The decision about what pet suits you best, depends not only on your liking better of one species over the other, but also on your lifestyle. If you are an active person and want to stay active, then choose a dog as your loyal companion. They will get you out of your home during winter or summer, cold, rain, snow, or good weather at least twice per day, which is very good both for your physical condition, but also as an anti-depressive “medicine”. But if you want to have a little soul to support you and not to overwork you physically and allow you more freedom without being completely dependent on you, then the choice is simple, have a cat.
From the perspective of care and how many visits to the Vet, dogs are taken to the doctor a bit more often. This happens because they need to be dewormed regularly, as they go outside and have a risk to get ticks. You don’t need to take the same precautions for cats, except for the case when you live in a house with a yard, and they have access outdoors. Nevertheless, statistically, cats are easier to take care of.
As for life expectancy, small cats and dogs live longer than large dogs. As a comparison, a Pekingese dog lives an average of 15 years, whereas a German Dog has a life expectancy of only nine years. Cats have an average of 15 years as well, and in my experience, I’ve noticed that Birman cats live the longest. I haven’t read this in a study, it is just a personal observation, after over 20 years of practicing veterinary medicine.
Florentin Vrînceanu
Veterinarian, Founder and Manager Novavet Clinic
