ChristiansUnite Forums

Please feel free to say why you voted the way you did.  :)

Cats, I have 4 calico's, cats and Lizzie has a dog named Lucky. ::)

I have had both and I do mean both. If I remember right I have had up to 24 dogs and 32 cats at one time. For the most part I do prefer dogs over cats. Dogs are usually just a little more compliant than cats. I say usually as I have had a few cats that were more like dogs. One cat called Smokie, a blue/gray medium hair cat, was one I called my garden cat. Everytime I went into the garden to work he would follow me, jump up on my back and look over my shoulder at what I was doing. Another one was a pure white half Manx by the name of Monkey that came when called by name. He refused to pay attention to the usual kitty-kitty call. He would follow me almost everywhere. If I worked on my truck he would jump up on the front fender and watch me. He trained himself to use the toilet in the bathroom. He refused to use litter or to go outside.

Dogs for the most part though are more compliant and obey commands better.

I like all animals--well, mammals, I suppose. But I really love dogs and I take in abused and abandoned ones.  I have 2 pit bulls and one lab/border collie, and until last spring also had an old collie cross who was a real treasure.  Where I live the by-laws limit the number of dogs you can have, but if I had a choice I would have a dozen!  Cats are fine,  but to me they just can't compete with dogs for companionship and affection.

I know what you mean about the laws limiting animals. That was a long time ago in an area that didn't have those sorts of laws yet. Currently I am living where I am limited to only one dog or cat and the dog must be under 25 pounds.

Only one!!!  That would be no good for me at all.  I have had dogs and cats around for so long that it would feel very strange without them. Also having pit bulls means that most of my friends and acquaintances won't  even think of visiting me at home, so I am spared all the trouble of  keeping an immaculate house, giving dinners, etc., which is fine with me.  The dogs are actually  shy and  very affectionate,  big babies really,  but the breed has a bad reputation due to some idiot humans who abuse them.

Yes, I can only have one here but I get my occasional dose of more when I visit family. One of my kids has a yard full of Pit Bulls. They are all big babies. The first time I saw them the female adult had a brood of babies. I went over there because the neighbors had called and said she and the babies had gotten loose. A perfect stranger to them and I was able to walk right up to them and get them back into their pens without any problems. The mother didn't object at all when I started grabbing the babies. It wasn't that she was not a good mother because she did watch me but knew that I wasn't there to hurt any of them.

The media has just gone nuts on them just as they did the German Shepard and the Doberman at one time. Any dog can be a bad one if they are not treated properly.

AMEN!!

How any animal is raised, can make the difference!!

I like both cats and dogs, as to favoring one over the other, it depends on how they are raised and cared for.
 I have had my share of both, sometimes 1 of each and other times just one or the other.
I've seen both ends of how dogs are trained, meaning whether for companionship or trained for combat and used to patrol perimeters. But you know something either way they are trained they will be a loyal companion to their owners.

Now, cats, yes I like them too, but they are finicy, and when they want attention ok, but when they don't they let you know.

Dave

I'm a dog person.  I don't have a friend now but I have over the years.  I do however have a wonderful grandog named Fred who belongs to one of my daughters.

(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/luvmarley_bucket/Fred.jpg)

I just saw this poll and voted for dogs. I've only had one cat during my life, but I've always had a dog, and the dogs were all really good ones. I don't think that cats like me very much, and they don't seem to provide what I want and need from a pet. Cats seem to be aloof and consider humans to be necessary evils only when it's time to eat.   ;D   I have pets for companionship and affection, and it appears that dogs are the absolute best for that. Maybe I just had all great dogs and that one bad cat, but I've never had a bad dog in over 50 years. They've all been like loving members of the family, and they love us as much as we love them. We treat them extremely well, and many of them live to over 16. I have one little Heinz 57 mix right now that's 16, and I wouldn't trade him. He usually sits right by me most of every day, and we are buddies.

By the way, the one cat I had did nothing but attack me and didn't want to have anything to do with me. Maybe I'm not a cat person, but I don't want another one.

