I don’t know whether I am inspired by the fact that it has been raining cats and dogs over the past few months, but recently I have had many reasons to contemplate the perpetual question of whether a representative for Homo Sapiens is a cat or dog person.
Last spring, when staying in our flat in Helsinki, I was outing our Tabby cat named after my favourite poet, Federico García Lorca (Chico for short) on a leach in a park nearby. We were admiring the superb view over the Northern harbour, when an elderly (gentle)man joined us, pointing at Chico with disgust. “What is that thing,” he asked. “A cat,” I said, “an example of Felix Domestica.” “I hate cats,” he went on. “They are selfish, lazy and not fun to be with. I am a dog person.”
He sneezed before leaving us with our thoughts as to whether it was worth while to feel offended. By that time, we were used to hearing all kinds of sarcastic remarks about our devotion to our feline family member; mostly from men. Could it possible that cat-hating has something to do with the macho image? Mostly these remarks come from people who have never lived under the same roof as a cat.
Chico was a thin, shy and abandoned creature when he came up the steps in our garden one day in April, eight years ago. He just jumped up in my lap, and from that day on he slowly became a member of our household, as an outdoor cat at first, but after a while, he settled in.
During the first summer we left him in the care of a neighbour, under the surveillance of our cat-loving Swedish friends, Anita and Sture. It did not work out well, however, and one day we got a phone call from Anita to say that the cat was not doing well. We boarded a plane as soon as possible (O, how our cat-loathing acquaintances liked this!), took the cat to the vet and started planning to take him to Finland. The problem was that there was no space for a cat on our return flight, so Sture and Anita (God bless them!) offered to send Chico on a cargo flight to Helsinki, and so they did. We fetched him at the Helsinki airport at three a clock in the morning the following day. Since then he has flown between Málaga and Helsinki seven times – a true Globetrotter!
So why is that many people are either cat or a dog persons? Many dog haters say that dogs are dirty, smelly, drooling and dependent. Cat haters say that cats are selfish, lazy, sly and too independent. Dog lovers say that dogs are loyal, direct, kind, faithful, utilitarian, team players etc. Cat lovers say that cats are graceful, subtle, intelligent, clean, thoughtful and mysterious.
Well, cats and dogs are different; they are feline and canine species with their different characteristics. I like them both, but prefer cats. Simplistic studies suggest that the only binary classification to be made for mankind is this one: Is she or he a cat person or a dog person? It’s not necessary to dwell further on the canine traits admired by the dog person and the feline traits loved by the cat person. The study goes on to say that cat people are introverted, self-conscious, secretive, sensitive and artistic, whereas dog people are eager, unembarrassed and open. Dogs and cats get along perfectly when they get used to each other, and we humans should consider our differences as blessings and “live and let live.”