Returning a dog to the breeder - Questions/Rant

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by Shakou

lol who's getting their "panties in a wad"? All I'm saying is (and this comes from 30 years experience of owning both cats and dogs) cats require just as much maintenance as dogs, it's just they require it in different areas, and it's usually the people who think otherwise that get them and then end up dumping them in a shelter. A "low maintenance pet" is a betta fish, not a dog or cat.

Yep.

Really, it's something I see between dog and cat people all the time. People whose heart belongs to dogs swear up and down they are more maintenance and "harder" than cats. People whose heart belongs to cats swear up and down that they are more maintenance and "harder" than dogs. Just like in dogs, there's a difference between a cat living and a cat thriving.

I don't even own cats I just know people who *do*, and know how much work they put into their cats to make them truley happy and to make them a good house pet. You have to feed a dog, you have to feed a cat, you have to house train dogs, you have to litter train cats, you have to show affection to dogs, you have to show affection to cats (and for both dogs and cats how you show it depends on the breed), you have to provide mental and physical stimulation for dogs you have to provide mental and physical stimulation for cats.

Hell, I've had a cat person get snooty with me because a store chose our rescue to donate to for an event, rather than them, because "cats are the hardest pet!'

[Shakou]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

Betta aren't really low-maintenance either. I've seen a lot of bettas die slow, diseased or starving deaths because people thought that.

Fact of the matter is...no pet is really low maintenance. Except to those people who don't care to give quality care because it's "Just a....[blank]".

Well, hence why I put it in quotes. I adore my betta fish and take great care of him, but in comparison to cats and dogs, he's very low maintenance.

If you don't have your panties in a wad, then I probably wasn't talking to you. And just how exactly are they just as much maintenance? Because I've seen plenty of reasons for why they're easier to care for and no reasons why they aren't. I know I can't really talk since I don't have 30 whole years of experience, but I've owned both. In fact, I currently own both. And as I explained in my post, cats have been much easier to care for. Yes, they need the same basic needs. But you don't have to rush home on your lunch hour or pay for a dog walker when you work long hours. Nor do you have to rush home at the end of the day. You might be able to stop and get groceries on your way home instead. It's much easier to provide mental and physical stimulation for a cat than a 70lb dog. It just is. And, shockingly, I haven't dumped my cats in a shelter yet, despite my thinking they're lower maintenance. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, though.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

Fact of the matter is...no pet is really low maintenance. Except to those people who don't care to give quality care because it's "Just a....[blank]".

^^This. My daughter got really into goldfish and you wouldn't believe what it takes to keep carp healthy and happy. Most people feed them a starvation diet of the fish equivalent of Ol' Roy, and let them slowly waste away in their own feces and urine in a tiny tiny cage.

She helped me make an awesome diet of home made gel food specifically for her goldfish, their tank gets partially siphoned out with fresh water added 3-4 times a week, their plants gets pruned, etc. etc. etc. She's also training them to eat out of her hands and that's going really well as they aren't afraid of her fingers anymore.

[Doberluv]

Originally Posted by Shakou

lol who's getting their "panties in a wad"? All I'm saying is (and this comes from 30 years experience of owning both cats and dogs) cats require just as much maintenance as dogs, it's just they require it in different areas, and it's usually the people who think otherwise that get them and then end up dumping them in a shelter. A "low maintenance pet" is a betta fish, not a dog or cat.

Well, I think otherwise and I didn't dump any cats in a shelter. I have had dogs and cats during my life too and loved them both to pieces. But I found cats to be easier than dogs. I still fed, groomed, took them to the vet when needed, loved them, held them on my lap, they hung out with me...I even had one that followed me like a dog down the hill to my neighbor's when we'd have coffee. She sat on her porch looking in the window, waiting for me and then would follow me back up my long driveway when I went home. She was a real character, that one.

However, I found that the cats were easier than my dogs. I didn't have to train them to make them nice pets, as I do my dogs. They didn't require as much attention or attending to as my dogs. They didn't care about going on walks. They had a little box and although I had to clean it, I didn't have to worry about making sure to be home in time to let the dog out. (I guess some people use pads and stuff for dogs too, but I didn't) My dogs really didn't like it when I'd leave for hours...they'd be very sad. My cats really couldn't care less I don't think. They were just more independent. Of course, I've always had dogs that were very biddable and pretty dependent.

