[kelnos]

> Dogs are generally better companions, but lots of people have dog-like cats that wanna be around them 24-7.

I guess it depends on how you define "better". We have cats who snuggle with us in bed at night, but mostly do their own thing during the day, aside from little spurts here and there where they'd like (but don't demand) some attention.

Meanwhile, most of my friends' dogs annoy the hell out of me. No, I don't want you to jump on me and slobber all over my face every time I see you. And most of my dog-parent friends agree that their dog requires a lot more attention and work than our cats do.

To each their own, I suppose.

[geoffmanning]

Any kind of companionship, even a mouse, can provide that kind of emotional support, but that says nothing of the animal's intent or ability to harm others. They are solitary creatures whereas dogs are social creatures. It's little wonder they would be carriers for parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii, whereas dogs aren't

[upon_drumhead]

If you ever watch the videos of the cats going outside with a camera, they almost always end up meeting up with other random neighborhood cats and interact and play. I don't think they're as solitary as people think.

We have a number in the house and they enjoy each other's company.

[Timon3]

Just to expand upon what civilitty said: cats are solitary hunters, but live in social packs. They absolutely prefer to live socially if given the choice. Cats being solitary creatures is a myth.

Your rebuttal is also wrong, since cats do make decisions for the good of their colony.

[civilitty]

> They are solitary creatures

They're not. Feral cats form colonies with complex social structures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cat#Colonies

House cats are much more solitary creatures that are very jealous of their human slaves' relationships.

[civilitty]

In reality cats are man's best friend. Dogs are a child surrogate, except they never reach an age where they're independent. Which is probably half the appeal: they never outgrow us, unlike our children (or our cats).