Cats Choose Us, Not the Other Way Around

It may be tough to swallow, but according to a new study, cats may have domesticated themselves for the benefits of a steady food supply, shelter, and companionship.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Everybody knows that the world is divided into cat people and dog people (I'm a cat person). The reason people prefer either cats or dogs can be boiled down to one word: independence. Do you like a pet that wants your attention 24/7? Or do you prefer an animal that comes to you sometimes (usually the same time) but doesn't need your undivided attention?

I prefer cats just because they don't need me all the time. I've had all sorts of cats: pet store cats, abandoned cats, Humane Society cats, cats other people decided they didn't want, and cats that people gave away because their cat had another litter. Most of those cats have tended to prefer me, too, although I'm not sure why that is.

I've lived with cats alone and I've lived with them as part of my family, and maybe what I enjoy about a cat versus a dog (and we've always had dogs, too) is that a cat will usually lie somewhere close to me, enjoying my company, without demanding that I play tug-of-war with a half-chewed rawhide bone every 20 minutes.

This isn't to say I don't like dogs. I do. Of course, I love my parakeet, too. But if I had to pick one pet, it would be a cat.