What's the point of having pets?

[Semper Fi]

I dont get it. What's the advantages of having a cat or a dog?

 

[kurtsprincess]

I dont get it. What's the advantages of having a cat or a dog?

Too many to recount here..........but for me the primary advantage of having a dog is that they keep me company when hubby is out of town. They protect me, love me, amuse me, keep my feet warm and make me feel needed.

I'm sure that cats provide the same advantages.

Oh, and they keep the vermin out of the yard; reducing the need to use firearms and/or poisons. :cof:

 

[fuzzykitten99]

they offer companionship, love, and attention without opinions, rhetoric, or conditions.

I love it when our cat Milo comes up and lays on my belly, and purrs. Ben seems to like it too, because it gets him moving. Milo is also a source of comedy because he has a kitten-like personality, even though he is an adult cat. He still chases string/dangling objects. He fights with a stuffed cat and is so funny. He hates paper towel/wrapping paper tubes, and runs when he sees one, even just laying there. I love to pick fights with him and wrestle around with him.

I have had my cat Baby since she was a kitten, as she was born one of the litters from my dad's cat. Baby has been with me through the roughest periods of my life. Sometimes I felt like it was just me and her, and that she was the only one who really did care about me. She is the one thing that has been the most constant presence in my life since my grandmother whom raised me, passed away 10 years ago today.

 

[dmp]

to pet them.

 

[no1tovote4]

They are just a quieter and less judgemental part of the family.

Also, they are good for your mental and physical health... especially dogs.


http://www.vets.org.nz/CareerPet/PetCare/VetsView/dogs/healthy.htm

There are about a million studies that suggest that this is true.

 

[MtnBiker]

I love to go hiking with my dog.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Oh, and they keep the vermin out of the yard; reducing the need to use firearms and/or poisons. :cof:

not my cat Baby. She's useless with that kind of thing. I can place my parakeet on her or near her and she doesn't give more than an annoyed look.

When I lived with my dad, we were cleaning the shed out one spring, and a few mice ran out of the pool cover we unfolded. They ran right past my cat who was sitting nearby, and she just looked at them, then walked away. But our dog went and chased them into the field...my dad said right out "she's useless".

Milo would probably just chase them and play with them. He's not the brightest bulb on the tree...

 

[sitarro]

With my cat Felix it is the thrill of having something very close to being a wild animal that lets me be around him. He is 20 pounds and at any time could rip me to shreds with his razor sharp claws but he doesn't. He also loves to play fetch with a wadded up receipt, he retrieves it and drops it at my feet until he gets bored then puts it in his water dish and opens it up flat. It finally ends up in his food dish.As a kitten he would attack my Afghan Hound constantly. He also killed a large rat last year that somehow got in my house.

Amos, my other cat, is the opposite. He will go to anyone to get attention and is very sweet. Everyone that comes over loves him. This last "winter"(what a joke here in Houston, it has already hit the high 80s) he has been sleeping in my waterbed, I guess he likes the warmth.

 

[Mr. P]

Dogs RULE! “Mans best Friend”, truer words were never spoken!

 

[Nuc]

I dont get it. What's the advantages of having a cat or a dog?

You've got to be kidding!

They bring all kinds of great things into your life.....allergies, fleas, expensive visits to the vet, scratches, air borne filth, regular old filth, noise pollution.

Living in NYC for ten years turned me against dogs and their owners permanently. Cats, like 'em but I'm allergic.

Give me something with scales and I'm OK with that.

I'd consider a dog if I lived in the country, but I don't think they belong in the city, or anywhere they don't have room to act like dogs without bothering humans.

 

[sitarro]

Dogs RULE! “Mans best Friend”, truer words were never spoken!

The right dog is great, I sure miss Sitarra, my Afghan in the avatar shot. . . he was my little buddy(little?). He lived 15 years, very healthy until the last month. All 4 of the Afghans I have had lived at least 14 years, none of the others were as much like a real dog as Sitarra though. He loved watching stupid pet tricks on Letterman's show and actually was pretty obedient.

My mother's Sheltie renewed her will to live after my father died, dogs do have an amazing effect on humans. The services that bring them to Nursing homes have seen the difference.