I Love Cats and I belong too Catster for cats! I have a Turkish Angora Male Cat that is very long and almost all white with light blue eyes. Meow Prrrrrrr :D

I voted for Dogs. Although i don't mind cats that much i much prefer dogs.
Saying that, my dog isn't a big cat fan  ;D

Hello Brother Joey,

It's nice to hear from you, and I must say that I share your thoughts. I have a little Heinz 57 Variety sitting next to me right now. He's close to 17 years old and has been a loving, faithful little friend for all of these years. In my case, cats don't like me for some reason and have no use for me except for a scratching post.   ;)   So, I'll opt for a good dog every time.

Hi Brother Tom. It's been a long time. Thank you for saying hi  :)

I've just got back home after my dog taking me out for his last walk of the day. He has 3 walks a day and the evening one is always the longest. I like to think i take him out for a walk but in all truthfulness, he takes me  ;D.... I have to agree with you about how loving and faithful dogs are. My dog is 3 years old and i have had him since he was a puppy at 10 weeks old. He's been my first dog and i never knew someone could become so attached to a pet. For me, my dog is so therapeutic and i'm sure i'm not alone in feeling like this.

Here's a photo of my dog  :) (Hope its ok to post this)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/three_lions/Toby-1-1.jpg)

Hello Brother Joey,

Posting a picture of your dog is just fine. I have some pictures of my dog and some who have passed away, but I don't have them on a hot link so I can post them. I've had dogs all of my life, and all of them have been good dogs. Many of our dogs have lived to over 15, and that's pretty old for a dog. We treat them really good, and I think that's one of the main reasons why they live so long. We did lose one beautiful Australian Shepherd at 5 with congestive heart failure.

By the way, your dog is beautiful. YES, it's a medical fact that pets are good for us, and I've always thought that was particularly true for dogs. I think it has quite a bit to do with unconditional love. My little dog I have now has a white face, and he's a big baby. He cries every time we go anywhere even for a few minutes. We get home and he acts like we've been gone for days. He even makes a noise like singing from time to time when I pet him, and I do spoil him rotten.   ;)   I don't get out much because of disability, and he's been a great little companion for me when my wife is gone. NO - I'm not comparing him to my wife.   ;D

I like dogs best. Most of my life I have had pets, birds and turtles, and a few cats, but dogs are better companions. I love walking in the woods and enjoy the company of a big dog. Safety is often an issue anymore and usually people don't miss with you if you have a big dog at your side. But I enjoy the fact that if trained well, they listen well and are fun to be around. Sometimes they appear to listen and grief with us, know what we need, or enjoy the view. My dogs and I explored the woods in winter and summer. Trained not to harm animals we both gazed with wonder at deer and baby fawns, groundhogs, and turkeys and even fish in the streams.
The few cats I had were outside cats we had on the farm. Watched them grow up, laughed at the silly things they did as kittens, and spent winter evenings helping my favorite cat raid the hen house in search of mice. But cats do what they want when they feel like it all the time. Dogs enjoy being with people and listen and respond better than cats.

Hello islandboy.

For the most part that is very true. Every once in a while though I've found a cat that behaves more like a dog. I've had two that would respond to only their name. None of that kitty-kitty stuff for them. They would greet me at the door just like a dog would. When I worked on my truck they would be there watching me. If I worked in the garden one of them would climb on my shoulder and watch. The other would even try to help me pull weeds yet even left the plants I wanted alone.

We currently have two dogs and a cat. The one dog we have had for a little over 6 yrs now. He turns the touch lamp off at night for me and if I drop something on the floor will get it for me. We adopted the other dog when my brother passed on. She is 3 yrs old. It took us awhile to get her over the grieving process of missing my brother but she has become a really great companion, too. The cat was just recently dropped off on us. She is just a baby but already very well behaved in just a few weeks. She has been adopted by our female dog which has never had babies of her own. That seemed to help her a lot to get over my brother's absence.

We were without dogs for awhile after our last elderly dog had to be put to sleep from cancer. He was 18 and we lost his buddy that same year at 17.

We did some research about breeds and thought it would be some time before we would get another dog. But, things worked together just right, and we found both breeds we were interested in at the same place - same day. We wanted healthy, non-shedding, non-allergenic, loving, companion type dogs that live a long time and are great with small children. "Guard and Protection" weren't on the list of concerns. So, our first two choices were Bichon Frise and Shih Tzu. I think that I spelled those breeds right. Both of them are small lap-type dogs. The Bichon looks like a white toy poodle, and the Shih Tzu looks like a small Ewok on Star Wars.   ;D


The above is a fairly recent picture of Hank the Ewok and Lucy the Bichon. They filled a void, and we love them. Hank is now 5 months old and Lucy is 4 months old. They've been considerable work as puppies - but worth every minute. They've also been a ton of fun. They follow us around and want to be with us doing everything. I would say that the breed information was correct that they are wonderful companion dogs. They give us a lot more than we give them.

