[douche]

It's also difficult to have a real dog if you're living in a city. Dogs need space, exercise, and attention, which are in short supply the more urban you go. Additionally, it can be almost impossible to find apartments that will allow dogs over purse-size.

Cats don't particularly need exercise, are small, tend to be able to entertain themselves, and for whatever reason, are easier to get permission to have in apartments[1]. So if you're a city person, it's magnitudes easier to be a cat person, if you're going to have pets at all. City people are more liberal than country people, on average.

[1] I cannot stand litterboxes, hairballs, or cat urine, so this baffles me...

[derefr]

Suburbs count as city, though, not rural. And to me, that's a dog's niche: the detached-home-plus-yard. Dogs don't fit in apartments, but they don't really "earn their keep" on farms, either (on ranches or pastures, sure, but not farms.) Meanwhile, it's traditional to have a barn-cat to keep away vermin, even if you've also got traps.