The Truth about Cats and Dogs.

I was living the cliche - Single girl with a cat. But I got tired of the cliche, I wanted a dog. I went to the flea market every weekend for a year and stalked the puppy section and indulged in Puppy Porn. Big puppies, little puppies, short haired, long haired, floppy ears, pointy ears. Puppies! I tried very hard not to get into Pupperbation because once you start touching the puppies you may very well bring one home with you. To your tiny, second floor walk up and you cat. I was strong.

The apartment was tiny. The cat and I took turned getting on each othes nerves. I had no where to put stuff and the cat was all ready wearing a back pack... so no puppies. But, I kept thinking "puppies are leetle and squishy and have short puppy legs and round little puppy tummys.

I rationalized the puppy issues. My neighbors had dogs. Big Dogs. It worked for them. There was the three legged dog, there was someone with a herd of dachsunds.. it worked for them. Sigh. Then my next door neighbor brought home a Beagle Puppie. The cutest puppy ever. It hid behind blades of grass and peered at me with its big brown puppy eyes.

I began to walk my cat.

So, eventually I moved out of the apartment and into the house and as they say, In The Fullness Of Time, after all the puppy porn and beagle envy I fell for Daisy, the baby Huey of the dog world. Part Boxer part Retriver part Pony.

Her crate is bigger then my first dorm room. So far she has eaten : three allegedly hardy dog toys, four moving blankets, my TV remote control, two collars, a leash, a harness and several wires that led to my heat pump and were responsible for heating my house on the last two really cold days in spring. And she lusts after my hair squishys.


Something I have noticed in my time with Daisy, unlike Cats, Dogs do not play politics. I have not had to negotiate with Daisy. With Kitty everything is a discussion. Cats hold grudges. Several years ago I thought Kitty might want to play in the snow. This would have to be a big No. He came back in and glared at me for days while he tried to decide what my punishment should be.

He settled on pulling my videos of their shelf. At 3am. He didn't do it during the day. He waited until I was asleep and my down stairs neighbors were asleep. I had to remove the videos and box them up for him to finally stop. He was happy. I was grounded from watching movies.

Kitty learned that I would jump up and feed him if he knocked something off a shelf. Not plastics. Glass or ceramic only. If there was no chance of it shattering he didn't bother and he only when I was at home.

I think that someday someone will write a managment book based on the technics that cat facilitate. "Who Moved My Bowl", an instant best seller. Fluffy, Boo Boo Kitty and Patches will be the next Celebrity Managment Consultants. Many heads will roll under the refrigerator.

But you leave your cats for a weekend and as long as there is food, water and kitty litter in abundonce, Kitty is fine. To leave a dog for the weekend you must find a baby sitter. They don't feed, water, and take themselves outside with out assistance you know. Kitty smirks at this.

Daisy sat next to me in the bathroom while I was kneelling next to the toilet disposeing aff all the food I had eaten, ever. She sat there and whimpered with me. The Kitty change postistions on the couch.

Later on, Kitty provided white noise for me and was my very own perma warm mink hot water bottle.

Dogs offer devotion, Cats offer companionship.