Dogs are Better than Cats

Thanks for the debate Element96. As a main overview of my opponents case he proposes that all dogs, and all cats have the same characteristics, and uses quite stereotypical characteristics of each animal. The pro must prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that dogs are better. I can prove that cats are better, or that dogs and cats are of equal value. I first propose that they are of equal value, as we can't lump species together, and compare them. It is debating Apples and Oranges. It simply can't be done, thus we can view cats and dogs as having equal value. If you don't buy that I can still prove under the Pros case that cats are better in every case, when we take a closer look at it. Lets begin. << 1) Dogs come when you call them - Cats come when they are good and ready >> This assumes that all dogs are obedient, and all cats are disobedient. We can't view this topic through stereotypical animals though. << 2) Dogs will bark to wake you up if the house is on fire - Cats will quietly sneak out the back door. >> This may be a benefit if your house is actually on fire, which doesn't happen often. You also have the con of a dog barking when there isn't a fire, and still waking you up. And this happens a lot more often than a dog barking when your house is on fire. Cats are obviously less annoying, and allow you to have more sleep. << 3) Dogs will play with you all afternoon - Cats sleep all day >> Dogs require you to play with them in order to be healthy. This requires extra commitment on your part to ensure your dog is in good health, as a dog does not run laps around the neighborhood in order to stay fit. This requires extra daily commitment. Cats will often play with you as well, perhaps not the stereotypical Garflied, but we can safely say that cats do enjoy playing. In addition to this cats can exercise on their own, and don't require you to exercise with them. Also, the way this is phrased portrays dogs as toys, when they are actually living beings. << 4) Dogs will greet you when you come home - Cats just continue their day >> I have never had a dog say "hello" when I walk in the door. Nor have I ever seen a cat do this. On a more serious note dogs will jump up on you, slobber on you, bark, run around the house, and get rather annoying when you enter the house, which is a general con to being greeted. Yet, again this is non-unique since cats often do greet you when you come inside. << 5) Dogs will obey you - Cats will smirk and walk away >> This assumes that all dogs are obedient by nature, and all cats are disobedient. Yet, The Dog Whisperer exists solely because of disobedient dogs, so we can't say dogs will obey you. This is a moot point. << 6) Dogs will tilt their heads and listen whenever you talk - Cats will yawn and close their eyes. >> First off we don't really know whether dogs are listening or not, and we don't know if cats are listening or not. This is also a moot point. < > New and scary doesn't mean that dogs are better. Plus, AnimalDiscovery. com says that cats are: "incredibly resourceful and self-reliant, the species has survived thousands of years in radically different environments and living conditions. Even domestic cats show a crafty, strong-willed and versatile nature. " This means that while they are new to domestication, they have been living independently for much longer. Ill cover the intelligence argument in my first contention. Onto my case. 1) Cats are substantially smarter than dogs. Tuft's University School of Veterinary Medicine researchers say "the physical structure of our brain and that of cats are very similar: they have the same lobes in the cerebral cortex (the seat of intelligence) as we do. Our brains function the same way, conveying data via identical neurotransmitters. " says Dr. Julia Albright of Cornell's Veterinary School says "The fact that a cat can adapt to different situations is a sign of intelligence, that goes beyond conditioning or instinct," 2) Cats require less commitment. Comparing cats and dogs we can view a few different things: A) Cats pee and poop in a litter box, Dogs poop and pee in the house, or in someones yard, which forces you to clean it up all over the place. B) Cats can exercise themselves, and walk themselves. Dogs require you to walk them around. To summarize - You can vote con for three reasons. 1) Under the overview the con proposes that they are of equal value, as we can't compare two different things. This gives you reason because we are showing that dogs are not better than cats, but that they are equal in value. 2) All of the Pros points revolve around unproven stereotypes. In addition to this I provide a cat benefit, and a dog con to each one, or make the point moot, or non-unique to the Pro side. This makes the Pros offense nonexistent. 3) I provide offense through showing that cats are smarter, and require less commitment. This shows that they are in fact better then dogs.