Here’s the real deal when it comes to cats vs dogs based on my personal experience. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of breeds that can swing the compatibility of a cat or a dog one way or another. There are active cats that go hiking and there are couch potato cats, just like there are high energy dogs and low energy dogs.
This is why it’s important to gather the general characteristics of cats vs dogs as pets and then observe (or learn temperment tests) the personality/behavior of the animal before bringing them home. I brought home my first dog when he was 10 months old. As a college student, I knew that I wouldn’t have the schedule needed to care for a young puppy (who needs extensive labor for crate training, obedience training, potty training, or even for continued neurological development.) My dog was a very sweet charming boy who was part lab and part husky. I gathered that he was medium-high energy, which matched his breed makeup, and was eager to please. He had a very good on-off switch when outside vs inside (I observed this when we went out to a dog run at the animal shelter).
Costs
Cats are generally more affordable than dogs when we’re looking at a rescue shelter. Prices to adopt a cat range from $30 to $300, while dogs are more in the $100-$700 range. Generally younger animals or unfixed animals will be higher in the range.
Personality/Temperment
When adopting from a shelter, it is so important to gauge an animals temperment as well as their physical and mental needs. Especially since not a lot of information may be available about the animal from staff or even details left by surrendering owners.
There are many resources available online to determine an animals temperment and you can generally determine the animal’s physical or mental needs by taking a guess to what breeds the animal may be made up of. Knowing the breed is important, as it can tell you what you can expect. This is one of the advantages from bringing home a pet from a reputable breeder. The breed’s temperment and physical/mental needs are more predictable. The animal’s temperment and personality can be discussed more accurately as the breeder will know from experience as well as caring or the animal since birth.
Care
Cats need a little less maintenance and space, than dogs but they need just as much social interaction. My cat loves to sleep at the foot of my bed at night and napping in her cat tree as I work in the office. She’ll follow me around the house and meow until I pick her up. She adores snuggling with me on the couch as I play Skyrim. She also catches flies for me (and eats them apparently!). See her in action below 👇
Cats take a little longer to gain a higher level of trust and bonding than dogs do. I’ve had my cat since she was 3 months old and I’ve fostered semi-feral cats as well as dogs from rural villages who were allowed to run free. Each time, I noticed that the cats took more repetition and exposure to people in order to gain trust. The dogs settled into their routine and opened up fairly quickly.
Training
I found that training entirely depends on the animal’s breed makeup as well as their personality and their personal relationship with you. I’ve taught my cat her name, recall, wet food indicating “nom nom” command, as well as out and off. One of my dogs knows 30+ words/phrases while the other knows basic commands. One dog catches onto the training quickly but his retention is low and he will sometimes choose to ignore me. The other is slow to catch on but his retention is great and he almost always is so eager to listen.
In both cats and dogs, the key to training is consistency. Some cats or dogs might need a few short sessions a day and some might need 1 hour long session a day. It’s important to determine where your cat or dog is at emotionally and intellectually. If you’re still having trouble, there are training resources online. I’ll list some of the youtube channels I’ve followed to help with training. It can also be helpful to register for local dog training classes.
Jackson Galaxy: https://www.youtube.com/@JacksonGalaxy
Beckman’s Dog Training: https://www.youtube.com/@BDTraining
Thomas Davis Dog Training: www.youtube.com/@tomdavisofficial
