Cats vs Dogs: The Ultimate Pet.

Right from when I was little, I have always loved animals. It all started when I was eight and my mum bought a dog as a family pet. Not long after, I realized how smart and cute they can be and my love for it grew exponentially. I remember when this dog went missing, I starved and cried for two days straight to the point that my whole family had to go look for her and bring her back. After her, I've had many other dogs but never a cat and honestly, I had nothing against cats. I just loved going with the status quo up until I met Ella.

Ella is a rescued stray cat I adopted months ago and ever since I got her I have started to understand cat lovers. She's so cute, doesn't eat as much as my dog and she's playful too. But on the other hand, my dog, Kim, doesn't scratch my sofa or randomly throw things off the counter and I also haven't had neighbors warn me about how cats are witches and carry diseases like pneumonia.

So which one of them is the ultimate pet? Cats or dogs?

The first thing to consider is food. Food is essential for all forms of life and it's no different with cats and dogs. Dogs are omnivores while cats are obligate carnivores. We all know tastes like sweet, sour, salty, and bitter but another less-known taste is Umami. Umami otherwise known as savoriness is obtained from mostly protein-rich meals like meat, fish egg, and milk. Cats taste Umami so they eat food containing this. In the wild, cats eat small birds, reptiles, and occasionally insects but as pets, they need specially formulated cat food made to contain all of the necessary nutrients needed for growth and also containing Umami for taste. On the other hand, dogs can eat almost anything a human can eat. So I'll say dogs are easier to feed than cats.

Another thing to consider is the size of the pet. The biggest cat; a Maine coon is about the same size as a medium-sized dog like a beagle while a normal-sized cat is usually the same size as a chihuahua; the smallest dog. This means cats are generally smaller than dogs. I love a big pet rather than a small one but the bigger the pet more the fur you find on every surface in your home so do with this information, what you may.

While we're on the topic, let's consider fur. Fur is the hairy outer covering of mammals which includes cats and dogs. Depending on the breed, the fur coat could either be long or short. Now cats are generally known to be clean animals in the sense that they use a litter box as long as it is provided and they groom themselves. They groom by licking their entire body as a way of bathing and regulating their temperature. Dogs don't do this so dogs must be cleaned by their owners at least once a week and their hairs must be brushed daily and depending on their fur coat length, sometimes trimmed. The only dog breed that cleans itself like a cat is a basenji.

Although cats need little to no cleaning from humans, dogs are believed to be easier to train. However, it could be argued that it is necessary to train a dog for him to be a great pet, while this is not a requirement with a cat. Housebreaking a dog is not an easy task and can quickly become messy and frustrating. Even after being fully trained, your dog can have an occasional accident.

Cats on the other hand will not cause the same accidents as long as you have a litter box and direct your cat towards it. 

All these factors are important but some people consider personality as the most important factor to consider when choosing a pet. Pet experts suggest that while dogs see their owners as ‘masters,’ cats are more likely to see them as equals. From my personal experience, dogs easily acclimatize to a new environment. It took my dog a few hours to stop staying quiet in a corner and start playing and jumping whereas it took my cat three weeks to stop hiding under the fridge whenever it saw a human passing and open up to me. Now my dog listens to whatever I say whether it be jump, sit, or out. But even when I'm sure my cat understands these commands, it only does it when it wants to.

So, If you are looking for obedience and respect, a dog may be a better choice, but the independence and low maintenance involved with owning a cat also has its advantages.

Cats and dogs both need Medical care once in a while and they both live up to an average age of 9-12 years. All in all, cats are easier to groom and although they are picky eaters, they don't consume a lot of food. Dogs on the other hand are obedient and have been bred for multiple purposes to suit special human needs. So which do you think is the ultimate pet?