If you have any doubt that cats are better than dogs, please take a few minutes to do the following:
1. Sit in a comfy chair in a warm room with a cup of your favorite hot beverage.
2. Read the classic Jack London short story To Build a Fire, a harrowing account of a man and a dog struggling to survive in extreme cold weather.
3. Read Darla’s (She’s a Maineiac) Tales From the Ice Storm of 1998 (part 1 and part 2), a hilarious account of a woman and a cat struggling to survive in extreme cold weather.
I rest my case.
Unlikely Explanations 
Watertight :)
Thank you. It’s always nice when I can put my degree in Cat Logic to good use.
I concur … as I brush off the layer of cat hair on my shirt. ;-)
You should just buy shirts the same color as your cat(s).
As soon as I find something white with black spots that doesn’t make me look like a cow
That link was hilarious. And harrowing. And I’m undecided on the cat/dog thing.
The cliffhanger at the end of part 1 was especially effective.
I miss cats. I have to stop marrying guys who are allergic to cats. Yep. On #2…
You really do need to stop. We have a strict three-strike policy.
Wait, you? Or the cats? Either way, message received. And agreed.
Change #2 to watch Lassie, and the dog people cheer.
Change #2 to watch Homeward Bound, and everybody wins!
I wholeheartedly concur on #1 and #3.
I think the cat people still win with Lassie. Darla’s much smarter than Timmy, which says something about the relative intelligence of cat people vs. dog people.
Nope. Sorry. Cats don’t care if you come home. They don’t love you the way a dog does. Sorry, Laura, I am unconvinced.
But the ice thing might be a plus for the cat. I have to admit I thought Darla would have taken Conan out of the carrier so that he could pull her up the hill like a husky. But then when I saw that Darla had to do all the work, well, I decided that I am right.
Dogs rule.
My cat Thunder greets me every day when I come home! He runs up to me and purrs and leads me into the kitchen and … um. Never mind.
(I feel like I’m giving an unfair impression of my cats. Both cats are actually pretty affectionate and playful; Thunder is just food-obsessed at breakfast and dinner time).
It is different. Dogs are glad to see you because they love you. And you’ll feed them. Cats are happy because you’ll feed them.
Dogs love people because they walk upright and THAT’S SO COOL. Cats love their person because they’re worth loving. I like going for the higher standard. :)
I’m pretty sure Seffie loves me for my laser pointer skills.
I will disagree until I die, Dogs love you with every inch of their being. And they can save your life. http://fiftyfourandahalf.com/2013/11/23/the-end-of-my-rope/
But the cat on the left looks very much like one we had growing up who was my favorite of all cats I’ve ever had. Yes, I like both. And they both do love you. But for your dog, you are life.
Sure, they can save your life, but dogs are much more likely to shoot you than cats are.
Dog shoots Florida man in truck.
Dog shoots Minnesota man in boat.
Dog shoots man in France.
Dog shoots man at barbecue in New Zealand.
Puppy shoots Florida man (this one was clearly self-defense, though).
That is precisely why I a not anti-dog, but anti-gun.
Now that I’ve read each of these stories, it proves my point. Dogs love you, but if you are stupid enough to have a gun handy, well, you are fair game.
I especially loved the kosher dog.
I’m just amazed at how many of these stories there are. I mean, these are just the dogs that managed to successfully shoot someone. How many others fired guns and missed?
(Okay, I admit these weren’t intentional on the dogs’ part. Except maybe for the awesome self-defense puppy in the last story).
I’m going to have to use these as examples in my next gun rant. With attribution, of course. But doesn’t it make you go crazy. I mean if your dog, who never gets mad at you if you don’t do the dishes or make the bed can shoot you, what do you think can happen with a person??????
Guns are stupid. Stupid people have guns.
My god, Laura, she’s (gasp!) as funny as you are.
Of course, if she’d had a CAMP STOVE, she and her cat could have enjoyed coffee at home and avoided the whole harrowing ordeal…
(And of course, dogs – MY dog, anyway – are far superior to cats.)
Isn’t that how people die of carbon monoxide poisoning?
(And I’m not even going to dignify your parenthetical comment with an answer).
Still not convinced. Darla – being the unique and marvelous person she is has an equally unique and marvelous cat.
Yes, but all cats are unique and marvelous.
Ha! This is a great point. I remember reading ‘To Build a Fire’ in high school and I still remember the end of the depressing story with the dog. I love both cats and dogs, though.
When I was writing this post, I found out that there are actually two versions of this story. The one everyone knows is the second version. The earlier version was written for younger readers and has a very different ending (and no dog).
What? How did I not know this? Well, that’s good to know in case I stumble into a conversation where someone talks about how sweet the ending was in ‘To Build a Fire’ and I immediately assume they are a sociopath.
I grew up with cats but have since been partial to dogs. (Disclaimer: I’m a sucker for external validation and obvious displays of affection. Enough with the aloofness of cats!)
Dogs are like children — I like them as long as they’re someone else’s responsibility.
What great suggestions! Except I’m not quite sure how they prove that cats are better than dogs….?
If you read both stories and compare the outcomes, you’ll find that the person in the cat story fares somewhat better than the person in the dog story.
I have to admit as much as I adore cats (and I’ve had three amazing cats in my life) I am also a big dog lover. However, I really doubt I would have been able to haul a giant dog carrier up that hill and I obviously would have died.
I rest my case.
Hahah, I love your blog already. Cats are the best! As I sit here and write this my two cuddly ones are hovering over the computer trying to catch the letters as they appear.
http://tinderellandsingle.wordpress.com/
Cute! Mine don’t do that — they just try to lie on the laptop keyboard.
Haha :) that’s so true
Haha I’ll have to try both these books !! I’m in negotiation with my daughter about which pet to get. She is desperate for a dog :)
You could get one of each …