VEGANGELICA

I definitely felt my cat had affection for me rather than seeing me as *just* a source of food, scratches, and a comfy lap.

Sometimes when I pet her she'd groom me...lick my hand, give little painless nips and vibrate her jaws very quickly as if I had fur that she were working her teeth through (because that's the motion she'd make when grooming her own fur). I took her grooming me as a sign of affection, because she was giving me something *back*.

Also, when I was out in the garden she'd meow and find me just to sit close. I got the feeling that she liked being around me and specifically me. She didn't do that with just anyone.

Finally, when she was in a playful mood, she'd seek me out to play...and when she was in trouble, she'd call out until I arrived.

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Paedantic Basterd

My first cat stuck to my side like glue, full of love. My second cat we adopted a few years ago, and she felt like a cat that used me for attention, and disliked me at all other times. Cat 1 passed away, and after a while, cat 2's relationship and mine became very close. I think she felt that as long as cat 1 was alive, that's where all my care and attention was going. When she finally got to be top cat, she opened up a great deal more.

If you want to have a close bond with a cat, I think you ought to either adopt it as a kitten and treat it well, or go to a shelter and interact with all of the animals to find out who you connect with best.

LoathsomePete

I grew up in apartments most of my life being raised by a single mother so dogs were pretty much out of the picture, however we had a few cats left over from when my mum use to breed them. I definitely enjoy cats, however whenever I got the chance to see my uncle and his dog I took it because there's just something about wrestling with an excited dog to help take the edge off. I would definitely like to get a dog one day, but for the moment I'm a cat person.

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VEGANGELICA

Yes, dogs can have a wonderful exuberance. I appreciate that, but at the same time I'm afraid to have a dog because having one seems a lot like having a human child.

I think I'd start to feel drained caring for a dog's psychological health. I also value having control over my privacy times, and with a dog you can't really do that easily, can you?

Finally, I'd hate to do damage to a dog due to not being able to give it the attention I feel it needs and deserves. I couldn't let myself do what some people do: train a dog to get used to the despair of being in a kennel, leave a dog alone all day, dominate the dog through obedience training.

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djchameleon

even though I'm a cat person. I don't mind dogs completely. I much prefer small dogs now though. I have had my fair share of big dogs and I'm so over them. Having to walk them just after a snow storm and the whole getting up super early to do the same.

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Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.

VEGANGELICA

I had a friend whose family had two big dogs, and those dogs got into everything. The family had to dog-proof the house severely.

One time the family left a plastic bag containing a loaf of bread on the kitchen counter. When they returned from an outing, they found that one of the dogs had pulled down the bag, gutted it, and devoured the contents.

Another time, the other dog wolfed down a kitchen sponge (!), which she shat out on the lawn intact! (That same dog ate a decaying dead snake.)

And the drool!! Oi!

The sponge-eating big dog was a drooler, and so she had big drool. One time I was in the passenger seat of the car and her head was just to my left because she was sitting in the back seat in the middle but leaning forward to get a better view. Dangling from her lips was a 3-inch-long clot of oozing saliva, wiggling every time she turned her head.

I spent most of that car ride wincing and praying her "droolactite" wouldn't fly off and splat me.

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Paedantic Basterd

Dog drool sets off my gag reflex. It might be different when it's your dog, as you know where your dog has been, but... HURK!

The Batlord

Dude, that's epic. I love cats. They're all nuts. And it's bull**** that they're not affectionate. Cats can be just as needy as any dog.

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Xyphon

I've had cats all my life, and just recently got a puppy. He gets along with the cats pretty good. So I gotta say both. I've always wanted a dog, too, but cats are tight.

Howard the Duck

even though I'm mostly a cat person, i wouldn't mind "toy" dogs

they're just like animated stuffed toys

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Malaise is THE dominant human predilection.