To think that generally, dogs have bigger personalities than cats?

[Ketomeato]

I’m right, aren’t I?

I had dogs and cats. Dog personalities are all very similar. They just want to please you and be loved. They are easy animals in that respect. Cats are far more complex.

@ClientListQueen I have one like that too I think he might be part dog, he plays fetch, lies outside the toilet door and miaows for me and is always close to me (much to the dogs disgust).

I have 3 cats, the girl is more aloof but the boys are very affectionate and soppy and you cannot pat one without the other one becoming offended and jealous.

We have cats and dogs. All of them have their own distinct personalities and individual traits. We have one cat called Gary who only loves DH and spends his days staring angrily at me for stealing his beloved from him. We have one dog who is a little blind and walks into things occasionally, who realised that each time she bumped her head DH the soft touch would give her a little treat so now she donks her head off a chair in the dining room whenever she's a little snackish. They're all a little quirky in their way!

I have no opinion on dogs or cats, as I’ve never met either except in passing at the vets, and you can’t come to any conclusions in the waiting room other than that none of us wants to be there.

We’ve all got big personalities. Some of us also have big ears.

Dogs just adore you, they just follow you around all day being your best friend loving you and wanting to be with you.

No, that is one of our cats too! All she wants, in her waking hours after food, is to lie on somebody’s chest, kneading a bit! I can’t even go to the toilet on my own - she scratches at the door. I can’t shut the bedroom door either, as she pulls up the carpet trying to find me! She is so stressed when we go on holiday, she gets diarrhoea!

Cats have MASSIVE personalities!

A cat will always be your baby, a hunter, yes but at home needs the warmth and reassurance from their human parents.

A dog is like an 11yr old child. Happy to play and be outdoors.

It's unfair to compare the two, both have so much to offer in terms of companionship and as with any animal, what you put into the relationship, you get back tenfold. Treat an animal badly and it will either be terrified or if it can (an outdoor cat) leave. A cat has a range of emotions that we can only scratch the surface.

It certainly isn't true to say that dogs all have the same personality! They are very different indeed. E.g. It isn't true that they all want to be with you all of the time. Some dogs very much need downtime, left to themselves. And even those that are constantly hanging on their owner's presence do it for different reasons. It might just be a kind of daft, easy-going generalised sociability, or it could be a deep relationship with one person, or it could be anxiety or.... something else.
Dogs couldn't do a ton of very different jobs (shepherding, guiding, disability assistance, scentwork, killing, protecting, visiting hospitals, arresting crooks) if they all had one personality.

My favourite example of a dog profession is sniffing whale poo: a labrador standing in the prow of a boat and alerting its handler every time it smells whale poo in the water. The handler then scoops up the poo (for the purposes of whale population research) and the dog gets a tennis ball.
Sorry, a bit off topic!

I think Dogs have way bigger personalities than Cats! All my childhood I really wanted a dog ,however we lived in a maisonette in London, and had a succession of cats!, .Live on South Coast now, have my 3rd dog. lots of beaches and places to go here .Spotted Girl and I have lots of fun . She gets very indignant if I go upstairs to strip make the beds ,and doesnt approve of H/W at all (hates the hoover!).Sensible really .

All animals- dogs, cats, cows, pigs, chickens etc etc have their own personalities. It’s just a case of getting to know them.

At an animal sanctuary I visit one of the pigs probably has the “biggest” personality even compared to the dogs. Depends what you mean by big personality- my cat is scared and shy so you might not think she has a big personality but get to know her and she’s got what I consider a big personality- incredibly sweet, affectionate, loud when she wants something, has her own very prominent likes and dislikes, her own little quirks.

YABU. You should meet my cat. He definitely has a personality. So did my last one - they were really different.

Well dogs are pack animals, so they're going to be naturally more responsive to humans. Cats (in the wild, not feral) don't usually live in groups, apart from some of the bigger species like lions.

IME cats learn much quicker than dogs, and will apply it to all situations, where the dog is slower. For example, my cats are now fine around all dogs after learning that the dog isn't a threat. The dog however, he still goes mental if he sees another cat out and about or even in somebody elses house.

When I introduced a 5 month old puppy into the household I didn't realise quite how stressful it would be for the cats and not something I'd do again. My little Devon Rex ignored me for six months! Which was hard because he's like a little powder puff angel. They all get on fine now.

