Are you a cat person or a dog person?
By Ben (Discover English Teacher)
One of the most common dichotomies is that of cat people and dog people. It refers to whether a person prefers cats or dogs as a pet. When you ask someone if they are a dog or a cat person, they usually say something like, ‘I’m definitely a dog person. Cats are selfish!’ or ‘I’m a cat person. If a cat likes you, it really likes you, but dogs like everyone.’ There are also a third and a fourth group: those people who like both cats and dogs, and those who don’t like animals much at all. Look at the diagram (below) to understand what I’m talking about visually:
Eric, a teacher here at Discover English, wrote about his pet cat and their special relationship over lockdown in a recent blog post. I would guess that Eric is a cat person. I am definitely a cat person. I find dogs’ emotional needs too much to deal with.
But there are deeper truths about the psychology of the cat person and the dog person. Jean Cocteau said he preferred cats to dogs because he’d never seen a police cat. But, on the other hand, no one has ever seen a sheep cat, a hunting cat, a guide cat, a rescue cat, a sniffer cat or a sled cat. Cats won’t do work for us.
The dog worships us, like a friend who likes you too much, and dog people like this. Dog people usually like simple, happy, positive people who help the dog person to feel good about themselves. Dogs encourage adventure: the dog takes its owner out for a walk where the dog person can explore their surroundings and make friends with other dog owners. Dog people are usually extroverts.
Cats, on the other hand, make you want to stay inside – perhaps, it’s wintry outside – where you can sit in front of the heater with the cat on your knee. From here, you can move inwards, meditate, think and create. Cat people are usually introverts.
Would you describe yourself as a cat person or a dog person? Or do you like both? Or neither? Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Glossary
dichotomy – the splitting of a group into two separate groups
extroverts – people who get energy from activities and interacting with other people
introverts – people who get energy from thinking, meditating and exploring their minds