There is a common perception held by both cat and dog owners that the two animals are inherently "different" in style and "personality" and that the nature of the relationship one has with them is therefore different as well - potentially just as rewarding but different. (Note: this concept is based on another one of those generalisations which can make pet ownership so satisfyingly simple).
Dogs are thought to love unconditionally, to need you more than a cat, to be more obviously grateful for what is done for them and to be more amenable to discipline. Cat owners as well as dog owners concede these general points (especially if they are cat owners rather than cat lovers or even cat likers). Cat owners are less happy with dog owners' contentions that dogs are also more faithful, clever and "steady". On the downside, however, there is general acceptance that dogs require more care and attention than cats.
"You don't get as much feedback from a cat".
"You never know what a cat is thinking".
"Dogs are more faithful, cats like places more than people".
"Cats are less of a relationship. If you're on your own, you can have a relationship with them but if you have children and a busy household, you don't have time to put in the investment".
"I wouldn't have got a dog when I was working full-time, you enjoy a dog if you're around to invest in it and make it like you want".
"With dogs you can see the responsiveness, even if you don't know what they want".
"Dogs are loyal, cats aren't. If you go away for two weeks a cat will have forgotten you".
on the other hand, acknowledge that cats are often not as approachable and friendly as dogs and, thus, not as emotionally accessible, but they defend these characteristics on the grounds that cats are more discriminating and independent, less fawning and pathetically grateful. Thus, what non-cat people interpret as arrogance, cat owners see as levels of discrimination and taste, which are worthy of respect. In addition, to be loved by a cat makes owners feel superior and privileged, as if they are part of an "inner sanctum", whereas "a dog'll be all over anybody". Cats are also thought to be cleaner.
"I like cats. They've got more personality, they're more conniving".
"I love cats because they never cower down; they're independent, beautiful animals".
"Cats are cleaner, they dig holes"
"Our cat tells the dogs where to go".
"With cats you reap what you sow, whereas a dog'll be all over you regardless".
"Cats are more intelligent; they own you, you never own them".
"We've got a Burmese Siamese cross who thinks it's a dog. It annoys me, at times, because of its demanding howl but I respect it. It's got a brain".
The (possibly) more straight-forward dog lover, however, may find these qualities devious and deceptive, even sinister.
"We have a friend who hates cats. Every time he comes to the house the cat sits on his knee".
"There's something special about cats"
"I can't stand the way they rub up against you"
"Cats are sneaky".
"Cats have got a wild tiger in them. You never know when they're going to strike".
There are indications, too, of sexual stereotypes and prejudices at play in perceptions of cats versus dogs. Thus, dogs have macho connotations (this is true of female dogs, too) whereas cats tend to have a female aura.
"It's harder to talk about cats because they've got less of a personality - or maybe it's because dog owners are more aggressive and they talk more".
"Women like cats and blokes like dogs".
"A cat is a female sign - you talk about cat women but you don't have dog men".
Researchers' Postscript
It is no mystery as to why 90's Australians are turning, in larger numbers, towards dogs and cats. They are looking for an antidote to the complexities of modern life and modern relationships. They are seeking to establish in their lives some of the simple pleasures and satisfactions pet ownership can bring. In part, this is because of the demands of contemporary life, the ever increasing pace of social change and the unsettling effect this has on human beings. It is also because now, more than any other time in human history, relationships between adult humans are subject to considerable stresses. Stress comes from our renegotiation of male/female relationships and the high demands people place on one another and on their relationships to satisfy them.
People are looking towards pets for some of the characteristics they would look for in any relationship; loyalty, devotion, affection, company, comfort, responsiveness and even control.
Pet lovers have long believed that the relationship they enjoy with their pet is a proper relationship and as such, it involves a balance of rights and responsibilities, pleasure and duties. One of the things many pet owners argue vehemently is that a renewed sense of the importance of pets to our lives should result in a corresponding emphasis on the need to care properly for dogs and cats.
There are obvious positives and negatives in pet ownership. But for pet owners the equation comes down strongly on the side of the intangible and many would say immeasurable, positives which a dog or cat provide.