Cats and Dogs...

I was raised a dog person. The family dog when I was growing up was a Golden Retriever... Manfred. Freddy. A great dog. Then we switched to Shar Pei's. We've had many. They die easily. And when I got to college, I started getting my own dogs. My first college dog, Sleep Ray Floyd, the world's best Bassett Hound, died spring '07. My next two dogs, Barley, an 11-year-old Chocolate Lab, and Sammy, an 11-year-old Golden Retriever, are still alive and living with my parents in the country outside of Chapel Hill.

I now have cats. Two cats. A brother and sister I rescued from PetsMart. Dweezil and Moon. They are without a doubt the two coolest little animals on the planet. And they are teaching me so much about life with cats. And I'm starting to realize that I am very much a cat person.

For one, they are small. They are clean. They don't smell. They are quiet. They are smart. They are very affectionate. They are not needy. They have their little routines just like me. They are great roommates. They have their own little personalities. Quite simply, they are cool little animals.

Now if I had more room (and more money), I'd get two dogs to complete the family. I'd like to eventually get a brother and sister Chocolate Lab pair and name them Scully and Mulder. But dogs are very much more hands on animals for the first several years. You always have to think about what you're going to do with the dogs, etc. etc. Not to say that you can just up and leave a cat. But you don't have to "cat proof" the house before you go out for awhile like you do before you leave puppies.

So for the time being, I am quite happy being a cat person. We nap together. When I read, they nap. And when I nap, they nap. And when we curl up in bed, they occasionally let me have another room to roll around a bit.

Yes, cats are great little animals.........

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