Dogs and cats: the eternal debate

The debate of dogs vs. cats has been a continuous one for decades. Often, people cannot come to a compromise: cat owners believe they have the superior pet, while dog owners are confident that they are way better than cat owners. 

Faith Figueroa, a freshman psychology major, firmly believes that her cats are better than any other dog. On the other hand, Kiera Smith, a sophomore biology major, sees her dogs as the best pets to have. Through a series of questions, both students explain why they believe their respective pets are superior.

• How many pets do you own?

Faith: I have three pets, three cats.

Kiera: I have three dogs.

• What are their names, ages, and the backstory of how you got each one of them?

Faith: Okay, so my oldest one is Nastasha or Stasha, she is 19 years old. Funny story, my parents found her when my mom was pregnant with me, so I always say she’s my cat, because I’m like her favorite. She’s a black cat with domestic short hair.

Then we have Zara, who is 12. She has long, domestic hair, and she’s also a black cat. She was abused when she was little, so we kind of got her as a rescue. 

And finally, we have Benji, who is our only male cat, and he has black and white fur, and he’s about six, maybe seven now. 

Benji 

Zara 

Nastasha 

Kiera: We have Mickey, Luna, and Louie. Mickey is turning six in April. Luna is around 12 years old. I remember because we went and we saw ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ in 2014 and my dad was like ‘Alright, we’re gonna get a dog’, and Louis, I think, is 11. 

We got Mickey when my grandma passed away in 2020, and before she passed, my dad and I were talking about dogs we would have wanted, and I said that I wanted a white German Shepherd. And so she put it in her will that she wanted us to get a dog, the white German Shepherd. So after she passed, we got Mickey. He’s my baby.

Luna we got well after ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ came out, and my dad took us to the movie theaters. We saw the movie, and he’s like, ‘You know what guys, we’re getting a dog.’ And then literally the next day, we got a dog. So that’s how we got Luna.

And then Louis, he was a family friend’s dog. They were moving to Texas, and they couldn’t take care of him anymore, so my mom was like, ‘Well, you should take him off your hands,’ and so that’s how we got Louis. 

Mickey and Luna Louis

• Why do you prefer cats over dogs? 

Faith: I feel like there are a lot of reasons. I think that overall, cats are a lot easier to take care of. I think that with dogs, you know, you have to walk them twice a day. It’s just easier when like, you know, a cat does everything for themselves, right? They bathe themselves most of the time, and they lick themselves, and they’re a lot easier. Especially dogs, I feel like, they’re loud, they cause a ruckus, I feel like cats, you can just let them be, you know, they sleep for most of the day. If you have an outdoor cat, you might have to open the door for them every once in a while to let them in or out, but other than that, you only have to do anything for them until you have to clean up their litter box, but it’s just easier. 

Don’t get me wrong, dogs are a man’s best friend, apparently, but I think there’s something about cats that’s a lot more calming than dogs. They’re less needy. They just kind of do everything themselves. Some people always say that, ‘Oh, cats never show any affection,’ and while that’s true of some cats, that’s a very overgeneralized point. A lot of dogs also aren’t as affectionate. I also think cats have superior brain power to dogs, because dogs, you can train them easily, but cats, they kind of have a mind of their own, they’re incredibly smart, and I personally think they’re smarter than dogs

• Why do you prefer dogs over cats? 

Kiera:  I would say dogs, in general, are such pure, happy animals. Honestly, there’s just something so pure and genuine about them. I think just being around them makes me happy. Cause they’re just like little faces, you know? 

• What do you specifically like about each of your cats?

Faith: so Nastasha, she likes me the most, she is the queen of our house, the cats in our neighborhood, they’ll bow down to her, she’s established her place, because she’s 19, right, so she’s been alive for a long time, and that’s more than the average age a cat lives to which is around 16 or 15. She’s really old, she doesn’t really do much nowadays, she just kind of sleeps in my bed and eats, that’s really it. I think that she has grown more affectionate in her later years, which is a bad sign, but it’s kind of sweet, because she’ll snuggle up next to me when I’m doing work or on my bed, but she’s also very lively for a 19-year-old cat.

My mom took her to the vet right before I left for school, and they said they could not believe she was 19 years old, because she’s still jumping up and she doesn’t have any problems. A lot of cats develop a lot of diseases later in their life and she doesn’t have any of that yet. All her joints are still pretty good, so I would say she’s very strong and very determined. She’s also very stubborn when it comes to food. We do have to give her medication because she is older, and she’s stubborn in that aspect, but I love her. She’s my cat best friend.

