CATS AND DOGS

When I was still a kid, I have read children’s stories about cats and dogs. One of these was the story of a little girl who liked cats very much. One afternoon, she saw a filthy cat in the street. She brought it home and took good care of it. After a few months of the cat’s stay in their house, it turned out into a cuddly little creature – charming and elegant because of its white dotted fur. The cat became the girl’s playmate and her parents considered it as part of their family.

Another story was the story of Ben, a grade six pupil who had a dog named Brownie. He loved Brownie so much and the dog loved him too. There was a time when Ben accidentally slipped off on the chair as he was about to reach the jar of candies in the cabinet. His head was hit on the floor and he fainted. At that moment, nobody is around but only Ben and Brownie. Ben’s parents were having an out of town meeting. The dog went outside the house and terribly made a loud bark to catch their neighbor’s attention. Luckily, Mang Domeng, a neighbor, also a family friend, noticed the dog’s annoying behavior so he went into the house and checked what was happening inside. When he saw the boy lying on the floor, he hurriedly called for an ambulance. Ben was saved because of Brownie’s initiative to ask for help.

Cats and dogs are one of the most common domestic pets of man. They are not just pets. They are also remedy for stress. I can relate this to my father who is a teacher, and the school where he works is almost 23 kilometers away from our house. He used to travel with his motorcycle back and forth everyday. And when he arrives home, he feels so tired and exhausted, but our dog and cat minimize his exhaustion by their presence and enthusiasm. The cat plays with Papa by rubbing its face or scratching its paws to Papa’s hands as they sit together in our sofa, while the dog waggles its tail and barks, a sign of its excitement every time Papa’s motorcycle sounds nearer.

Smell is extremely an important sense in cats, in some cases more than sight. Cats have scent glands on multiple places on their body including their faces and feet. On their face, the glands are located around the eyes, below the ears, and on the chin. By rubbing their face on various objects, such as legs and furniture, they are leaving their scent. Other cats passing the object will often stop and sniff, maybe even rubbing their faces on the object to leave their scent as well. Older cats may purr when they play with people or when they approach other cats, signaling they are friendly and want to come closer. Cats also purr when they are contented, such as when they are petted, again giving the signal "all is well". However, cats can also purr when they are distressed. Sick and injured cats and those in veterinary offices often purr. It is thought that this is the cat's way of reassuring and calming itself.

On the other hand, a dog who has separation anxiety will become very anxious when he senses his owner is about to leave. When the owner does leave, the dog often becomes destructive, barks or howls, may urinate or defecate, and may salivate profusely. A dog with separation anxiety will often be overly exuberant when his owner returns.

Cats are playful creatures. They love to play with strings, crumpled papers and flying insects. They love high places too. The height gives the cat a better observation point. From a higher location, the cat can survey his realm and become more aware of the activities of people and other pets. A higher place may serve as their concealed site from which to hunt. Cats also act like infants. They sleep like an innocent child, they want to feel your caress and they love to drink milk.

Dogs love house-soiling, destructive chewing, and running away. These are their natural behaviors but these could be minimized by housetraining. Most dogs are afraid of heights because they cannot assure themselves a safe landing when they jump. Dogs are not flexible as cats. However, dogs are vigilant – they watch and guard the house when the owner is not around. Dogs are also considered as man’s bestfriend – they act as companion, helper and working partner of man.

Cats don't sweat like humans and rarely, do we see them pant like dogs. Instead, they rely on the saliva evaporating from their bodies to cool them. If a cat's body temperature increases, it will tend to groom itself more, thus activating its own unique cooling system. This is the reason why cats don’t want to take a bath. If you force them, they will surely scratch or bite you. According to what I have read in a magazine before, the only way you can bathe a cat is to soak them into hot water not exceeding thirty degrees Celsius. It will help them keep their body warm.
Unlike cats, you can easily make arrangements with dogs when you want them to take a bath, but you need to know how to bathe them properly. Dogs should be bathed only when they are dirty or when they need a flea bath. Too much bathing removes the natural oils in their skin and fur, and can leave their skin dried out and flaky. This can cause frequent scratching too.

As we can see, people perceive pets as important and supportive parts of their lives. Cats and dogs, as pets, add exhilaration in man’s existence. Even though they have different behavior, they both correlate the same role in man’s life – cats can be man’s sweet little angels and dogs can be man’s best buddy.