Cats or Dogs

[Rachael Leigh]

Here's a strange thought I had, do we as CDs prefer a cat or dog as a pet. Now for me I've always thought the perception is cats are girls pets and real men have a dog like one for hunting.

Me I've got 2 cats and love them, not that I don't like dogs but I think as a pet I do love my kitties

[bridget thronton]

Dogs for me (I owned a cat once and ended up allergic to cats)

[Pandys]

I have always had a dog (large breed).

[I Am Paula]

Always had cats. My sister has the nicest dog I have ever met, so now I'm looking for a poodle. I guess I jumped the fence.

[Karren H]

Cats................. mainly because I don't like cleaning up dog poo! loo

[Tamara Croft]

Don't know where you get that logic from, I don't particularly like cats even though I've got 3, I prefer dogs.

[Rachael Leigh]

Maybe my perception comes from the old tv character Cat women so my association with cats as girls pets is from that who knows. To me dogs are manly and cats are girly unless they are those small puny dogs.

[Tamara Croft]

Do you realise how sexist that is? That's like saying women should only have small pets. I had a doberman and when he stood on his hind legs he was bigger than me, he was amazing, friendly and protective, not like cats who try and kill you

[Deedee Skyblue]

I prefer dogs - but cats have their own attractions. 2 cats these days and no dogs...

Deedee

[Marcelle]

I have both two dogs and two cats. Owned a series of rabbits and fish at one time as well.

Hugs

Isha

[Rachael Leigh]

Oh Tamara I guess my male side is on display than if that's sexist better go put my panties on to calm it down lol. But your right and I wonder sometimes if that's why we CD in the first place we get so much manly perceptions for some it's to much to handle do we dress to compensate

[Lorileah]

*The following is totally generalization, nothing is in stone here and the reasons vary just like reasons for cross dressing)


From a professional point of view. Cats are seen as feminine because several languages actually make them feminine (latin). In general men "want" pets but often it is more a control issue...something to "own" and when they get pets it often reflects their internal ideal of what they are(ie macho, cool, strong) or what they think they should own (similar to cars...what is in right now...especially the Pitbull type breeds). Women tend to choose a pet as a companion, something they can care for and who will return care. Dogs, being pack animals, fit this nicely.

What most vets "see" is that men want dogs and women want cats (learned behavior because of the many reasons they are given to own a pet to start with...just like your clothing is taught). But in reality cats like men more (usually) because they don't expect tons of attention whereas dogs want that attention and tend to gravitate to the female in the household (usually the one who feeds, grooms, lavishes attention on them). Also as such males tend to be large, loud and hulking and thus many dogs show a fear reaction to them, but less frequently to the quieter, smaller female.

More than gender the choice of a pet is based on lifestyle. As I said men really tend to choose because of a perceived or true life style.

I am a cat person, not because I am TS-MtF. But because they do fit my lifestyle and reflect many of my personality attributes. (to be fair though, I love dogs, just have not found the right one since the perfect dog died 25 years ago). Each of my cats has a different personality, just like kids.

In my job, I see mostly women. It sounds sexist but the reality is that women are the ones who usually give the care, especially in middle aged households. My mechanic will probably say he sees more males because they are the ones "responsible" for the mechanical things in the house. Cats now out number dogs as pets (lifestyle again, less maintenance, you don't need to be there to let them out, you don't need a yard, cats can be inconspicuous). So, if I had to say which gender owned which species...I would say women for both. There are variances on this, as men age, I see them getting smaller dogs (they spend more time holding and nurturing).

As noted, all this is generalization, there are surely men who are the care givers in the family and there are women who don't pay much attention to the care giving.

[Lexi Moralas]

I have both , love both , but do prefer the dog

[Sarah Beth]

I have had both over the years and never really preferred on over the other. The cats did stay in the house and I never had a dog in the house. Don't have any pets now, we like to get away and don't really have anyone to take care of them if we go.

[Pandys]

I have both , love both , but do prefer the dog

Just don't let the cat know the dog is your favorite!

[Zylia]

My parents always had dogs, but after my then partner and I got cats I was pretty much sold. I have two (neutered) tomcats (I prefer them over mollies).

I'm not sure if cats are feminine, they don't always smell feminine, that's for sure As for dogs being masculine, my parents have Cavalier King Charles Spaniels right now (and please don't get me started on all the health issues) and there's nothing particularly masculine about those dogs

[Beverley Sims]

I have no preference, whatever the pet is that shows affection always get's it back.I have a cockatiel that shows lots of affection, but when he chews the soft bits off my computer I could brick him.

[Yvonne York]

I'll always be a cat girl!

[Alice Torn]

2 cats here, but if i had my own big place, i would have a dog, too.

[Alice Torn]

Lorileah, You mentioned middle age men and smaller dogs. I see this trend, also. Radio talk show host Michael Savage is a vocal dog owner and lover. His small gray poodle Teddy, is with him all the time, agree with his views or not.

[Tracii G]

I've always had a cat.Why IDK just like cats.

[Michelle789]

I like both dogs and cats, large and small, as long as they're gentle breeds. No pitbulls or other aggressive breeds. Size of the dog or cat has nothing to do with if they're aggressive or gentle.

Liking dogs or cats has absolutely nothing to do with gender. I see GGs walking their dogs on my street every day, some of the dogs are huge. I personally know plenty of GGs that have dogs and cats, and plenty of GMs that have dogs and cats. Liking dogs and cats is simply a personal preference, and has absolutely nothing to do with gender or CDing.

[LilSissyStevie]

I usually have somewhere between 10-20 cats living around the farm. None, except one, are pets. They keep the rats and mice in check. They're also good at alerting me to the presence of rattlesnakes. None of the barn cats are very friendly because the friendly ones get eaten by coyotes. Sometimes they get eaten anyway. I try not to get too attached for that reason but there are a few long time survivors that I'm fond of. I can get close to them but if I try to pick one up it's like walking into a buzz saw or a tornado of razor blades. Maybe that's why people think of them as feminine since they remind me of some of my exes. In reality, I only have 1-2 females at a given time because otherwise I'd be overrun by cats. Most of the litter is given away when they're weaned.

The one cat that we keep as a pet is an accidental red point Siamese that appeared in a litter. He wouldn't survive 5 minutes outside because he's mostly white and white cats glow in the dark for coyotes. He's also super friendly and fearless. Friendly and fearless are bad qualities in this environment.

I have a couple of dogs, too. But I'm not really a dog person so I refer to them as my wife's dogs.

[Rachelakld]

Real men have dogs?
Real men don't need big dogs,
Real men are tough enough to hunt on their own
Real men aren't scared of the dark
Real men can do their own fighting

so cats are best
My dog is cute, thought he would grow bigger than the cats - maybe in his next life he will be as big as his bark

[Sandra]

Oh rite and this dog is really manly

download (4).jpg


Geez first in another thread (not by you) we're the weaker sex now we have cats and not manly dogs, wish I stayed logged off.