Zara, when we first got here, caused a ruckus everywhere, and she always fought with Stasha, but Stasha’s the queen, so she put Zara in her place. Zara’s very fluffy, and she’s also part ragdoll cat, so when you pick them up, she won’t try to go out of your arms at all, she’s literally just like a ragdoll, she’s limp, so she’s very affectionate, she loves to be pet and scratched on her stomach or behind her ears. She’s nice, I love her as well.

Benji, on the other hand, I do not like Benji that much, because he will attack Stasha and Zara, and I think that, even though Stasha and Zara are both healthy, it probably doesn’t help them to have this extra cat causing extra stress in their life. He also likes to hunt things and then bring them inside the house, which is not nice most of the time, especially waking up to a dead bunny on our porch sometimes, but we love him still. He likes to play a lot too, which Stasha and Zara don’t really do much anymore. We always have a bunch of toys for him, and he’s very playful, and very cute. 

• What do you specifically like about each of your dogs? 

Kiera: For my dogs in particular, Mickey just means a lot because he’s my grandma’s dog. And also, he’s just my baby. I raised him from a little puppy. For Luna, she’s just very cuddly and very sweet. I just really love her.

And then for Louis, he is a little bit of a jerk, I’m not gonna lie. However, we still love him. He’s almost like my cat dog. He likes to lie on top of the couch. He’s kinda weird. 

But I love them all because I’ve had them for so long. They’re like family. They all mean something.

• Do you have any advice for people who want a cat? 

Faith: It takes a while for cats to warm up to you. Dogs will warm up to you immediately, and that might be somewhat of an overgeneralization, but with cats, you can’t just start petting them right away and expect them to crawl into your lap. You need to establish that trust first. 

When our family first got Benji and Zara, we had to kind of acclimate them into our house, and, with four kids and two adults, six people in the house, it’s a lot to handle for a little tiny cat. You kind of have to let them warm up to you and let them explore and be curious about stuff, and also not be too forceful with them.

You don’t immediately start petting them, you let them sniff you first, get used to your smell, and then you just let them roam around a little bit, but keep them in a contained area at first, and the human that feeds cats, they’re most likely to establish that first connection with. So I think that choosing that person is really important when you first get a cat. So cats can sometimes be a little bit annoying, but I would say that if you give them love, they’ll return that in time. 

• Do you have any advice for people who want a dog? 

Kiera: For one, make sure that you have the means to take care of a dog. I think a lot of people want a dog because the idea is nice, but they don’t have the house space or the backyard or the time.

And I think it’s good to keep that in mind before you get a dog.

There’s a really big commitment, but once you have a dog, they’re kind of like a best friend for life.

They’ll love you no matter what happens or what you do. Obviously, don’t be terrible to them, but I think it is really nice just having that unconditional love. So it’s a very rewarding experience having a dog.

• What would be some disadvantages of having cats?

Faith: I think, with dogs, they’ll definitely warm up to you quicker, which is a plus in some instances.

They are more a part of your daily life, with walks and everything, so some people probably have feel more of a connection with them, which is a plus. With cats, I think some people think they’re aloof and standoffish, but cats are just careful about who they trust, and some of them might be a little more introverted than dogs, but I think they provide a sense of comfort and warmth that not all dogs do. 

• What would be some disadvantages of having dogs? 

Kiera: I would say it’s a lot of work. Obviously, there are different dog breeds and whatnot, but generally speaking, dogs require a bit more effort than, say, a cat. Again, exercise, walks, taking it out to go to the bathroom, having the space for a dog, just some general things. It’s more work than a cat.

Because, like a cat, you can have, you still need to give it some attention, but generally speaking, they’re a bit more independent. 

• Do you believe in the black cat myth?

Faith: No, I do not whatsoever. I think that whoever made up that lie, that myth, clearly did not have black cats of their own. I remember when I was younger, when I would tell my friends I had black cats, they’d be like ‘Oh, they’re bad luck, you need to get rid of them,’ or something like that. When I was younger, especially for Halloween, my parents would tell us to keep the cats inside, because people, if they see a black cat on Halloween, they’ll try to get it, so on Halloween, we’d always keep our cats inside to make sure that they stayed safe and that nobody tried to get one of them 

I think that it’s just the color of their fur, and anybody who thinks they’re bad luck clearly has not had one of them.