I really hate to see cats and dogs compared because I love them both so much. But if I had to chose it's cats, mainly because of some of the upsetting, misinformed attitudes I see around. They need me more.
Anyone who thinks cats are standoffish and aren't glad to see you has never had one. No, I don't mean someone else's. A lot of people judge them by strays or other people's pets and that's not fair. If they dont' know you, they get scared of strangers, like dogs bark and snap at strangers but are loving to their owners. I know, I've had them both.
Kitties are bundles of love and affection. When I come home, my outside kitty is laying in the driveway waiting, andn he follows me, tail up, purring machine on, rubbing my legs so hard I can't walk until I pick him up and give him loving. Inside, I'm greeted by my 2 insiders with more rubbing, purring, face rubbing and more love than I have ever felt from any human being.
The best things about cats over dogs are:
1- cats don't stink
2- cats don't have to be walked; they use a litter pan.
3- cats can be left in the house for 2-3 days at a time with plenty of hard food and water and a litter pan while dogs must be constantly let in/out/walked/attended to. This helps at vacation time!
4-even if a cat claws the furniture, it is no comparison to the destruction I've had from dogs I used to have. I'm talking rugs ripped off the floor, couch cushions pulled off and destroyed, comforters and stuffed animals pulled down the hall and eaten; the stuffing everywhere, undersides of chairs eaten until the springs sag, clothes torn to shreds, phone and electric cords chewed up.
5- dogs leave bigger piles of shit and bigger puddles of pee, and it smells worse.
6- cats are softer and cuddlier to sleep or lay with, and I love purring.
I have heard people say 4 cats are less trouble than one dog.
Don't get me wrong, I like dogs, but I will never have one in the house again. I don't have one now, but when I move to the country someday, I hope, I will have me a sweet hound dog on the porch to wag his tail for me, and bark when someone is coming. But I'll always have kitties too. Lots of kitties, lots of love.