New Yorkers answer that age-old question: Cat or dog?

By Mayra David | October 5, 2015 - 2:59PM

It’s a bit of a (debunked) cliché that you can’t have pets if you live in the big city. One visit to packed dog runs in parks dotting almost every neighborhood and you'll see that's false. In fact, New Yorkers are great animal lovers. So in honor of Pets Week here on Brick, we decided to ask six of them: Would you rather have a dog or a cat?

Who worships whom? I’d much rather have a dog. Dogs are high energy and they pretty much worship their owners. Cats seem sneaky and less interested. —Connie, Harlem (pictured at left)
No contest I love cats. They are fun, intelligent, and so much less maintenance than a dog. They make less noise, and are useful because they scare away mice. Cats win, hands down. —Marta, Washington Heights
A question of character I’m a dog person. I think you either like cats or you like dogs, and which one you like says something about you. Kittens are cute, I know. But I’m not that fond of cats. I really like taking my dog for walks. Sure it can suck when the weather is bad, but usually it’s fun. Going to the dog run is fun, and I like roughing around with them at home. Cats are, I don’t know, just there. They can be cuddly, I guess, but I’ve never met a playful cat. People with cats that I know are shut-ins. —Karsten, East Village
False idols I’m really allergic to cats. I think cats know this about me and so we’ve never gotten along. As a kid I was scratched by my grandmother’s cats for no reason. I heard this saying once that cats were worshipped as gods once, and they’ve never forgotten it. Such snobs. No thanks. Go catch rats in the subways, I ain’t taking care of you. —Mike, Morningside Heights
Mouse-hunters welcome Cats! Because they chase mice. I heard that mice don’t even enter apartments that have cats in them. We’ve had mice twice. I hate hearing them under the floors, scratching away while I’m lying in bed. —Lisa, Tribeca (pictured at left)
Love cats, just not what they do to me If I could I’d have a pet it would be a cat. I’m allergic to cats now but growing up we had a cat that never gave me any problems. Maybe because she was mostly outdoors. In my apartment, it would probably be different. I’d always be cleaning and be sneezing. So that’s too bad. But I could watch cat videos for days. I love cats, basically, I just hate the way they make me feel. —Tom, Harlem

Verdict: It’s raining cats and dogs, and that’s okay!

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