Fifty Plus (50+) - Are 50+ cyclists cat people or dog people?

I found myself curious about the pet preference of 50+ riders, and whether it has changed with time.

I used to think I was a dog person, but in the past few years partly due to exposure I have become a solid cat person. I currently have 3, all of whom were rescued strays from New Hampshire where they were abandoned by their owners. The person I got them from has several of her won, including some feral cats born in the wild.

I find that cats fit my personality better than dogs, and with the three I have, I always have company. They all love me, even if a couple of them don't love each other.

I know I have seen a few pictures of bikes in the forums that have included either dogs or cats wandering through, so I wondered which was more common.

2 dogs, 1 parrot and 1 hamster

Bird.

Paul

3 cats. Mine don't love anybody, but they're always, well, there.

Currently down to two dogs, who I love, and one cat, who I tolerate. I would tolerate the cat better if it didn't exclusively crap in a box in the house! :mad: But I am definitely a dog person.

I also love my DAWGS, who seem to have signed a good recruiting class. Less focus on superstars and more on getting some big uglies on the lines.

The best of both worlds.

http://danray.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/dogbike.JPG
http://www.clever-radfahren.de/kompakt/dl/images/cat-on-bicycle.jpg

Three cats--all tortoiseshells, all rescues. Sammi (my husband uses Sammilove as his nick, here, so you can tell what he thinks of his cat); Anniebear (she is a Manx, with a full tail that is corkscrewed so that it looks as if it is about two inches long); Alice.

Three snakes--a Sinaloan milksnake (Mr. Che); a Variable Kingsnake (Mr. Whump); an apricot colour variety Pueblan milksnake (Mr. Bump).

East Hill

Dog person. My wife has a little ankle biter. I travel way too much (every other week) to have my own right now. But, in a few years will get me a nice english bulldog. Allergic to cats. They seem to know it and always want to crawl all over me.

neither, and the sole reason is I dont have time to play with them. They would be orphans.

Four very good-looking cats, including 3 black females collectively referred to as "The Supremes," and a big male Siamese mix.

We adopted the two older females 10 years ago at a local private animal shelter, when they were about 4 and 5 months old, respectively. Two years ago, my wife trapped three stray kittens which had been born under a trailer at the local YMCA to a feral mother. She found homes for two and kept the third, Melanie (as in melanistic), who follows her around the house like an imprinted baby duck, but with a loud, continuous purr.

When my younger son was 9, one of his friends announced that his cat, a beautiful Russian blue, had just had 3 kittens. Will and two of his school friends each ended up adopting one of the kittens, and Will chose the largest, a pure white male with a brown nose. Over the 8 years since, the cat's eyes remained blue, and his Siamese color points developed and his coat darkened, leading me to call him the "Polaroid kitty." He is definitely the most catlike of the four, sometimes very affectionate, but always strictly on his own terms.

I like any dog which is well-behaved and friendly, but having been bitten twice, I try to avoid certain breeds and personality types. The border collies at the annual Highland Games are always a treat, and my wife's father and sister have owned a series of really great Shelties.

2 dogs, a Lab & a Pointer/Border Collie mix. Third member of the pack is a large Tabby male with an identity crisis. Seems to think he is a dog, shared a bed with the Yellow Lab before she declined into old age & often joins them in their kennel for a nap. All 3 wander my property as a pack although the cat goes up a tree when they chase coyotes! Never before had a cat that would tolerate dogs like this one does. Cat is in fine shape for 10 y.o. & will likely outlive his mates as both have age related issues.

We love both but are currently without a dog for the first time in decades. However, my Beloved is into cat rescue and we have seven at the moment (all abandoned or born feral, all spayed or neutered). She has decided that if I bring home another old bike (I'M into bicycle rescue) she gets another cat. Such a deal.

I voted other because to me it depends on how they're cooked.

I swore I would never have another cat after I had to put my 16 yo calico, DC, to sleep last summer. That lasted about one month and I was at a local shelter adopting another one. The current cat, Zoey, spent the first three months of her life in the wild and she's still adjusting. It's probably more accurate to say I'm still adjusting. She still exhibits a lot of wild behavior:)

I'm away from home too much to have a dog.

