I am a dog person.  I always have been.  I experimented with cats in my teens – and when I say that I don’t mean I had them hooked up to electrodes and monitored their brain waves.  I had a few cats during those formative years, but the experience left me questioning why I began the ‘experiment’ in the first place.

Cats are extremely fickle creatures with polar personalities.  My mother has six cats and when she had been in the hospital, we were responsible for tending to those six dynamic characters.  Although we treated them well, fed them, showed them some love – the majority of them, in turn, regarded us with disdain and utter contempt.  They each have unique qualities that endear them to my mom, but cats are all about cats.  Most of them could care less if they please you or not.

In amongst the hierarchy of feline fortitude, my mom also has two dogs.  Dogs are very easy-going, for the most part, and simply want to please humans.  They are loyal to a fault and want nothing more than to have you lavish them with attention and affection. Dogs are profoundly attached to their owners and would risk their lives to defend and protect their pack leader.

The true nature of a dog is to be social and warm-hearted, and these are the qualities I admire and look for in a four-legged companion.  I’m sure there is some intuitive approach to understanding cats and their obscure nature, but I have not yet discovered that mystical secret.

I hold no ill will towards the six surreptitious creatures that roam about my mother’s house like they own it, but the soft spot in my heart will always be reserved for my canine sidekick.   For all intents and purposes, she is my child.  I love her with a part of my heart I didn’t know existed until she came into my life and I treat her like family.  I show her the same respect I would show a human child, or any other member of my family.

So, are you a cat person, or a dog person?