Selections from article by Benjamin L. Hart, DMV, PhD and Lynette A. Hart, PhD School of Veterinary Medicine University of California, Davis Davis, California

People who want pets live in a variety of environments ranging from small apartments to houses with lots of open space. A household may comprise a single man or woman, sometimes quite elderly, or a family with a number of young children. Some people wanting a pet may be more concerned about territorial guarding than the pet’s behavior toward children. But they still may want an animal that displays a lot of affection toward them. A family with young children may place the ability of the animal to put up with the antics of children first and territorial guarding second. An elderly couple may want an animal that is particularly easily housebroken.

A number of parameters are used in recommending particular pets for particular environments. The first decision is usually whether to recommend a dog or a cat. Once this basic decision is made, there are questions about size, hair length, coat color, and whether the animal should be of purebred or of mixed breed background. Size and color are important, but we must remember that a companion animal is chosen for its behavior.

There is no reason to belabor the obvious differences between cats and dogs as companion animals. The size of cats often makes them more suitable for some environments than dogs. The fact that cats use a litter box for elimination, as opposed to the necessity of taking a dog on a walk three times a day form elimination, also contributes to the popularity of cats in some settings where regular access to the out-of-doors is not available.

What many people fail to recognize about the behavior differences between dogs and cats is that cats are basically asocial. Their wild ancestors were loners who lived a solitary life with the exception of coming together for breeding or raising of young (in the case of the mother). The domestic cat is basically the same asocial animal, although through domestic breeding we have probably selected for more sociable behavior. This may sound strange, but one of the reasons that cats make ideal pets for situations in which they must be left alone for much of the day is that they are not a social species. A social animal like a dog might shoe behavior signs of isolation, while a cat is relatively content without other animals around. The asocial nature of cats is also why they seem indifferent, if not insubordinate, to their owners.

Dogs react to people more or less as they would toward another member of a pack. Dogs crave social interaction and love affection and attention. Dogs, being social animals, readily adapt to dominance-subordination relationships with their new owners; normally this means the dogs are subordinate to human members of the family. People often make the mistake of feeling that a single cat, if it is home alone much of the time, will be lonely, and therefore they feel obligated to find a companion. As many cat owners will testify, this often makes things worse rather than better for the resident cat. The resident cat may reject the stranger, or the cats may tolerate each other for a few months then start getting along miserably. Worse yet, the resident cat may start urine spraying when a new one is brought in because of the extra agitation and emotional upset.