My husband and I both love dogs too, but dogs are a little more labor-intensive; they have to be trained not to piddle and poop in the house, while cats know instinctively what to do with a box of sand; dogs make a lot of noise, and have to be trained on that too, as to when it's appropriate and when it's not, and even then, ehh, they forget a lot.

Cats are very quiet, unless they're in heat or mating -- and once fixed, they don't make that sound anymore.

Cats are very independent, so if you leave enough food and water for them, you can leave them alone for a whole day, and they'll be alright; dogs need more constant attention. If a cat runs off, there's an EXCELLENT chance he or she will be back by suppertime

-- dogs, maybe not; they get sidetracked very easily. And unless you wanna go walkees EVERYTIME that dog needs to piddle, you need a fenced yard, because chaining a dog outside is just cruel, and also never completely fool-proof -- or dog-proof -- ditto for fences, unless you extend chainlink about a foot into the soil, but it's at least not as cruel as chaining them. And there are no laws about allowing your cat to roam around outdoors, which is very much not the case with dogs, if you live anywhere near any size town.
So... we might get a dog sometime, if we can ever afford to fence in our backyard. In the meantime, we're enjoying our cat tremendously, and might get another in a few years.
Andria
Yes, what you say of dogs is very true. I understand seeing chaining dogs out as cruel. We have one chained out, not as a matter of cruelty though.
It is simply how a dog of his nature is treated in our area. He is a mix, Pit Bull and Lab. We have neighbors who often have small children in their yard.
Not so worried in regards to the Great Pyrenees / Lab mutts, over them going after children. Not genuinely worried Thistle would either. Still, it is better to not
rock little boats, have neighbors too irked that a Pit is roaming.
The others have a pen. Presently two of them hop out. I will be fixing that asap. One of the
three GP / Lab mixes does stay in the pen.
Think he likes the 12'x12'x8' house we built for them inside the pen. Our given situation here is becoming untenable, not all due to the critters. There's other issues at work.
Me and wife are looking toward a place with 4 acres, pig pen, chicken coop and all fenced in. We will be finding a way to take the dog house with us. Our dogs will then all be free to roam most of the
farm.
Wife last night was suggesting that our cats might like the notion of being kept cats. I had to chuckle. "They're brn cats, they don't want to come into the house", I told her.
"They try sneaking in any chance they get", she said. She is right. I had to stretch.
"Nah, they're just little assassins out to kill me and infiltrating the house gets them closer to that", I said. It was clear that she did not
buy that explanation.
As for Thistle. He has his own private coop. It is the half shed, her Paw Paw used to rick firewood on a refrigerated truck bed with a pitched tin roof. The truck bed makes a good floor when rough lumber is put over it.
Thistle has a old carpet scrap rug that he settles down into at night. I say scrap but figure it's 8'Lx6'W and doubled over. I also ensure he has straw to insulate. The shed has lumber walls on two sides, abuts the barn on a third.
Had my way and druthers, he'd just as soon be a kept dog. He and our little squirrel dog would make a good pairing as in home security. That though, is kind of one aspect of things being untenable.
Odd how human children, even if neglected, seem to outweigh critter children who are in fact loved. I digress though as boiling blood is never good. That's all what comes of thinking of things, much.
Excuse me, rambling in excess for as early as it is.