Top Ten Reasons Dogs Are Better Than Cats

I’ve seen a few of these articles on the top ten reasons cats are better than dogs so in good natured retaliation I’ve written one of my own on why dogs are better. I have nothing against cats and have had a few over the years. When given a choice I’ll choose a Boston terrier over a feline any day of the week.

1) Dogs don’t jump up on your kitchen counters putting their dirty feet all over areas we prepare food. I have a thing for cleanliness and the thought of any animal walking around on my clean counters where I prepare food turns my stomach. Cats have had their nasty feet in a litter box and then want to put their feet all over your table and places you eat your food. Not in my house.

On this same note, I had a cat that climbed a shelving unit, knocked off two antique teapots and broke them as they hit the rock hearth below. You cannot teach a cat not to climb. Someone mentioned how much more graceful cats are and how they don’t break things. My dog has never broken any of my antiques.

Cats will climb all over your keyboard wanting you to pet or feed them. Dogs can be taught to stay off of your computer equipment and once you tell them to go lay down, if trained, they will leave you alone. You can’t train a cat.

2) Dogs don’t sharpen their claws on your furniture shredding your upholstery and drapes. I’ve had cats that ruined pieces of furniture as well as curtains by climbing and sharpening their claws. I bought scratching posts but it did no good.

3) Trained dogs don’t dig up your garden defecate in your flowers leaving behind a terrible stench. My neighbor’s cats all think my flowerbeds are their personal litter box. I’ve tried spraying cayenne pepper/water and other store bought remedies with no luck. It is disgusting.

Someone in another pro cat article mentioned that cats bury their feces so there aren’t any droppings left behind. That may be true but the odor is much worse and you can’t get rid of it aside from digging it up and putting it in plastic bags to cover the stench. Dog feces doesn’t smell good but it’s not near as offensive as cat manure.

4) Dogs bark and let you know when an intruder is nearby or when someone is at the door. Another writer mentioned that cats don’t bark annoying their neighbors. This is true, trained dogs won’t do that either. I blame the owners and not the dog. However, my neighbor’s cats fight and mate very loudly outside my bedroom window almost nightly until I go out with the hose to run them off. At least my neighbor’s dogs are sleeping during the night.

5) Dogs can defend you if you are attacked even a tiny Chihuahua will fight to his death protecting his owner. Cats don’t care if you are attacked, in fact, if you die and are left for an extended period of time cats will eat you to survive.

Dogs don't eat their master and grieve for years at the loss of their human companions. Statues have been erected for dogs who waited for their master to return. Cats don’t love people they only see us as food dispensers. If not you someone else will take care of their needs. People are all the same to them.

6) Dogs are happy to see you no matter what. Even mistreated canines will wag their tail and wiggle happily to see their master. They are the most forgiving beasts on this planet. They love unconditionally.

7) Dogs can be trained to do tricks, walk on a leash and stay. Granted, there are many untrained dogs left in yards that bark incessantly out of boredom but that is the fault of the owners, not the dogs.

Someone in another article mentioned that cats catch mice. Not all cats catch mice and incidentally, some dogs can do that too. My Boston terrier caught mice when he was younger. He’s old, deaf and can’t see very well these days so his mouser days are over but he caught more than any cat I’ve ever owned. He also caught squirrels, moles and gophers.

8) Dogs can be trained to stay in their own yard. Cats go wherever they please. Again, my neighbor’s cats walk through my yard like they own the place, doing as they please at all hours of the night. Cats have no respect for fences or other people’s property. You can’t train a cat to stay in or out of a yard.

9) Dogs can be trained to help those with disabilities such as blind or mobility impaired. Cats don’t care if you can go anywhere or have anything to eat they only care about whether they have food. Dogs are pleasers and want to help humans. There are no seeing-eye cats.

10) Dogs can be trained to go outside so you don’t have a smelly litter box. If you have a doggie door you don’t even have to get up to let them out. If given healthy foods that don’t contain a lot of fillers you won’t even have to scoop the yard unless you have many dogs or larger breeds.