Cats vs. dogs -- or, can they coexist (in our hearts as well)?

In the dashboard post discussions, the topic has already come up.

Personally, I've never understood the antagonism, which is probably due in equal measure to the fact that I've yet to see the household where cats and dogs are both members of the family and cannot coexist at all, and that I simply love animals -- as a kid I wanted to become a vet, until I discovered that this (a) involves having to deal with blood and requires not being afraid of cutting up a living creature (even if it's with the ultimate aim of healing it) and (b) requires an understanding of science that is clearly far beyond me.

Until the day my lovely Gypsy walked (meaowed and purred himself) into my life, I would never have called myself either a cat or a dog person exclusively; I'd always have said I am both equally. And I still love dogs -- a lot. It's just that, well, one day a scrawny, dusty-grey, obviously abandoned, half-starved little fur ball made his appearance in my neighborhood, upon being coaxed into the house by way of food -- and after much brushing and combing -- revealed himself to be a beautiful, gentle, loving black tomcat with the softest, shiniest fur you've ever seen and touched ... and, as they say, the rest is history. (Or, as Hemingway put it, one cat leads to another!)

I grew up with dogs (my mother is a dog person, who has come to like cats OK; I am a cat person who is OK with dogs; my father is a dog person). We generally had two dogs at a time when I was growing up, always one basset hound (the 100-pound would-be lap-dog!) and a miniature sheltie. My father has always had dogs, most recently a line of black labrador retrievers, but decided after the last one died a couple of years ago that he was too old to train another puppy.

I have always known I was a cat person, as my grandmother had one I adored (Ruffin Baby, who died at 24 when I was 8, and was a Siamese king tom), and I've always been drawn to them. (One of my memories of a big trip made when I was four, was of meeting a very nice, large gray cat.) My grandmother also always had dogs, usually bulldogs.

I like dogs, and I like cats; but we've never had them at the same time. Not on purpose, just how it's happened.

I grew up in a dog-cat household, and was always more of a dog person. My friend gave me the puppy that my sibs and I all grew up with. My sibs had cats, in part because my mom thought one dog was enough.

I've had cats of my own for 10 years now - they're truly a delight. They each have such wildly different personalities and habits!

The Burlingames have always been cat people. I like dogs but my house is full of cats, one of which hates dogs with a white-hot passion. Even though he was born in a house with dogs and was raised in a house with dogs for four months, he was born with a hatred for dogs.

I love my furballs a little more on days like this when the temp is in the single digits and I don't have to take them for a walk.

Oh yes! My parents say they felt so sorry for the dog in the Iowa winters, and he screamed when he was briefly let out to do his business.

We only had one dog growing up and it wasn't a very nice dog; a Maltese that only liked my mother and hated everyone else. But we've always had cats, and I'm very definitely a cat person, as is my DH.

Having said that though - I love them all. Dogs, cats, fish, birds, all of them. DH and I just had this conversation the other day and we both agreed the only reason we don't have dogs is because we neither one of us can be stuffed walking a dog every day. That and they require way more active attention than our cats (and our cats are attention hussies).

Reply to post #6 (show post):
Ha! Yes, having to walk your dog several times a day is definitely a factor -- I definitely wouldn't have time to do that (nor would I want to dump it ony anybody else). This in and of itself rules out dog ownership for me.

Such varied cat-dog experiences overall, though!

I had both growing up, but I was never overly attached to the dogs. I have 2 cats and a dog (he's the husband's since he used to hate cats) now, but I definitely would not consider myself a dog person. I like my dog, he's pretty awesome in his own dog way but I obsess over my cats. And other people's cats. And all of the cats at the rescue that I volunteer at...

Chronic Cat Obsession is a verified medical condition. So far there is no cure, but treatment options are available.

Reply to post #8 (show post):
So how does your husband get along with your cats, having hated cats before he met you?

Reply to post #9 (show post):
Can one overdose on cats, I wonder? I've never heard of a cat overdose ...

Reply to post #10 (show post):
They have grown on him, despite him still saying that he still doesn't like them. Between my obsessiveness and our cats being undeniably adorable, he eventually learned to like them. It did take him almost 8 years to cave and finally let me get a second cat though, so it's been a long road, lol.

Reply to post #11 (show post):
You may overdose, but you always go back for more. It's a vicious cycle.

I have always been a cat lover. I have been around cats since I was 1 years old and have never not had a cat since! :)

Reply to post #14 (show post):
Oh, lucky you. That sounds wonderful!