Which pet is my favorite? By: Kaitlyn Cioc

Which pet is my favorite? My dog or cats?

    For many people, their favorite would easily be dogs over cats. According to a 2018 AVMA report, there were 16,359,336 more household dogs than cats. I personally think cats are underrated, and although I might be biased since I have 2, people should give more thought into getting a kitten/cat when bringing home a new addition to their family.

    For most of life, I've had at least one dog or cat in my family. My first dog passed when I was 2 1/2 years old, and although I was very young, I still remember certain moments from when he was alive. I haven't completely figured out why yet, but I was always more interested in dogs than cats until we got a cat for ourselves, maybe because I had good memories from when I was little and they were with a dog. A few years after our first dog was gone, my dad brought home a 1 year old kitten that one of his co-workers found sleeping in a cardboard box at the building they worked at. The kitten was very skinny, clearly feral, and our plan was just to keep her in our house until we could find a home for her. But of course, with the combination of my family having two young daughters and a father that loves animals, my dad, sister and I convinced my mom to let us keep her. Almost 8 years later she's still a part of our family and we love her so much - even my mom who, yes, is moderately allergic to cats.

    A few years after we got our first cat (KC - "Kacey"), my parents decided my sister and I were old enough to take on the responsibility of having a dog. We rescued Turbo from the 11th Hour Rescue in Rockaway when he was 9 months old. I remember bringing him home in my dad's truck with him sleeping at my feet, while my family debated if "Turbo" would be a fitting name. Long story short, it definitely fits the crazy energy our pit bull mix has. 

    Not too long ago in August 2020, we added the most recent addition to our family-Milo. One of my dad's friends had found a mother with her litter under the shed in their backyard, and was able to rescue a few of them and give them to great homes before the cold fall/winter weather hit. We were one of those homes and my sister and I were very surprised when we pulled up to their house and left 10 minutes later with a tiny 5 week old kitten. 

    Currently I have one dog, one cat, and one kitten and if anyone asked which one I love the most, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell them. I love my dog, Turbo, because he can be sweet and gentle, especially with kids, but also energetic and hyper when we play with him. My cat KC is the pet I've had for the longest, so I obviously have a very close bond with her given that I've grown up with her, and she is a very lovey-cat. Milo is probably the favorite of my friends/extended family because of how cute he is and the fact that he's a kitten. Since we got him at such a young age, he is super attached to us and is a very cuddly cat, but is the most crazy, very very very crazy, cat I've ever met. Regardless of which one is my favorite, I love them all more than I ever thought I could love an animal, and I am so thankful to have all 3 in my life.

Turbo

     

     KC

 

Milo