their place too!
Why is it that cat lovers most of the time love dogs too, (raccoons, badgers, whales, snakes and mice, as well, if that's the case), and dog lovers only like, well, dogs! I don't like to think all the rest of the animal species are only hunting material to them. Fortunately not all, I hope.

I understand where you are coming from, but I feel that most of the time (like ppl on here) say it light-heartidly (sp?). I have called my cat Poodle dog-like before, but that does not mean that I think he has the personality of a dog, it just means he does things that remind me of a typical dog sometimes. He is not your typical graceful cat, lol.

But I do not mean anything by it. It sounds like some of you may think of dogs as lesser beings that cats, and that is why you do not like these comments. I may like cats more, but I do not think that either is 'lesser' than the other.

But I DO understand where most of you are coming from, cats are CATS. Not dogs, and when people get a cat thinking that it will act like a dog, they qiuckly find out that isn't true.

Originally Posted by KatKisses

But I do not mean anything by it. It sounds like some of you may think of dogs as lesser beings that cats, and that is why you do not like these comments. I may like cats more, but I do not think that either is 'lesser' than the other.

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No, you've misunderstood. It's exactly the opposite.

When people attribute DOG characteristics to a cat behavior, to me, they are saying DOGS are better. They are saying that a cat normally doesn't have the intelligence, or personality or ability or capacity to behave like this normally. Only a DOG could behave in such a way and be normal.

If feeds into the fallacy that cats are standoffish unfriendly creatures that can't possibly behave in this cute funny way of their own volition.

Dogs are not better than cats nor are cats better than dogs, in the general scheme of things.

Cats are better for ME, than dogs, but I don't not love dogs. I have many dogs in my life who I love very much.

Originally Posted by otto

No, you've misunderstood. It's exactly the opposite.

When people attribute DOG characteristics to a cat behavior, to me, they are saying DOGS are better. They are saying that a cat normally doesn't have the intelligence, or personality or ability or capacity to behave like this normally. Only a DOG could behave in such a way and be normal.

If feeds into the fallacy that cats are standoffish unfriendly creatures that can't possibly behave in this cute funny way of their own volition.

Dogs are not better than cats nor are cats better than dogs, in the general scheme of things.

Cats are better for ME, than dogs, but I don't not love dogs. I have many dogs in my life who I love very much.

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Gottcha, my post wasn't directed at you in particular, sorry if you thought it was.

I still see my cat Poodle as dog-ish, he is not graceful at all... not that dogs can't be graceful (ever see a greyhound run?). It just goes to show you that every single animal is different, and has their own personality. I realize that the idea of cats being solitary animals who stay to themselves is not true at all, none of mine are like that. But I do understand that when someone is saying their cat is dog-like, that it is light-hearted... if that makes sense.

I have never really thought of it as a bad thing, but I understand everyones concern that people are misguided when they think that it isn't 'normal/typical' when a cat does tricks, fetches, and is very loving. Any cat can have those traits, it isn't just a 'dog thing.'

No, no I didn't take your comments personally. Just wanted to clarify my original meaning.

I am grateful for everyone's contributions, whether I agree with them or not.

Originally Posted by THF

That's what really upsets me is when people say stuff like that! I know exactly what you mean! I have lots of dog loving friends who really think cats are not as much a family pet as a dog. They do not understand my cats and my dog are my best friends. When people say that stuff its really unnerving.

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As I said earlier, I grew up with dogs, and it was heart-wrenching every time we lost one. But my cat is the first animal I've ever had that is truly mine, and even though I know the time will eventually come that I have to say goodbye to her, I also know that's it's going to be devastating. I talk to my cat more than any dog I ever had. I know I am preaching to the choir here, but I just feel more challenged (for lack of a better word) with keeping a cat than I ever was with my dogs.

I love that I can leave her overnight and not have to worry about her pooping on the floor or starving. But I also love that when I get home after leaving her overnight she is cuddly as can be.

The thing about dogs is that people KNOW how most dogs are, dogs are social and anyone who has a dog or knows someone with a dog will undoubtedly have interactions with that dog. I like to think that cats are more "private" (again, for lack of a better word) pets. They won't necessarily go out of their way to be nice to people other than their mommies and daddies.

It does get frustrating for someone like me, where the people I am close to in my life are for the most part dog people. I have to watch while my little brother brings his dog Mallie to my mom's house and see Mallie put her paws on my mom's shoulders to "hug" her. I have to watch while my sister and her boyfriend's dog loves everyone who comes to visit him. Then there's Holland. I know she's the sweetest, best cat in the world, but she won't show it for anyone else!! Then I get my family thinking that I "use" Holland as an excuse to not want to leave home for more than a night. She's not an excuse!! I love being with my girl!!

My SIL (who I love dearly) actually called my cat an a$$hole (excuse my language) for the way she hides from people. Of course, this is the same SIL who - with my brother - adopted a dog out of a horrible, horrible abusive situation many years ago. I know they love Frosty, but they are just of the mind that animals are less than humans. Frosty is kept outside ALL THE TIME (except for overnight), even in the snow and cold. It breaks my heart. Both of their kids love Frosty though, and they are definitely learning at least how to treat animals with kindness. Frosty is always treated with kindness, she just gets ignored a lot. To my brother and SIL's credit, though, they adopted Frosty before they had kids, and now that they do have kids, they recognize the fact that they don't have the time for a pet. My SIL has told me that Frosty will be the last dog they have for a while.

Oh my, I am now just completely rambling...

It's sad that everywhere in the media and since a long time ago cats have been and are depicted as evel creatures, I really don't think I have to give many examples but even in little things like Tom and Jerry cartoons that negative image sinks in to people's conscious and unconscious with very sad results as real cats do end up suffering totally unjustifiably. They couldn't be more loyal and safe to have as ..."pets".

This touching on a subject that has become a pet peeve of mine. How often do we hear "My cat can't be trained to a leash". For over 40 years we had German sshorthair pointers and all came to us as puppies. Each one had to be train with the collar and leash. they didn't suddenly become leash train. We had to work with each puppy. When we got Kato we heard you can't leash train a cat or train him for anything. We didn't listen and Kato was train just like our puppies. Let me tell no cat is so dumb he/she can't be leash trained. Kato has a same since of smell like any of our German shorthairs and is as intelligence as any of them, if not more so. So don't insult cats by saying they can't be leash train. They can. society demands dogs be leashed and there are no laws about cats. A cat who managed to get out of his harness is not dumb; but smart.