I'm allergic to animals, but dogs drive me crazy: They're needy and they smell bad. Gimme a self-sufficient cat any day over a dog.
Big male cats make a great pet for a guy -- you don't have to take them for walks, they use their own box, and you can rough house and fight (play) with them like a dog. My old cat (16 years) just had to be put to sleep -- he was so awesome -- I could go out of town for days for work/ vacation/ etc. and just leave a bunch of food out for him. No worries about boarding or having someone come over two or three times a day to let him out. Prissy female cats are trouble -- I wouldn't get one, but a big old tomcat is a great pet for a guy especially if you raise it like a dog.
You don't have to take a cat outside 3 times a day so it wont' S@#$ all over your floor. Cats are much cleaner and you don't need to attend to them every minute of the day. My roommate got a dog and its cute but its getting annoying smelling his ass all over the living room and a little in my room.
I've had 10 cats and 2 dogs in my adulthood. Both are great pets, but for your situation I'd go with a cat-- two of them, so they have company. Right now we have one dog and three cats. The claws on furniture can be frustrating. Our own Jeff here taught me to put clear boxing tape on the corners of sofas etc to discourage them from sharpening claws on furniture. You'll have to take it off for the Parade of Homes but otherwise it's not too bad. Scratching poles help but it seems to be kind of an impulsive thing. If you can install a cat door, do that. Also, cat's are easily trained to a dinner bell when you want them home.
You need a cat!! They are really good animals and if you own one for a while they are very very playful!! i mean how can you say no to this: <img src="http://www.worcestercats.org.uk/images/tabbykitten.JPG">
Pro-Cat language nsfw <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B9T5LSIR4fQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B9T5LSIR4fQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
No lie. I took in a cat that hung out in my parents backyard by the pool. It lived there for 4 years but always wanted in the house and would kick our dogs ass when they went after it. I brought her into my home, and all was well. Until the shedding started, then the scratching of my furniture...and the HORRIBLE smell from the kitty litter. She stayed here for 3 months till I had enough. Now this house is always clean, smells great and no more throw up looking fur balls on the floor to come home to after work. Never again, as I can not haz cat.
That works for me. Honestly, I didn't mean to offend you, or any anti-cat people. But, I did think you and DaDa actually meant to offend the pro-cat people...that's why I re-used the "suck" sentiment from your posts. Other than that, I didn't mean anything personal.
I've hated every ****ing cat my family has ever owned. They tear the **** out of my couch, more often than not they are assholes, I have to smell their nasty litter box unless it is kept up and scooped daily (and I don't care what anyone says, letting my dog out into the backyard to take a dump a couple times a day is WAY less work than maintaining a litter box). I have never had a cat that could efficiently use a litter box. One of them had the worst ass-awareness I have ever seen. He would sit in the box, but hang his ass over the side and **** on the ground. I hated that ****ing cat so bad. I think it may have been r****ded or something. The other two I have owned in my time were jerks. One was okay if you just left him alone. But if you messed with him too much, he would claw the crap out of you. The other is a psychotic *******. He attacks random people at random times for no reason I can tell. My 3 year old niece was in town last weekend, and he clawed the hell out of her arm as she walked by the couch it was perched on. I wanted to drop kick that son of a b****. He has done the same to my 1 year old son. I have two dogs. They can be annoying and needy at times, but the pros far outweigh the cons, to me.
I think you've just owned psycho cats (obvious, I know). But you can't discount psycho dogs (not that you are, but still). A psycho dog of appropriate size can kill people. I've seen my share of mean cats, but I've never had to worry about them killing me.
If you have a cat it should NEVER EVER go outside unless it is on a leash...otherwise you are an irresponsible pet owner. DD
I admit I'm a single guy with a cat. I got my cat to tackle a mouse problem and unfortunately she didn't end up being that great of a mouser, she flushed one out but when the mouse would play dead it really confused her so I ended up catching it. Still I think her presence alone scares mice off since I have seen any signs of them shortly after I got her. I've lived with cats and dogs before and while I like dogs a cat is far less maintenance than a dog and I've never had a smell problem. I keep my cat's litter box in the basement and scoop it out every other day and even in the basement it doesn't smell very bad. As for the poor @ss awareness getting a larger litter box or an enclosed litter box takes care of that. The downside is the shedding, puking and clawing, particularly guitar amps, but putting packing tape on the corners has stopped that. I brush my cat regularly which takes care of the shedding but she still pukes up hairballs and food every now and then. That said though dogs will often destroy furniture too by jumping on upholstery and many like to chew shoes and other things plus they shed too.
Not only are you an irresponsible pet owner, but you're depriving your neighbors of some major comedy by not taking kitty out on a leash.
I've tried putting cats on leashes and its not worth the trouble. Many cats are escape artist and figure out how to get them off or they run into bushes and get the leashes tangled.
