> Cats murder birds and other creatures for no purpose other than personal satisfaction. They do this in large part because we've intentionally bred them this

> Cats murder birds and other creatures for no purpose other than personal satisfaction. They do this in large part because we've intentionally bred them this way. Domesticated cats exist primarily for pest control so they are incentivized to always kill substantially more than they consume. When kept as working animals, their primary purpose is to hunt as many rodents and other pests (which when the job involves protecting grain, this often includes birds) as possible. > except in net when in confined spaces with their owners > Sorry, I've always been a dog person. The same in large part applies to dogs as well. The difference is that while a cat may be kept outside entirely and kept free running, dogs tend to be more tethered to their owners. This is especially true when you don't live on a giant property spanning acres. In these cases your dog generally is confined to your property and often comes inside for the night. And when leaving the property they are kept on a leash. Cats can be the same way as long as you either (a) select for temperament or (b) raise them from kittens. Our cats stay inside but we go out with them on a leash from time to time for them to walk around and enjoy the wide open world. It's a decent bit of work to train them to do this but in all fairness the same applies to dogs with the exception that we already expect this of them so we go through the process of leash training them more or less by default. TLDR: Cats and dogs more or less have the same sets of appeal. Cats have their own dedicated roles as work animals but as general pets their appeal is largely the same. IMHO the main difference is that cats tend to have clearer boundaries than dogs and at least when neutered they tend to keep up hygiene a bit better and smell less in general. Also cat biscuits and purring are weirdly cathartic.