Do you like animals? Are you more of a cat or a dog person? Or are you both?  I’m sure you have heard of the age old argument on whether which animal is deemed to be the best pet. Today, I’m going to be looking at both sides of the argument and see their reasoning as to why they claim that either cats or dogs are the best pet.

The “cats vs. dogs” thing has been very popular within the media. Stuff you can find online are “Cats vs dogs compilation” on YouTube, “Why dogs are better” or “Why cats are better” articles all over the internet and they come up with very solid points. Terms like “crazy cat lady” are used against people who prefer cats over dogs. You can’t forget a childhood movie that nearly every kid watched: Cats vs Dogs.

The percentages of households owning dogs are 38.4%, while 25.4% own cats. Going deeper, the number of households owning dogs are 48,255,413 and 31,896,077 own cats. The average number owned per household is 1.6 for dogs, and 1.8 for cats. The total number within the United States is 76,811,305 for dogs and 58,385,725 for cats. These statistics were provided by 2017-2018 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics source book.

Dogs are known as loyal and as a “man’s best friend,” research continues to show that having pets can bring real health benefits for owners. According to the CDC, a close and strong bond between people and their pets can increase fitness, decrease feelings of loneliness, increase opportunity for outdoor activity and exercise for dogs and its owner, and opportunities for socialization.

A new study from Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health shows how dog owners are significantly more active during the winter. Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Center for Diet and Activity research at the University of Cambridge focused their study on 3,123 participants between the ages of 49-91. Almost 20% of the people owned a dog, and they all wore an accelerometer for seven days to track their movements.

The researchers have found that the people who didn’t own a dog were sedentary for about 30 more minutes a day on average than those who did not walk their dogs. The study had shown that the dog walkers got an average 12 more minutes of activity on the wettest days, than those who didn’t own dogs got on the driest days. On the driest days, dog walkers were sedentary for an average of 632 minutes, compared to non-dog owners’ 661 minutes.  This research study shows that people with dogs are more likely to get a lot of physical activity in. Dogs are also know to improve owners mental health. A study from the University of York and the University of Lincoln found that having a pet was linked to maintaining better mental health and reducing loneliness and about 90% of the 6,000 participants in the U.K.

Cats were known as ancient and powerful creatures that were known to bring good luck to the people who housed them in ancient Egyptian culture. Cats were represented in social and religious practices in ancient Egypt for more than 3,000 years. Cats were praised for protecting the Pharaoh while killing venomous snakes. Cats were wildly respected, killing and wounding one would’ve resulted in harsh punishment. In the modern world today, you can still find Egyptians still keep cats in high regard.

A special bond between you and your cat can be very rewarding. A cat has the ability to play, be fun while being a calm and independent pet. The benefits of having a cat and why they make great pets are that they are low maintenance pets, they are small places like apartments and don’t take up much space, they don’t need a ton of space to play like dogs would. They’re quiet, cats will only meow if they want attention or food. Other than that, you don’t have t worry about them being a distraction. Cats are independent, they will be there for you when them but they can also adapt to themselves and can keep themselves entertained. Cats can help you keep your house pest free, they like to hunt rodents, they are natural hunters. They can help kill any pests in your room like roaches, house flies an spiders. While you might be able to outlive your pet, cats have long life spans. They can live up to 20 years. Health benefits of owning a cat is that they can lower your stress and anxiety, improve your cardiovascular health, prevent allergies and reduce feelings of loneliness.

While the argument is still up in the air on which animal is the best, I personally believe that both animals have significant benefits and that both are great pets. And I believe that many people can agree with me.