Cats are the great procrastinators and dogs are doers I suppose.

I've just recalled a brilliant skit on YT about .

I've always wanted a dog but since childhood have had cats as a compromise. They have without fail been hilarious, loving, intelligent and trainable. We just to do 'showjumping' in the garden with them where they'd follow us round and jump over cat sized fences.

Our two now follow us around constantly. They wait at the window for us to get home and genuinely seem overjoyed to see us (anthromorphasis I know). They play fetch and come when called and are lovely mad idiots. I'd still love a dog but they certainly haven't got smaller personalities because they're cats.

I liken the majority of dogs I meet to playful, friendly, trusting toddlers. Cats, on the other hand can be playful toddlers, stroppy teens, hormonal females, angry jaded eye rolly middle aged folk and so many others. I don't know a dog that deliberately does bad things for a laugh but I know loads of cats that do.

Dogs are clingy and make a lot of noise. Cats are independent and will only like you if you put in the effort, you have to win their love. But once you have you are theirs forever.

I've had plenty of both and neither lack in personality.

I clearly have a defective dog right now as the fucker does not follow me around adoringly - it's way more independent than any of my cats were. I've had loads of cats come to greet me at the door (mostly for food but occasionally to show me a dead rats head)

OP, you clearly haven’t met our cats!!!!

It depends on the animal and the owner. Like PPs have said, dogs are easier to read and are eager to please us in a way cats aren't (probably because domestic cats don't and haven't evolved to, rely solely on their owners for food in the way dogs do).

I've never had an aloof, independant cat in 35 years though - they have all been soppy, loving and very demanding of affection. Our girl will follow you around of an evening, yowling at you until you sit down so she can lie all over you. The boy will clamber on you and aggresively foist his love upon you (not a euphamism!)

I love dogs, and I love cats. I have no time for dog people who hate cats. I bet if your dog knew of your prejudice, they would be thoroughly ashamed. Very bad dog people!

At an animal sanctuary I visit one of the pigs probably has the “biggest” personality even compared to the dogs.

It's one of my bugbears that people accuse you of 'anthropomorphising' if you say anything like that. And then years down the line, scientists will declare that 'research has discovered that x species have their own form of communication'.

Well, shit a brick, of course they do. Species that live in social groups, parent groups, build massive structures, hunt etc have social behaviours. Duh.

(Love is the one that gets me - love, viewed callously, is an evolutionary tool to help the ones nearest to us to survive and thrive. Of course it isn't unique to humans!)

sendinallthesheep
I love dogs, and I love cats. I have no time for dog people who hate cats. I bet if your dog knew of your prejudice, they would be thoroughly ashamed. Very bad dog people!

All pets have personalities, even my dd’s hamster , I mean she’s a crazy bitch but that’s still a personality,right?
As for my cats they both have massive characters and are so different from each other .

I've only ever had dogs, but I don't think it's a case of 'mote', just that they show it in different ways.

Our dog is proper domesticated - she was cuddled In a blanket when small and we talk to her like she's a human, and shes had 7 years of affection so it makes sense she's built that strong attachment..

Lils will follow you to the bathroom, and if you dare close the door on her she will whinge until you allow her in. Then she'll get impatient and demand you get up! She is quite independent in that she doesn't like being held unless she wants to, ie tired or ill. But she'll bring you her toys and make a fuss when you come home or come downstairs of a morning, will follow you about and sit next to you on sofa

YANBU

I have had lots of dogs and cats. Currently, I have two incredibly characterful dogs.

Yes, some cats can be loving and sweet, I had a v affectionate siamese years ago, but most look at you as if they are plotting your death. The majority of cats are just 'there', they don't do much apart from lie about, waiting to be fed.

Dogs are just so much fun, they are full of character and enthusiam for life. Having a dog is like having a mate, mine are like furry, cute little humans.

When I had cats they were a dog substitute. Now I have my dogs, cats seem so dull

@BossAssBitch whereas I think dogs are hard work and cats are just so much less needy .
Have always had affectionate cats ,never had one that wasn’t interested in being with us .
One of mine yowls when he comes in if he doesn’t know where I am and has been known to try and get on my lap while I’m on the toilet