#pet lover

"Dog at the door" Taken with Pentax K-7 and Pentax 85mm f/2 (f/2.8)

Puppy Love has nothing on Kitty Love and here's why: Dogs give you their love and trust instantly. There's nothing you have to do.

With cats, you have to build that bond and earn their trust. Cats are wary and it takes coaxing. It's also a lot harder for a human to understand a cat, so there's often research involved or bonding required. Cats are just... so personal? Anyone can earn the adoration of a dog, but not everyone can earn the adoration of a cat.

Dogs are cute and playful, but they're like that from the start. That's why it's so infamously heartbreaking to see them sad: You have to actually do something to make them that way. We've all heard of a kicked puppy.

Cats are the reverse. They're notoriously moody and known for their wariness, so when a cat isn't? When a cat adores a person as much as a dog does and looks at someone like that person is their whole world... When a cat runs to greet someone at the door and asks for belly rubs? When a cat instantly answers to one person's voice in particular and literally begs to be cuddled?

When a cat loves someone, that love is powerful and meaningful. There's so much trust there -- so much bonding. Cats' love have to be earned and it's so worth the effort. Even a well socialized cat, won't love anyone the same way they do with their person.

It's uplifting to see a cat that adores someone, because there's payoff. Even if the person doesn't realize what they did to earn that trust, they often can see that the cat doesn't like other people. They've chosen that person over all other people in a way that a dog would never. Anyone who adopted your dog could have the same bond. Most people who adopted your cat could not.

I think there's value in both forms of love, of course, but so often people say that the love of a dog is so powerful. However, my cat has the same level of adoration and it's far more powerful and meaninful than a dog's, because it's just so personal. My brother's dog has loved him since the moment they first met and she adores him now as much as she did on day one.

I had to coax my cat into coming out from under the bed and then earn her trust. I only truly earned her love after like two months of work and that love looked very different from how it does now. The love she has for me is the result of our bond.

It's just... a very different experience, I guess. The love of a dog is naive and innocent. It's sweet and overwhelming from the start. It does grow a little bit, but more like... the dog pulls away from other people and chooses to stay by you more. You choose your dog, but your cat has to choose you. You can choose to have a cat, but the cat won't necessarily choose to trust and love you. That's something you have to earn.