Many people think that you’re either a cat or a dog lover and there seems to be a somewhat unfounded sense of competition between our furry friends. However, there are still many of us who love both and wouldn’t want to decide which one they would prefer. While dogs may be more dependable and give us plenty of unconditional love, cats are more independent but still offer us sufficient cuddles and affection that makes them an important part of the family.

Money-saving experts Voucherbox recently discovered in a survey how much pets are costing us throughout their lifetime. They also revealed that an incredible 51% of households in the UK own a pet and 25% of those have dogs, which is only 1% more than cats at 24%. This confirms that cats and dogs are probably the most popular pets in the UK – there were 9.4 million dogs and 11 million cats in households throughout the country in 2016.

Why We Love Dogs

Dogs are man’s best friend. They are always loyal, loving and fun to be with. They’re always pleased to see us and often shadow us around the house wherever we go. Our dogs are forever loving and faithful friends that adore and respect us. Dogs are dependable and they rely on us to walk them daily, feed them, groom them and let them in and out of the garden to do their business. They need us to be an essential provider for their happiness and comfort, to care for them and look after them, much like a human.

Why We Love Cats

Cats are popular pets because they are perhaps easier than dogs being so independent. They can get exercise by going through the cat flap and wandering wherever they want; they can feed themselves whenever they’re hungry (so long as there’s food in their bowls) and they don’t usually need a human to let them in and out of the garden to do their business. Cats will cuddle up with us on the sofa and can be quite needy in terms of a human company, but they will also want time alone. Cats seem to do everything on their terms and have a funny stubbornness which makes them amusing at times.

Co-habiting Friends

The myth of cats and dogs not getting on in the household is not so much true. Although their characters and needs can be quite different, they can also be very good friends. You will often see cats and dogs cuddle up or playing together nicely and they can sometimes have a sibling type of love/hate relationship. However, it seems cats may not have as much patience as dogs and look like they find a happy pooch sniffing them irritating at times, they are perhaps a little warier and less tolerant, very much showing that any kind of human or pet contact is always on their terms.

Cats and dogs are part of the family, faithful additions to the household that like to curl up close to their human pack. While cats are more independent and can be quite self-sufficient, dogs can be reliant but forever by our side. There should be no competition between our furry friends because regardless, they provide us with unconditional love, happiness and affectionate cuddles at the end of the day.

Are you a cat or a dog person or, like us, you simply love both?

* This is a collaborative post.