Quote: "Hmmm, wolves, foxes, coyote's... All dogs. You try putting a fat domesticated tabby cat outside (no not your backyard) and leave him there."
Though I'm not going to argue that a wolf is an amazing animal, you can't compare a wild animal to a domistated house cat. Try comparing a fox to
bobcat, a wolf to a
leapord, and
a coyote to a Jaguar. Felines are the
superior hunting species. Even in the wild, cat species stay independant, and prefer to hunt alone, rather than traveling in packs.
Both domesticated dogs and cats would have a hard time surviving in the wild if their owners suddenly threw them out. However, the advantage would still go to the house cats (provided they weren't declawed), due to their independant nature and instincts.
Quote: "Dogs are superior"
Their smell is at least.
Intelligence? It's stil up for grabs in the biology field actually. They know thats humans have 100,000,000,000+ neurons in the brain, cats have 300,000,000, and dogs; only about half of that. Many people think dogs are smarter because they can learn tricks, or they do as they're told; but that's not the case. Cats, again, like people, only do what they want to do, whereas a dog is like a programmable zombie.
Opening doors and windows
Cats that are accustomed to being let outside, or that want to get into their home, may learn to open windows and doors. They are capable of learning different routes for entry and exit; for instance a cat might find the window in its owner's kitchen easier to open to exit the house, but to get in, they might have to use the screen door in the backyard. Also, they may learn to open cupboard doors to get to food. Cats' paws are not as effective as manipulation as human hands, owing to lack of an opposable thumb, but they can for instance learn to operate door lever handles by pulling them down, even though gripping the handle is difficult for cat paws.
Retrieving items from hard to reach places
A cat playing with a ball may suddenly find that the ball is under the couch. The cat will try different ways, changing paws, position, and other elements, the way a human would. This trial and error approach to puzzle solving can be demonstrated in the laboratory using Thorndike's puzzle boxes. In these boxes, cats must manipulate series of levers in order to escape. They initially achieve this by trial and error, before committing the sequence to memory. They also use memory to reduce the amount of trial and error when encountering comparable novel situations e.g. new puzzle boxes.[4] The cat may also be taught to get treats from high and hard to reach places, like on top of a refrigerator, or in a cupboard. Using the same logic as it did with the toy, the cat will get to each treat. A cat that has figured out where the cat food is kept may find that the food is inside a large bag. It might try to get in the bag or open it by means of removing the clip.
Using the toilet
Toilet trained catBecause of their sensitive sense of smell, some cats prefer going outside to urinate and defecate, and rarely go in the same spot twice. Kittens are typically trained by their mothers to use a litter box and cover up their waste, so litter training rarely requires human intervention; once they understand where the litter box is, they will seek it out from then on. Cats can also be trained to make use of a toilet;[19] some cats learn on their own after watching their owners, but for most cats, it is necessary to be taught by owners. In general, however, a toilet-trained cat is a rare animal, and successful toilet training depends both on the willingness of the animal to learn as well as on the patience of the owner to teach.
Playing fetch
Some cats can be trained to play fetch with a varied degree of success (which is dependent on the cat and its mood). Siamese, Bengals and Burmese cats are well-regarded as breeds that naturally carry objects in their mouths. They are easy to train to fetch and carry. Other breeds such as the Maine Coon, Turkish Van, Savannah,Short Hair and Turkish Angora, are also well known for an almost dog-like affinity for playing fetch. It is possible to get a cat to remain seated until an object is thrown. At that point, their sense of sight kicks in. As long as there is at least a remote chance of locating the thrown item, the cat will run off to find it. Once retrieved, waiting or a simple call is enough for the cat to return with the item and deposit it (usually) within arm's reach. Chasing an object in the air is a natural cat hunting behavior, and many cats will chase down a thrown toy for the sheer enjoyment of running and catching.
Communication
Main article: Cat communication
Cats, like many animals, communicate in a social environment in various ways. Some aspects of this behaviour are simple, such as purring to express the desire for and enjoyment of attention, meowing near the food bowl to get fed, some remember what time they get fed and attempt to gain their owner's attention at that time every day, etc, and some are more complex. Domestic cats organize themselves in complex social units when food is plentiful and conditions are otherwise conducive to it. It is actually quite important to cats' welfare to understand that they are not 'solitary by nature.' Although they do not socialize in the same way that dogs do (they do not hunt in packs, for example, and are not responsive to praise and blame in the same way) they still associate themselves strongly with specific other animals (including humans) and are probably even more attached to place and routine than dogs or their human owners.
I don't have anything against dogs (love em), but I am, in fact, a cat person when it comes right down to it.
Kravenwolf