When I lived in Colorado I had to find a home for my 2 Afghans for the summer while looking for a new home for myself. A Red Cross youth camp took them and I was told that they made a huge difference with the kids that were away from home for the first time. They both got a lot of attention. Once camp was over I got them back.

 

[Shattered]

Kitties are better. Ratt is a source of comfort - she always knows when something is bothering me, and comes to cuddle. She understands English perfectly well, and listens better than any dog. Skittles is a source of constant amusement, and reminds me when it's time to go to bed by curling around my neck and purring until I go.

 

[Mr. P]

You've got to be kidding!

They bring all kinds of great things into your life.....allergies, fleas, expensive visits to the vet, scratches, air borne filth, regular old filth, noise pollution.

Living in NYC for ten years turned me against dogs and their owners permanently. Cats, like 'em but I'm allergic.

Give me something with scales and I'm OK with that.

I'd consider a dog if I lived in the country, but I don't think they belong in the city, or anywhere they don't have room to act like dogs without bothering humans.

<img src="http://www.imagehostingsite.com/is.php?i=1972&img=Picture_149b.jp.jpg" border="0">

 

[Mr. P]

The right dog is great, I sure miss Sitarra, my Afghan in the avatar shot. . . he was my little buddy(little?). He lived 15 years, very healthy until the last month. All 4 of the Afghans I have had lived at least 14 years, none of the others were as much like a real dog as Sitarra though. He loved watching stupid pet tricks on Letterman's show and actually was pretty obedient.

My mother's Sheltie renewed her will to live after my father died, dogs do have an amazing effect on humans. The services that bring them to Nursing homes have seen the difference.

When I lived in Colorado I had to find a home for my 2 Afghans for the summer while looking for a new home for myself. A Red Cross youth camp took them and I was told that they made a huge difference with the kids that were away from home for the first time. They both got a lot of attention. Once camp was over I got them back.

Yes the right dog..All the breeds have a distinct personality/traits etc. And then they are individuals, like your miss Sitarra.
It's important to match em well with the humans, IMO. With that done you never think of them as anything but family.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Dogs RULE! “Mans best Friend”, truer words were never spoken!

it's definitely true...guys like friends who are dumber than they are. Why do you think dogs like guys so much?

 

[sitarro]

Kitties are better. Ratt is a source of comfort - she always knows when something is bothering me, and comes to cuddle. She understands English perfectly well, and listens better than any dog. Skittles is a source of constant amusement, and reminds me when it's time to go to bed by curling around my neck and purring until I go.

Hey Shattered, from your desciptions of Skittles this is how I picture her.

 

[KarlMarx]

Kitties are better. Ratt is a source of comfort - she always knows when something is bothering me, and comes to cuddle. She understands English perfectly well, and listens better than any dog. Skittles is a source of constant amusement, and reminds me when it's time to go to bed by curling around my neck and purring until I go.

I'm torn between getting a cat or just remaining petless. First, I live alone, so the cat might get lonely (OK, I could get 2 to get around that). Second, I have a security system so they may trigger the alarm, so that's not good either. Third, when the inevitable happens, I'll be a sobbing mess for weeks. Not to mention all the other stuff, shedding, fleas, the smell....

Still, I think I'd like the idea of having one just to keep me company.

 

[Shattered]

Hey Shattered, from your desciptions of Skittles this is how I picture her.

You've got the red in the eyes down to perfection.

 

[Shattered]

I'm torn between getting a cat or just remaining petless. First, I live alone, so the cat might get lonely (OK, I could get 2 to get around that). Second, I have a security system so they may trigger the alarm, so that's not good either. Third, when the inevitable happens, I'll be a sobbing mess for weeks. Not to mention all the other stuff, shedding, fleas, the smell....

Still, I think I'd like the idea of having one just to keep me company.

Shedding? Brush them. Fleas? Don't let them outside. Smell? Clean the litterbox. I've had cats all my life.. I can't possibly imagine my life without them...

 

[GotZoom]

Hey Shattered, from your desciptions of Skittles this is how I picture her.

That is the plan for Halloween.

We're thinking the red contacts are going to be a bitch though.