[cosmic_cheese]

The difference may lie in how as mammals, living with a dog or especially a cat is more similar to living with another person. Intelligent birds require a lot of interaction which is good for reducing mental decline, but the relationship is different — most birds spend a substantial amount of time in a cage and generally need to be controlled more, whereas cats and dogs usually freely roam about the house with a few areas that are off-limits.

[ozim]

I would wonder about dog vs other animals.

With dog you have to walk outside even if you have a garden, a dog needs a daily walk a bit further around.

Cat doesn’t need a walk, well it requires play time but I would say walking around the block should do more for person health than playing around with cat in-house.

[cosmic_cheese]

Well, there’s a physical aspect and socio-mental aspect. A dog probably would be better for the former, but cats aren’t as straightforward as dogs to please or understand and require increased ability to put onself in another’s shoes and view things from their standpoint. Cats are a lot like little furry people in terms of socialization.

[nandomrumber]

I wonder if owning both a dog and a cat scales linearly, or if the combo is synergistic.