Thursday, October 30, 2008

Cats vs. Dogs

I like reading the science chick blogs. They're fun and interesting and it's rapidly become a part of my day that I look forward to, perusing the chick science blogs.

One thing that I have noticed is the propensity of the bloggers to be cat people, to the point that they blog about their cats quite a bit. FSP and Dr.A come to mind, and I know I've come across others.

I myself am a dog person. I am going for a totally super scientific poll on the right, check it out. I would like to find out if there is truly a correlation between female science blogger and cat lover, and if so, think about why from there, and then, think about why I am not a cat person, besides being a bit allergic. Even if I weren't allergic, I would totally like dogs better.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm a dog person (and have a dog who will most likely appear in future posts), but Better Half is a cat person (he has two), so when we merged assets so to speak I became an I-love-both person. Also, the cats tend to do far stranger things than Danger Dog, so they are frequently more interesting to talk about.

Eugenie said...

I'm a dog person, I grew up with a 130lbs bull mastiff and a 90lbs lab. (Picture at the top of my blog is of Spot's eye...)

ScientistMother said...

I'm totally a dog person! except for little yappy dogs that can be tossed around like a football. they annoy me.

I have to say i've totally noticed the propensity of cat lovers that are bloggers. Perhaps its because they're easier to care for?

Isis the Scientist said...

Hmmmm....PhizzleDizzle, I find the design of this experiment to be mildly problematic, but I will vote.

Cath@VWXYNot? said...

While I love my two cats (and blog about them!), I would have preferred to get a dog! I've posted about this compromise before...

chall said...

hm, I'm neither ;) I think in one way cats are kind of cute but dogs are more useful... but I have never had either and I don't think I will in the future.

I am just lazy... walking the dog every dag for several hours? And then never being able to just "dash of for a weekend" thingy. I guess I will have to adapt when/if I have a family?!

Dr. J said...

On balance I am a cat person. But life is best with both.

There is just something about the non-servile nature of cats that makes them appealing to cat people. Sure, cats are easier to care for on the day to day chores basis, but they require engagement on a completely different level to dogs. They are much more nuanced and require much more effort in this respect otherwise they will know. I heard this quote somewhere recently: a dog knows exactly who you are and loves you, a cat knows exactly who you are and treats you accordingly. I've always found it is the understanding of these things and the ability to do it that marks out cat lovers. If I know someone is a cat person then usually I know immediately that I can get on with them at some level.

PhizzleDizzle said...

This truly is so fascinating!!!

@Cath: I know the dilemma...I would love to have a pet when we move out of University Housing, but I'm not sure it would be responsible to get a dog. And if I could get a cat that I would not be allergic to, maybe? I dunno.

@chall: I agree a dog is certainly more like a "child" in that you can't just leave it for a while, you have to make arrangements and it pins you down a lot more. A cat it simpler that way.

@Dr. J: at the same time, you are right - a cat is certainly more complicated than unconditional love, the way dogs can provide. Your comment made me think a bit of Robert DeNiro's role in Meet the Parents where he grills Ben Stiller about being a dog person, which demonstrated his need to have a sycophantic animal around and showcased his personality deficiencies ;).

My sister had a cat that was absolutely the most interesting and sweet cat ever, but my sister never cleaned up her hair. Consequently, every time I was at her apartment I would turn teary-eyed and sneezy within a few minutes, and it wouldn't stop until after my first shower following departure. This limited my ability to love this cat, though I remember it very fondly...

But still, I love our family dog. Definitely my favorite animal ever.

Oh yeah, @Eugenie: A bull mastiff is a biiiiig dog!! Snap!!! I think I prefer 15-20 pounders. They can still take someone's leg off if they're motivated enough, but their poops are smaller and less walking needed ;).