@Maine Longhorn, he is to die for! They don’t get any more appealing than that…I often linger on his photo…pulls my heartstrings… (the herders and the scruffy terriers are my personal canine favs…oh, yeah, corgis and some spaniels are pretty great too)
I love both dogs and cats. Dogs are just so much more work. After our current pooch is gone (almost 11), that’s it, no more dogs.
Australian shepherds are so smart but often don’t mix well with young children who don’t appreciate having their heels nipped at and herded. 
I have owned Maine Coons ( full bred ) for over 20 years. The breed became so popular that they were being overbred and as a result, a lot of heart problems and also cancer. I lost a few to both cancer and heart problems and I swore that I wouldn’t get another…until I was notified by a local veterinarian about one that was abandoned.
Many people suspect their long hair cats are Maine Coons, but that isn’t true. I suspected this was the case with the cat I got the call about shortly after our area was stuck with hurricane Sandy.
Well, 4+ years later, I still have the last Maine Coon ( and any cat ) She is a mystery , but no doubt a full bred MC. Judging by her massive bone structure, she was likely a product of someone who bred for size before health. She has all the characteristics of a MC with personality huge feet, inc tip ears , snow shoes.
My daughter’s Maine Coon has been with her through three cities, four apartments, seven roommates (one a repeat, one now likely permanent), and some horrible medical problems on the cat’s part – it seemed for a while she might have had a stroke or a brain tumor. She was having frequent seizures . . . then it all went away. She’s a lovely cat, but she doesn’t particularly care for me (and I don’t see her all that often).
Our now 12-year-old cat was born to a barn cat in a horse stable near us. She is a gorgeous calico – the only pet we have ever gotten solely because we liked the way she looked. All of our other pets have chosen us; she didn’t. No matter, she has grown to be a perfectly satisfactory cat , , , but unfortunately not really a substitute for our dog who died recently, and whom we miss all the time. My wife wanted to try going dogless for a while, but I think she is pretty close to cracking.
I have loved cats since I was a little girl and have had many. I like their independence and their wildness, how you have to get to know them. Husband and MIL are not fans. I think it is because they won’t take the time to slow down and figure out a cat’s personality. They expect the cat to do what they want. Uh uh. Doesn’t work that way. My kids do love cats, though, and know how to read them.
I have three cats now. Two were kittens I found on the street/in a parking lot who were injured. The third we got as an adult. She is just a mutt. We do understand each other. I can clap my hands and they will come running. They meow or nudge me in a certain way and I know if that means “let me out” or “I want dry cat food.”
I do wish we had a dog. I like dogs, too. But they are needier, messier, harder to train, harder to leave by themselves for a few days. My husband, who claims to be a dog fan, has always vetoed us getting one.
^^You shouldn’t leave a dog by itself for a few days. That’s just not cool.
In my case, they are impossible to leave by themselves for a few days. No doggy door, no way to assure he cannot escape from our fenced yard (he scan squeeze out of the side gate, as it is made of scrolled iron work), no way to be sure he won’t be true to form and drive the neighbors batty with his hair raising shrieking (“barking”). Not to mention his emotional trauma at being left alone without a pack. That is why he will be our last dog.
Do people really leave cats alone for days???
3 cats, 3 autofeeders, water dishes and fountains, 3 litterboxes do just fine for a long weekend. Of course we always notify a close friend that we are out of town and never leave them if the weather is going to be extreme.
We will leave our cat for 2 nights. She is fine. But if we need to be gone for longer, we make other arrangements. She would be more upset to be boarded for two nights than to be left at home with adequate food and water.
Most cats are okay for a few days alone. My current kitty goes on hunger strike, though. So now she visits the grand parents when we leave.
Respectfully disagree. I think there are a lot more cat videos on the internet than dog ones.
I love both dogs and cats, but don’t like it when it rains cats and dogs.
No, we never left a dog alone for days. You can’t. Cats? I will leave them alone for two nights max. Don’t call Animal Welfare. My point was that you CAN leave cats alone. You can work all day and not worry about running home to let them out at lunch. You can be away from home overnight and not worry they will pee on the rug or destroy the couch. (Which is not to say some cats won’t get pissed off about being left and do something nasty.) We had dogs when I was growing up and we always boarded them when we went away. The cats? A neighbor could come by and check on them.
Dogs = your happy, rambunctious toddler
Cats = your 17 year old
Okay. I’m a dog person and I didn’t know people leave cats for days.
My parents had a cat in their later years and aside from the few tricks I trained dear Kitty it was very ill mannered. As soon as my mother left the house it would jump on the counters and push every item to the floor. I think it you left this cat for more than a day it would have turned on a faucet and flooded the house.
So I trained the cat to sit, down, and sit-up. It was hilarious to watch my dog and mother’s cat go through the routine. My dog kept giving the cat the evil eye for being too slow on the commands.
I never trained my cat to do tricks. But she knows not to get on the counters, she doesn’t do anything destructive. I come home after a few days, she is affectionate, and we go back to normal.
I have left my cats alone for a few days…anything more than that, I have had someone come in to spend some time, clean the box, etc. I have had cats that get revenge in some comical ways, some that flat out don’t care and also some that are so happy to see us that they just won’t leave us alone.
Cats are very independent and self sufficient creatures
I left my independent cat with outside access alone for a week with daily visits from a teenage neighbor. He was hoarse when I got home. I never really forgave myself and always hired live in sitters after that. He was special.
@MotherOfDragons, no worries with litter boxes. A cat can use the toilet with citikitty. Sorry, can’t link from this device. You will never need a litter box again!