Aww what lovely dogs brother. I am sure they will bring you such joy, as dogs do.

Hello Brother Joey,

It's nice to hear from you. These little guys have already brought us a lot of joy. Their job is to cuddle, play, and be petted - and they are doing their jobs.   ;)

My last little dog who died sat almost touching me hours every day while I worked on the computer. Those who have lost a little dog who was an old friend will understand. We lost two old friends who were faithful little companions for almost 1/3 of our lives. Some who don't understand would say that my wife and I were silly, but I'll just say that we loved them.

Those puppies in the picture are so cute.
I too know the loss of a good dog that spent 10 years by my side. I found him as a abandoned puppy along side the road. He was so ill the vet told me he was not expected to live. However, the vet never told him. I fed him mighty dog food and gave him  lots of love, and so he managed to grow into a big dog, although the vet said he would be beagle sized. So it was a real blessing to me when he managed to live for ten years. He passed away in his sleep. It was one of the hardest times in my life dealing with the grief of losing him.

Hello Islandboy,

They say that dogs are good for your health, and I believe it. It is pretty heart-breaking when they pass away, but you at least know they had a good home and someone who loved them. Our puppies are already well-established members of the family. I'm positive that they already love us and we love them. The longest my wife and I have been without a dog in over 50 years is about 2 months. The loss of our last little dog after 18 years was really hard, but we have many special memories. You sound like a person who understands making a dog part of the family. We treat our dogs extremely well. We didn't think we would be able to handle another one for awhile, but it turns out that it was good for us to get a couple of puppies. It was good for them also since they got out of those cages and had two humans to train.   ;D

My cat Snowy Died in 7/3/2012 of Kidney Failure!! I have another cat named Patches, she is black and white!!

Love Always and Shalom Everyone, YSIC, \o/

Kristi Ann

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I hope that you love Patches just as much. It's nice to hear from you, and I hope that things are going well for you.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Thanks so much Tom!!

I am doing Great thanks so much for asking!!  I Do love my newer 5 year old Female Cat named Patches, she as only one years old when she came to my house, before Snowy Died!!

Love Always and Shalom ( Peace ) YSIC \o/

Kristi

Well since I last answered this poll 9 years ago our animal family has grown. I'm down to 2 calico cats Hoppitty (22 years old) and Talker (12 years old), unfortunately Patches (19 years old) died 2 years ago and Merow (19 years old) died 3 years ago. New to the family is Shade (14 years old) and Airborne 3 years old). Along with Lucky (12 years old) there is Roxy (6 years old) and Scrappers ((5 years old).

I am still a cat person but I love almost any animal.

Both of our very old dogs died about 7 years ago with cancer.

We got two puppies just months later, and we're all happy together. They're both little lap dogs that are quite laid back and relaxed. I do believe that having pets is good for your health. They give unconditional love, and that's calming.

Sorry to hearr about your 2 old dogs, I'm not looking to the time when I lose Hoppitty. I saw the picture above of your pups, and they look happy. Yes I also believe pets are good for your health and return the love given. Roxy who has claimed me as her master gets along great with the cats (the girls or the kids) and watches over the girls.

To me pets are a gift from the Lord.

And it has happened,  :'(  Hoppitty died sleeping between my legs. I finally found the spay paper and she was 28 years old. I am still trying to get over the loss of Pop-Pop, both my kids cried when they found out she died and I'm still trying to deal with her gone.  :'(  :'(

I'm sorry to hear this. I know how hard it is when elderly and beloved family dogs pass away. You will be in my prayers.

Hoppitty was almost as old as my 2 children (kids) and both knew her their whole life. On my FB pictures I have a picture of Hoppitty, a pretty calico cat. I hope you can see this picture, it was taken about 2 weeks before her death.

(https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/45946947_2112385925479267_29453373887479808_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=68488cbc8ecc5d1ea75b2af46e0bb765&oe=5CA77DA2)