When you get home after a long and tough day after work who is the first one to greet you? Your dog! Cats are very independent creatures that can get along fine without their person. But your dog? No way. Some get separation anxiety when you leave the house, crying for hours on end. Who else is going to give you that much love and devotion? If you come home from committing a terrible crime, your dog doesn’t care. They are just as happy to see you. They are truly man's or woman's best friend. Dogs are also easier to train than dogs. You can play with them in the backyard, take them for walks and hikes. Some cats can do this too, but not many. Cats are not easy to train as they are not eager to please like dogs are. Dogs are able to accompany their humans when they go hunting. Fetching birds and flushing other critters out of the bushes for their person. They are able to do so many more things with you than cats are. Dogs are pack animals and are always looking to their humans to take the lead. Some want to cuddle and know that you are there. When you are upset most dogs want to make you feel better. By licking your face, or nudging you, or by just getting your attention off of what's making you sad.

Some dogs have wiggles, and I like that. They are also soft and many like to be pet. The cats I have come across don't like to be pet. I like taking care of a dog because they engage with me back and cats don't tend to do that. Though I understand why some people like cats, I will always prefer a dog.

If you ever wanted to see an animal be visibly embarrassed, a cat is the creature for you. The reputation is of a graceful; elegant, intelligent creature- king of the jungle and suburbia both. The reputation seems to hang heavily over the head of many a moggy. When a cat fails to gracefully leap onto the sofa; or to elegantly climb down from the windowsill and- worst of all- is outsmarted by a mouse, there is a palpable air of embarrassment. You cannot watch a dog stand for several hours over a particular hole in the garden waiting for mice. You cannot watch the dog fail to catch the mouse when it exits the hole. You cannot watch the dog try to style out failing to catch the mouse by pretending that it was just walking in the other direction anyway, and that the mouse was incidental. By far, the greatest advantage of having a cat is the chance to watch something so naturally independently make a tremendous hash of it. Both entertaining and relatable.

**TL;DR - Ask yourself, why does it (always) have to be dogs versus cats?** Well, according to theguardian.com there is a grain of truth in the cat versus dog question and this division can be dated back as far as around 43 million years ago. Both of these somewhat ‘domesticated’ animals share a common ancestry with animals such as badgers, seals, sea-lions, hyaenas, meerkats, weasels, skunks, bears, etc. Moreover, while they do share various similarities and features, apparently the main feature that is shared among them is that of their teeth. It is blade-like carnassial teeth – their fourth upper premolar and first lower molar – which bite together to shear through food. Additionally, they also belong to the Carnivora (order) which is split into two well-defined groups, namely, feliformia and caniformia. The feliformia are largely cat-like and tend to be more specialised meat-eaters, have shorter faces and retractable claws and many of them ambush and pounce their predators (with animals like the cheetah being a notable exception, running and chasing after their prey). While the caniformia are largely dog-like consisting of the usual wolves, jackals, hyaenas etc. Other animals that make up this diverse groups of caniformia include skunks, weasels, otters, racoons, etc., as well as, marine carnivoran such as seals and 'sea dogs'. So as you can see, it doesn’t necessarily have to be dogs versus cats, especially since they are family in a way - albeit distantly related. Cats vs dogs: in terms of evolution, are we barking up the wrong tree? https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/26/cats-vs-dogs-in-terms-of-evolution-are-we-barking-up-the-wrong-tree [accessed January 26, 2021].

Although dogs can be lovely, companionable friends, there are many ways in which cats are better. First of all, many dog lovers say that dogs are more friendly and extroverted around humans, which is true, as dogs are generally more excitable. However sometimes it’s nice to have a pet who is more relaxed, who isn’t constantly barking for attention or whenever something moves outside the window. Because of this calmness and lack of need for constant fuss, people often assume that cats do not care about their humans. Yet this is not necessarily true: when they feel like it, a cat can curl up on your lap for hours or softly mew when it wants to be stroked (instead of an ear-splitting bark for attention), and this selective need for attention can give both cat and human valuable time to get on with other things. Also, on arrival home from work, a cat would quietly wander up to you and rub against your ankles lovingly as a greeting, instead of bounding up to the front door, jumping up over-excitedly and swinging its head back when you try and pat it. Cats certainly show affection just as much as dogs, however in a much more relaxed manner, which often gets confused for disinterest. Cats are also much more low-maintenance, as they effectively take care of themselves (e.g. grooming, exercise, etc). While it’s true that vet bills aren’t going to be any cheaper than a dogs would be, the cat owner will definitely save money in terms of trips to the groomers, and dog-sitters, because cats don’t generally need these expenses. For example if you went on a trip for a few days, you would need to book a sitter for the dog, while a cat would be quite content with the house to itself for a bit- all it would need is it’s litter tray and a big bowl of food. Dogs are more demanding in this sense, needing play time and walks twice a day, not to mention the chaotic excitement they burst into if you even mention the word ‘walk’. Dogs are lovely creatures and I love them, but cats can give you just as much affection and company whilst being very low-maintenance at the same time.

I have selected "For" because the sociability afforded by dog ownership is such a positive benefit. For those living alone the enforced walk in all sorts of weather brings more that physical exercise. Often the chats exchanged with other dog walkers are the only social exchanges of the day. As a dedicated dog lover, even points presented by others as disadvantages are enjoyed by me.

While I love dogs, I prefer cats. Cats are cleaner than dogs, spending 30-50% of their day just grooming themselves. Unlike dogs that will happily stay gross and smelly if allowed to. Cats smell better than dogs, due to how often cats groom themselves, they don't really have much of any smell to them. Dogs however have a natural smell that can't really be gotten rid of easily, or gotten rid of without risking the dog's skin health through over bathing. Cats also tend to be much less intense when it comes to wanting affection, while dogs tend to get all jumpy, jumping on you, barking, running around and getting all up in your face. Cats frequently spend time with their person by simply wanting to spend time in the same room as, or nearby their person. And when cats do become more demanding of attention, they aren't as loud or as in your face about it. I just think cats are better. Still love dogs tho.