Dogs and cats - the eternal race

Only a few species of the caste "farm animal" have actually made it into the human dwelling. While pigs, cattle and horses "live" in stables, we very willingly share a dwelling and also the sofa with dogs and cats.

Dogs and cats have a very similar history. While dogs helped herding herds on farms, cats kept the farms free from "parasitic" animals like rats and mice. Through the affection and character of these two species, people then brought these animals from the farm into the home. Nowadays, the "usefulness" of these animals lies predominantly less in the tasks once assigned to them and more in fulfilling the role of a "companion". Dog and cat owners often disagree in not infrequently very entertaining discussions about which animal is "the better or more intelligent pet". Whereas dog owners value the loyalty, submissiveness and obedience of their dogs, cat owners swear by the independent, slightly arrogant character of their cats as the guarantor of an "individual soul". However, it is a fact that dogs and also cats are among the most widely kept pets in the world, taking over from each other in total numbers every now and then.

It is also a fact that cats, like dogs, develop a very similar close bond with their owners, although cats do not allow themselves to be "bossed around" in any way under any circumstances.

The significant differences between dogs and cats will be familiar to most people. Disagreements may arise when trying to find out which of the two animals fits better into one's own lifestyle.
Essentially, the hare would be in the pepper when it comes to the willingness to "move". While cats tend to radiate calmness, lie around somewhere and even go to the litter box all by themselves, dogs have to be "walked" three to four times a day. And usually at fixed and not infrequently ungodly times and every day. No matter whether it's summer or winter, snow or rain... the dog has to go out. No discussion. Depending on the breed of dog, even longer distances are welcome to give the animal the necessary room to move. In many towns and cities, green spaces have become "dog meadows", frequented by several dog owners and which, due to their location or condition, are suitable for offering the dogs some space to romp and play. On the North Sea and Baltic Sea, sections of beach have also proved successful that are explicitly designated as "dog beaches" and where dog owners are allowed to let their animals off the leash without incurring the displeasure of other beach visitors. This can quickly arise in many places as soon as passers-by feel harassed or even threatened by unleashed dogs. At dog beaches or dog runs, dog owners do not need to pay too much attention to this possible nuisance, which will also contribute to their own relaxation.

An important point in the question whether dog or cat will also be the occupation of the future owner. While dogs have to be taken outside several times a day, cats have very few problems with hours alone at home. It would only be important to provide water, food and a more or less clean litter tray. Provided that this is ensured daily, the owner may also be happy to leave for a two-week holiday and entrust the food and litter tray to a neighbour. With a little luck, the cat will also pretend to be happy about its owner's return.

The restrained arrogance of cats will be comparatively incomprehensible to dog owners. Dogs are happy and show it. People who have lived with cats for a long time, however, also recognise visible signs of affection in their animals... although not too "clumsy and pushy" as with dogs. Cats are "quietly" happy.

For those who question the sense and purpose of keeping dogs and cats in rather cramped two-roomed flats, let it be revealed that dogs and cats have very often appeared as "lifesavers". In the case of house and flat fires at night, these animals have already woken up entire families in time and thus saved them from possibly fatal smoke poisoning or even burns, and even some veterans of strokes and heart attacks owe their survival to the "alarm calls" and panic attacks of their concerned pets. So if the neighbour's dog goes completely berserk at an "unusual time", barking and threatening to break down the front door, it might be a good idea to check up on it. Pets have often used this loud way of alerting people to medical emergencies. Cats are far less attentive and noisy... But if there is a loudly miaowing, nagging cat behind the front door of an apartment building, you might want to ring the doorbell and ask if everything is all right. When making an emergency call, you should also emphasise that there is still an animal in the flat. The rescue centre will then arrange through the police for the animal to be taken to a shelter while the owner may need to be admitted to hospital. Many of the pet owners will not be happy at all to hear that their dog or cat has ended up in a shelter at such a time. So the first priority should be to try to reach closer relatives who can take care of the animal or even get a "neighbourhood help" on the scene.

In line with the currently so popular "Together Together!", dogs and cats could and should be included. Especially if they are the "only remaining" company for the owners.

In Europe, dogs and cats were discarded as "slaughter animals" very early on, as cattle and pigs were far better suited for this and dogs and cats could take on tasks that had a certain value in the Middle Ages. In other regions of the world, the situation is still completely different today. In the poorer regions of Southeast Asia, people have little problem catching free-roaming dogs and cats and then serving them as "goulash". Before we turn up our noses too smugly at this, we should mention a time when dogs and "roof rabbits" saved many families from starvation in our country too. The war years. While the rural population was relatively well supplied with food even in the midst of the turmoil of war, the situation in the often heavily destroyed cities was quite different.

A prime example of such a massive emergency would be the Russian city of St. Petersburg, then Leningrad, which was besieged by the German Wehrmacht in the war years 1941 to 1944 in order to completely cut off supplies to the population. The blockade succeeded and within three years hundreds of thousands of people starved to death in Leningrad. In the city we still find the "Hermitage", probably the largest and most important art history museum in the world next to the Louvre in Paris. It is located in the huge building complex and former Winter Palace in the middle of St. Petersburg's city centre. Even today, "hundreds" of cats populate the building to deal with damage caused by mice and rats in the extensive cellar vaults. The cats have always been there and are a "traditional" part of the building and museum. During the war years and the blockade of Leningrad, the great-grandmother of art historian Prof. Dr. Galina Shymkova worked as a cook in the Hermitage buildings. In the second year of the siege, the young cook noted in her diaries that she only began to worry when cats started disappearing throughout the palace. The solution to the riddle is as simple as it is human. Hungry staff caught the cats and brought them home to the hungry family. The post-war generation will also be familiar with the term "rooftop rabbit" and the days when fathers or grandfathers could "suddenly" "organise" a roast rabbit.

While cats can obviously be sold as roast hare, dog goulash tastes rather almost the same as beef. Dogs are also on the menu of many families in large parts of Asia today.

However, now that we have accepted dog and cat so intimately into our families, we hope that we will never again experience a time when we will be forced to fry our companions in the proverbial pan.