But I guess it's a matter of opinion....who thinks what is high maintenance or what is easier. What takes more attending to is subjective, I suppose.

[Paige]

For me I find my dog easier to care for becacuse of his personality comapred to my cat... plus I am NOT a cat person. So I have to strive to keep a positive, healthy relationship with Brobee. Bandit it's not even effort. However, he is easier in the sense he doesn't need to be let out to poop and I can leave him over night if I have to. I have to arrange for Bandit to be let out by my landlord if I won't be able to make it home.

[Renee750il]

I wonder if maybe what the gist of recommending she get a cat was because cats -- typically -- aren't prone to the kind of "can't let you out of my sight" devotion that irritated her so much with the Fila puppy.

Kittens often will though.

It's a baby thing.

Weirdly, adult Filas have quite a few feline characteristics . . . probably one of the things I love so much about them.

But yes, there are things you have to take care of with dogs that you don't (normally) with cats -- like getting home in time to let them out. The cat will go use his litterbox, or if he's like my Gonzo, the toilet

On the other hand, Tallulah has an emergency tray with newspapers that she uses, and Kharma's been known to pee in an empty white porcelain dog bowl. She came up with that one on her own

[crazedACD]

I've come to the conclusion that I find housebreaking and walking dogs much more enjoyable than managing litter boxes and the occasional cat that decides not to use them . I do think they are easier as far as not having to be home for them all the time and not needing the training time...but I find the dog tasks more enjoyable than the cat tasks. I have one cat living in my (large) bedroom, because he doesn't totally get along with one other cat, and he started peeing on the couch. But he's fine in the room. It's a pain...but what can you do.

I really do love my cats but I don't think I will have any more. Even trying to help some out..the last cat I took in I was truly unable to find a home for.

[sillysally]

Speaking of cats, how can this thread be over 100 pages long and no Lolcatz?

[Shakou]

Originally Posted by MyHorseMyRules

If you don't have your panties in a wad, then I probably wasn't talking to you. And just how exactly are they just as much maintenance? Because I've seen plenty of reasons for why they're easier to care for and no reasons why they aren't. I know I can't really talk since I don't have 30 whole years of experience, but I've owned both. In fact, I currently own both. And as I explained in my post, cats have been much easier to care for. Yes, they need the same basic needs. But you don't have to rush home on your lunch hour or pay for a dog walker when you work long hours. Nor do you have to rush home at the end of the day. You might be able to stop and get groceries on your way home instead. It's much easier to provide mental and physical stimulation for a cat than a 70lb dog. It just is. And, shockingly, I haven't dumped my cats in a shelter yet, despite my thinking they're lower maintenance. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, though.

Let's see, where do I start? I work 10+ hours 5 days a week, and I have two dogs, neither of which need a baby sitter or a dog walker. I DO however need to get up early everyday to change my cat box first thing in the morning, because if I don't the house will smell to high heaven when I get home. The dogs just require me to open the door. My cat's food cost just as much money as my dog's food, even before he was placed on his prescription diet. He deserves a good healthy diet every bit as much as the dogs. He also deserves toys, attention, and just as much interaction as the dogs. Infact, he DEMANDS it, and unlike the dogs if he doesn't receive it, he'll get in your face about it. Literally. 4:30AM like clock work if you're not up, he'll jump on the bed and start MEOWING, grunting, whining, climbing all over you until you get up and get his food. And this is after a night of sleeping with a pillow over my head because he's ripping through the house, knocking **** over and playing. The dogs are passed out cold. He requires just as much vet attention as the dogs. But unlike the dogs who you can just open the car door and they jump in, you have to wrangle him into a carrier and listen to him screech the whole way to the vet.

This is how it's been with every cat I've ever owned (and from the time I was a year old I've always had atleast one). Maybe they aren't as "clingy" as dogs, but it still takes just as much care and interaction for their well being and happiness as it does for a dog.