Cats make better pets than dogs.

Although I love cats and don't really like dogs very much, I think I can still take this debate without having to play devil's advocate. After all, it is not my burden to prove that dogs are better pets than cats. It is Pro's burden to prove that cats are better pets than dogs, and my burden is simply to refute Pro's arguments.My refutation is simple. Whether a dog or cat is a better pet or not depends on what the owner wants to get out of the pet. A dog lover could agree with every one of the facts that Pro cited and still think dogs are better pets because that's what the owner prefers.Let's look at those facts one by one so you can see what I'm talking about.1. "Cats are more self-reliant and independent."But many people prefer a dependent pet because being needed gives a person a sense of purpose which is good for mental and emotional health.2. "They know how to bathe and can have their own alone time while still showing you affection when they want to."Dog owners prefer a pet that will give them affection when the owner wants to, not just whenever the pet is good and ready, and dogs are always ready, willing, and able to lavish you with affection, unlike cats.3. "I would argue that they are not as needy and emotionally dependent as dogs."Dog owners may prefer a needy and emotionally dependent pet over a pet that is aloof because dog owners may themselves be needy and emotionally dependent.4. "They are less time-consuming than dogs who need greater care by walking them outside, and who need constant attention."The fact that cats are less conducive to going for walks than dogs is seen by most dog owners as a strike against them, and a strike in favor of dogs. Walking dogs is good for your health and a great way to meet other people.5. "Cats are cleaner and can even be trained to use the toilet"Some people like to bathe their dogs, and the messier the better.6. "If cats were people, you would respect them more because they are more independent, less exhausting, and less emotionally dependent."If it were people we were looking for, we'd have friends. When we have pets, we are looking for something other than what people have to offer. Besides, by people standards, dogs are far more friendly and personable than cats. Cats will completely ignore you, whereas dogs are always responsive and in tune with you. Needy people get a lot out of needy pets. Independent people get a lot out of independent pets. It's a matter of preference.7. "Dogs can be be taught many tricks, but so can cats. You can even teach a cat to fetch"This obviously doesn't give cats an advantage over dogs. This point serves only to say cats are at least as good as dogs. But Pro's burden is to show that cats are better, not just-as-good-as.8. "Dogs can be used to protect your home, but let us not forget that tigers, lions, panthers, and leopards are also cats that make a much more fearsome bodyguard than even the biggest Rottweiler."Lions, tigers, and leopards are less predictable than dogs. So although they may be scarier than Rottweilers, they do not make better guards over your home. You need an animal that is easily trained before you'll have a good guard, and no cats are as easily trained as dogs are. Moreover, the resolution is not that some few species of cat that are extremely hard to acquire (like leopards) are better pets than dogs, but that cats (in general) are better pets than dogs.ConclusionIt was Pro's burden to show that cats make better pets than dogs, and since "better" differs from person to person according to what they want and need in a pet, Pro's burden has not been met. The resolution assumes that "better" is an objective term, but in reality, it's a subjective term. If Pro had said cats are better for some people than dogs, then Pro could've won this debate, but since Pro made the blanket statement, without qualification, that cats make better pets than dog, and since I've shown that the claim is not true in any objective sense (or at least that Pro has not shown that it is true), then Pro has not established the resolution.Congratulations to Pro for taking part in my 50th debate on DDO!