Woof or Meow?

Are you a dog person or a cat person? Growing up in Hong Kong, I was neither. Most homes in Hong Kong don’t have enough space for dogs, and none of my relatives had cats or dogs, so I didn’t really grow up with either. On the off chance that I did come across one, I thought they were cute and that was about it. After my family moved to Canada, my neighbor had an older cat named Kit Kat that was definitely not the friendliest cat and often scratched me when I tried to pet it. My piano teacher also had a cat that would jump onto the keys and get in the way. Once it dashed out the door when I entered the house, and when I tried to catch it to bring it back inside, it clawed at me and drew blood. Most cats I’d encountered were unfriendly. The only cats that seemed to like me were homeless cats, or stray cats. I once met a stray black cat in my neighborhood that followed me for about 5-6 blocks before it finally stopped. I was quite disappointed, because I had decided in my mind that if it had followed me the entire way home that I could possibly convince my parents to let me keep it. Alas, it was just not meant to be.

On the other hand, dogs are always happy. I don’t think I’ve ever met a sad dog other than on videos of abandoned dogs that got rescued. They are extremely loyal and care about your feelings much more than cats. Studies have shown that cats are able to sense and understand some human emotions, but they just don’t care. This is why you see a cat looking into your eyes as it slowly pushes the glass off a counter. It knows it’d upset you. It does it anyway. Dogs, as well as wolves, live in packs. They’re meant to be with others and are comfortable doing so. Cats on the other hand are solitary animals. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for cats to not really enjoy having to live with other beings.

Given my experience and understanding, whenever I was asked, I would proudly say I’m a dog person. However, my understanding of cats has changed a lot since moving to Japan.

My first experience was when I was invited to my Japanese friend’s home for dinner. She has two Scottish Folds, and they are exactly what their breed is described as: friendly and calm. It was my first time meeting them. First, they were cautious and observed me from a distance, but by the time I sat down for dinner, they were circling around my feet and allowing me to pet them. They were indeed very calm and quiet. They didn’t really jump all over me or run around the room. They mostly just hopped onto my lap or the chair and sat and chilled out for a while. I admit I had completely fallen in love with those cats as it was my first time meeting that breed. After that, I encountered many stray cats on the streets of Japan. I’ve probably gotten scratched only 2-3 times out of hundreds of times I’ve been allowed to pet them, so I think it’s safe to say that they are pretty friendly in general. Several years ago, I moved into my current apartment and they were two strays which hung around and everyone would feed them. One was a bit chubby and was honestly quite sweet and cute. The other looked like it definitely needed to see a doctor for various issues and was thinner. It was much more cautious and acted more feral, so it was hard to get close to it. I would feed them every time I ran into them. The cute one warmed up to me quickly, letting me pet her belly. The other would follow me for food, and once even waited outside my unit for me to feed it. I still wasn’t allowed to pet it, but I was allowed to be close to it as it ate. If my apartment had allowed pets, I would’ve taken them to the vet and kept them in a heartbeat.

Where does that put me now? I follow the same number of dog accounts on Instagram as I do cat accounts. I’ve realized that I am now 50% a dog person and 50% a cat person.

Loki

Vocabulary
on the off chance (idiom) – because of the possibility of something happening, although it is unlikely
draw blood (idiom) – to cause bleeding
alas (exclamation) – used to express unhappiness, pity, or concern
solitary (adjective) – being, living, or going alone or without companions
feral (adjective) – not domesticated; wild
in a heartbeat (idiom) – in a very brief time, without any delay or hesitation