Jack+V’s+2018+OpEd+Article



The Great Debate

For ages, cat and dog lovers everywhere have debated which housepet is the premier companion for life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. As someone who has owned multiple dogs and cats, I consider myself an ideal evaluator in this subject, as I am not skewed by the bias of the media.

I write this not in the hopes of putting down one species, for I thoroughly love both felines and canines. There comes a time, however, when on the thresh of manhood, one must decide if he is a cat-person or a dog-person.

You can not be both.

You can love both. You can own both. But you can not claim them to be equals. A stance must be chosen. And I am here today to swim upstream against the popular (or should I say PUPular) opinion of dog favoritism. Kitties everywhere are hated on and not shown the love and respect they deserve. In fact, most of the time when someone says they “don’t like cats” it’s merely because they’ve only ever had a dog.



For starters, dogs are the hoes of the animal kingdom. They give out their love to anybody who’s interested and in return only hope for a pat on the head or a “Who’s a good boy!?” People say that dogs are “loyal.” But if you’re “loyal” to everybody, doesn’t that basically mean you’re loyal to nobody? They are sell outs who do not require trust to be formed in the relationship. I do like the idea of always having a companion who will enjoy my company, but how can I sleep at night knowing that my dog would cheat on me with all the other humans if he had the chance?

Now cats, they make you earn their love. And when you do earn that love, it’s the best relationship you will have with any living thing, even your precious succulents. They are truly loyal. Cuddles when you’re sad, cuddles when you’re happy, cuddles when you’re sleepy. It’s the best. And I can always be content knowing that my cats hold me on a pedestal above all other humans. I am their one true love.

A cat will live longer than a dog, and will not leave you sad and weeping over its death as soon as a dog will. A cat is cheaper to take care of. It eats less. Poops less. Doesn’t require training or special collars. Dogs are noisy and bark at the door. Cats mind their own business. Cats don’t need you to walk them or play with them. They don’t get depressed if you can’t spend all of your time with them. They aren’t emotionally fragile like dogs.

Dogs try to be human. Cats are what humans strive to be. Free time, independent, lots of cuddles, treated like kings and queens. Refusing to acknowledge the greatness of kitties merely signifies your ignorance. Dogs are great, but they’re no cats.

I rest my case.

- Jack Vielbig 2018



— Jim Davis (author of “Garfield”) — Charles Dickens ― J eff Valdez
 * “Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them.” **
 * “What greater gift than the love of a cat?” **
 * “Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.” **