Cats And Dogs: What Is Better?

Cats versus dogs: the great pet dispute is a conflict that never ends. Even statistics on feline and canine popularity don’t give a clear winner, but I am here today to say that cats are, hands-down, far superior to dogs. And according to a study done by Real Clear Science, there are four million more pet cats than dogs (because cat owners often have more than one).

Science proves 5 reasons why cats have the upper hand on dogs. Reason number one being that cats cost cheaper than dogs (in terms of cost of living).

The equation that the American Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty gives for costs of a cat is 1035 + 670x, with x equaling number of years greater than 1. The equation given for dogs is 1580 + 695x, again with x equaling number of year greater than 1. This means that after, let’s say, 5 years, a cat would cost a total of $4,385. For a dog that number would be $5,055, after 5 years.

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After 10 years, cats cost $7,735 and dogs cost $8,530. By simple computation that means that dogs are 20% more costly than cats. And in this type of economy, every dollar counts. Cats-1, Dogs-0

Reason number two is that cats are better at basic physics. While drinking water, cats retract the tip of their tongue in a liquid 4 times more quickly than dogs while leaving less of a mess. Stephanie Pappas, a researcher at LiveScience, say that cats use “a delicate balance between gravity and inertia” in order to drink water. Cats-2, Dogs-0

Reason number three for the superiority of cats is the fact that cats have much better senses than dogs.

There are three big senses when it comes to animals; smell, sight, and hearing. Cats beat dogs in all three areas. Cats can detect sound from 55 Hz to 79 Hz which equals a range of 24. Dogs can detect sound from 44 Hz to 67 Hz which equals a range of 23. 24 is greater than 23. Cats take the cake in hearing. Cats-2.3, Dogs-0

Cats can see in light levels that are 6 times lower than humans. Dogs can only see in light levels 5 times lower than humans. 5 is less than 6. Cats 2.6-Dogs-0

The last sense is smell, and cats win there as well. Dogs have around 150 million olfactory receptors in their nasal cavities. Cats have around 200 million receptors, again 200 is greater than 150. Cats-3,Dogs-0

Reason number 4, cats are better for the environment. I know that sounds like a weird category, but science has proven its truth. According to a study done in 2009 by the Animal Humane Society, dogs require a higher area of land to live compared to cats. Dogs need around .84 hectares of land in order to survive and prosper, cats only need about .15 hectares. A hectare equals 10,000 square meters. So by simple math, you can figure that dogs require 8,400 square meters of living space compared to a cat’s 1,500 square meters. 1,500 is less than 8,400 so cats win once more. Cats-4, Dogs-0

The last reason scientist give is that cats are more agile and athletic. Have you ever seen a dog balance on top of fence? Didn’t think so. Cats were given a very flexible backbone. Cats also have a higher number of vertebrate than dogs, allowing them to be able to twist themselves and almost always land on their feet when dropped. If you drop a dog from any height, it will more than likely not land on its legs. Cats-5, Dogs-0

I know that dogs are often considered a man’s best friend. I will not argue that fact but I will say that cats are more enjoyable. But I will give the benefit of the doubt to dogs on this one, I guess, so now the score is cats-5, dogs-.01

I have presented proven, logical evidence of why cats are the superior pet. Only fools would try to justify the superiority of dogs. Science, and myself, has spoken…….cats are better than dogs.

Works cited

1. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (2021). Cost of owning a dog or a cat. ASPCA. Retrieved from https://www.aspca.org/sites/default/files/aspca-cost-of-pet-ownership-2017.pdf
2. Animal Humane Society (2009). Comparison of the environmental impact of dogs and cats. Animal Humane Society. Retrieved from https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/sites/default/files/media/PDF/hsus-report-dog-cat-carbon-footprint.pdf
3. Bradshaw, J. W. S. (2019). The sensory world of cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 21(7), 603-614. doi: 10.1177/1098612X19861266
4. Bradshaw, J. W. S., Casey, R. A., & Brown, S. L. (2012). The behavior of the domestic cat. CABI.
5. Caro, T. M. (2016). Why lions roar: Communication and social evolution. University of Chicago Press.
6. Harms, C. A., & Dewey, C. E. (2014). Owner perception of care and behavior problems in cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 245(5), 512-518. doi: 10.2460/javma.245.5.512
7. Houpt, K. A., & Willis, M. B. (2017). Domestic animal behavior for veterinarians and animal scientists. John Wiley & Sons.
8. Pappas, S. (2010). How cats drink. Live Science. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/40405-how-cats-drink.html
9. Turner, D. C. (2011). The domestic cat: The biology of its behavior. Cambridge University Press.
10. Ziv, G. (2017). The effects of training and genetics on the behavior of dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 19, 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2017.03.005