Why are cats and dogs the most popular pets? It’s because they provide us with companionship, unconditional love and judging by the endless supply of funny dog and cat videos, a lot of fun and laughter too.
Cats and dogs became our companions at different points in human history. Dogs were the earliest – some 30,000 years. They are the only animals we domesticated during the hunter-gatherer period. The dog’s now extinct wolf lineage were probably attracted to excess meat shared by the hunters. Or the hunters could also have raised orphan pups which later became useful hunting partners besides being companions.
Dogs are omnivores – they can eat both plants and meat. But cats are obligate carnivores – they can only eat meat. So it’s detrimental to the animals when well meaning pet owners make cats vegetarians like themselves.
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