I thought the discussion about cats vs dogs was getting too far off topic on the other thread about the Fila. We got to talking about whether or not cats are more independent or if they were easier to care for. So....I started this one. I found a couple of articles I found interesting about cats and dogs.
If you've had or have cats and dogs, what do you find to be easier to take care of? Of course, some of that probably depends on how solitary your cat is. Some are decidedly more sociable than others. I have had both cats and dogs and although my cats were all very sociable and very much a part of our family, I still found them to not be as dependent as my dogs and a little easier in many ways to care for than the dogs.
And your replies don't have to be only about which is easier. You could also include differences you like or dislike about dogs and cats. Or you can talk about anything dogs and cats.
Here are a couple of articles that might be a sort of spring board for conversation if you like. If you go to the link, there's a cute picture or two.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3843395.../how-science-measures-cats-dogs/#.UHDxM5iukVE
Here, I'll just post the link to the other one or the post will be too long.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...an-cats-at-least-scientifically-speaking.html
Okay...go!
If you've had or have cats and dogs, what do you find to be easier to take care of? Of course, some of that probably depends on how solitary your cat is. Some are decidedly more sociable than others. I have had both cats and dogs and although my cats were all very sociable and very much a part of our family, I still found them to not be as dependent as my dogs and a little easier in many ways to care for than the dogs.
And your replies don't have to be only about which is easier. You could also include differences you like or dislike about dogs and cats. Or you can talk about anything dogs and cats.
Here are a couple of articles that might be a sort of spring board for conversation if you like. If you go to the link, there's a cute picture or two.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3843395.../how-science-measures-cats-dogs/#.UHDxM5iukVE
If the debate over cat vs. dog intelligence seems better articulated by cat owners, there's a reason: Cat owners are more likely to have university degrees than dog owners, according to researchers at the University of Bristol.
Jane Murray, who led the study, said the association is likely due to the fact that degree holders tend to work long hours, which limits the time they have available for pet care. Cats are less needy than dogs, she noted, content to snooze away the day on a sunny windowsill while their owners toil behind office desks.
Vicki Myron, who wrote "Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," holds her cat Page in this image.
Cat brain: The future of computing?
technewsdaily.com
Computer engineer Wei Lu at the University of Michigan is hard at work developing the computer of the future. He hopes to make it as smart as a cat.
"The cat brain sets a realistic goal because it is much simpler than a human brain but still extremely difficult to replicate in complexity and efficiency," he has said.
His work is based on devices he calls “memristors†that remember the past voltages it was they were exposed to and functions like a biological synapse, which connect brain cells or neurons together.
Cat earns high school diploma
Michael Nagle / Getty Images
Jay Jay, the Iams-trained show cat illustrating his computer skills in this image, might want take a lesson from Oreo C. Collins, a cat from Macon, Ga., who successfully earned a "high school diploma" from Jefferson High School Online.
Oreo's owner, Kelvin Collins, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia, admits he might have helped the cat take the test and write the life-experience essay required for graduation, but said Oreo was on his lap the whole time.
"Oreo's a really smart cat," Collins said in a telephone interview with msnbc.com reporter Helen A.S. Popkin last summer. His intellectual achievement, however, is meant to highlight fraud in online degree programs. A real General Educational Development (GED) diploma requires in-person test taking.
Advertise | AdChoices
Cats and dogs can get along
Joan Baron / AP file
Cats and dogs really can get along to the point that they'll play hard together, drink water from the same bowl, and cuddle on the couch, according to research led by Joseph Terkel at Tel Aviv University. The recipe for success, he found, is to adopt the cat first and introduce a dog while both pets are still young.
In homes where the cat and dog are mates, the research suggests they've managed to correctly read each other's body cues. A cat's thrashing tail, for example, signifies anger. Happy dogs wag their tails.
"We found that cats and dogs are learning how to talk each other's language," Terkel said. "It was a surprise that cats can learn how to talk 'Dog' and vice versa."
Jane Murray, who led the study, said the association is likely due to the fact that degree holders tend to work long hours, which limits the time they have available for pet care. Cats are less needy than dogs, she noted, content to snooze away the day on a sunny windowsill while their owners toil behind office desks.
Vicki Myron, who wrote "Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," holds her cat Page in this image.
Cat brain: The future of computing?
technewsdaily.com
Computer engineer Wei Lu at the University of Michigan is hard at work developing the computer of the future. He hopes to make it as smart as a cat.
"The cat brain sets a realistic goal because it is much simpler than a human brain but still extremely difficult to replicate in complexity and efficiency," he has said.
His work is based on devices he calls “memristors†that remember the past voltages it was they were exposed to and functions like a biological synapse, which connect brain cells or neurons together.
Cat earns high school diploma
Michael Nagle / Getty Images
Jay Jay, the Iams-trained show cat illustrating his computer skills in this image, might want take a lesson from Oreo C. Collins, a cat from Macon, Ga., who successfully earned a "high school diploma" from Jefferson High School Online.
Oreo's owner, Kelvin Collins, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia, admits he might have helped the cat take the test and write the life-experience essay required for graduation, but said Oreo was on his lap the whole time.
"Oreo's a really smart cat," Collins said in a telephone interview with msnbc.com reporter Helen A.S. Popkin last summer. His intellectual achievement, however, is meant to highlight fraud in online degree programs. A real General Educational Development (GED) diploma requires in-person test taking.
Advertise | AdChoices
Cats and dogs can get along
Joan Baron / AP file
Cats and dogs really can get along to the point that they'll play hard together, drink water from the same bowl, and cuddle on the couch, according to research led by Joseph Terkel at Tel Aviv University. The recipe for success, he found, is to adopt the cat first and introduce a dog while both pets are still young.
In homes where the cat and dog are mates, the research suggests they've managed to correctly read each other's body cues. A cat's thrashing tail, for example, signifies anger. Happy dogs wag their tails.
"We found that cats and dogs are learning how to talk each other's language," Terkel said. "It was a surprise that cats can learn how to talk 'Dog' and vice versa."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...an-cats-at-least-scientifically-speaking.html
Okay...go!