After a long day’s work at either school, or a job, it’s always nice to come home to a furry companion ready to greet their owner at the door. A pet will always be at the door to tell their owner they missed them and make their owners feel important to someone.

Whether big or small, pets have always had an impact on their owners’ lives, with the most common pets being cats and dogs. Dogs are man’s best friend and can be more easily trained while cats are more independent. The contrast between the animals have made them a debated topic on which one is the better pet.Without a doubt, cats make better pets than dogs.

Although cats might knock glass cups off counters or disconnect their owners’ monitors whenever they feel it is convenient for them, they are still the superior pet because they always have a calming presence when their owners need it.

Choosing the better pet is impacted mostly by how long their owners have had their pet. Both dogs and cats give a calming presence to their owners as it gives a sense of the past that seems to have been lost with new challenges that high school brings.

“My youngest cat [is better at making me laugh.] He’ll jump down half of our stairs and do a bunch of stupid stuff,” junior Julie Brinkley said. “I have a bunch of videos of [my cat] running into walls.”

Although cats are always fun to play with, dogs give much more variety in the games you can play with them. With dogs, their owners can play fetch, teach them new tricks and play tag. Cats are entertaining but it is much harder to play with them as cats rather do what they want, even if what they want is to run into walls.

Whatever pet you pick, preferably a cat, everyone should have a pet in their home because they provide a companion that everyone needs in their lives.  They can reduce blood pressure and have been shown to reduce depression. Cats have also made their owners feel less burdened because they are lower maintenance. 

“When someone like my dad gets home, she hears the car pull up and gets all excited,” junior Madeleine Ngo said. “[Dogs] cheer you up and provide comfort [to their owners].”