Two dogs (I'd have more, but they are inside pets), one creamette-peach faced lovebird, and one horse (Tenn.Walker/Pasofino). And no, the horse isn't allowed on bike trails!

I didn't see "both" as a choice, so I voted "other"

East Hill, the Lanky Lass said:

Three cats--all tortoiseshells, all rescues.

We have a torti as well. Torties are the best of all possible cats.
Our previous cat was a Tori/Abyssinian mix. She passed at 13. I killed her :(
Our current 13 year old torti -Zydeco- is just an unbelievable, other-wordly cat. Almost more of a dog than a cat. That might be because she grew up and has lived with our 16 1/2 year old Golden -Abbey- since day one.

We like both-equally more or less. They are so different it is hard to measure "likeability"; the cats just wouldn't care, and the dog wouldn't notice.
Phoebe is a recycled Greyhound we got her thru one of the Greyhound adoption groups 4 years ago. We had another recycled Greyhound-Isis-she passed on at age 14-fairly old for a greyhound.Sweet, goofy dogs-the dogs least likely to bike a neighbor-great pets,and great travelers.We take a 3000 mile road trip every summer and Phoebe goes along-she sleeps and take walks every few hours-no "are we there yet".
The cats have all been accidental adoptions.Bandit the oldest was the neighborhood feral cat that my wife fed for years before we decided to capture him and make him an indoor cat. He has finally settled into domesticity-took him a while- and he still glares at poor Phoebe. The other 3 were accidents;the big black one just showed up down the street- tiny 4 weeks old-and the neighbors had to hose him out of their engine bay. I heard about him, but was determined to ignore the situation. I started on my ride and as I went by, I head his tiny pitiful crying. He was a fiesty little guy; I tried to grab him, but my ist grab was unsuccessful-he escaped with a huge hiss and a big swap at my gloved hand. Next time, I kinda faked with one hand and grabbed him with the other. I brought him in the house, and put him down by the dogs food.He immediately started chomping the huge chunks of food while growling at me. I hoped to cage him, and sneak out before my wife heard him-no such luck. 19 lbs later..
The other two were repeats-but my sons fault-tiny kittens with no mother in sight.
It would be tough to chose one over the other.
Thanks,
Charlie

One little tortie cat -- third post here with a tortoiseshell. They are sweet little kitties.

Ten Jack Russells here. The first one of the string is in the Avatar. The dogs are the real reason I am on the bike now, I had to do something to restore my ability to work with the dogs and the younger people in the field. They've led me all over the U.S. and a fair bit of England. They've led me to some of the finest people on the planet. I owe them everything.

Neither. I like dogs, but don't want to have to take care of it, or arrange for care if I go somewhere. Cats are "okay", but if someone has a pet, they should keep them on their own property. I had a friend that I'd go over and sit in his back yard with, and he'd leave the door wide open. His cat would never leave the house.

Neither, have three birds though. One of them, Ernie, my Senagal, will carry on a conversation with himself all day long. He is a nut bag and is as "crazed" as he looks!!

Here is a link to a picture of my pal :)

http://www.bikenaked.net/photos/birds_ours/images/123/original.aspx

Cat person!

I should have pointed out that my avatar is a dead giveaway.

Anniebear looks just like 'Tama', except that she is, of course, a tortoiseshell, and yes, she has a bipolar face (Sammi also has a bipolar face).

East Hill

I love both, however, I now have a Pit Bull. I know, I know.
She is a sweet heart.

Cats are "okay", but if someone has a pet, they should keep them on their own property.

Cats are ill equipped to deal with predators, cars or neighborhood sickos, and well equipped to get over or through most barriers that would normally keep them safe, so my cats are never outside unless they're in a carrier on the way to the vet... Actually, I do have a cage so that they could go outside on the patio for fresh air, but right now my patio is too full of stuff (even if it was warm enough).

I do feed the birds and squirrels in the back yard to entertain and/or torture the cats... In fact, I just put out the last of my seed, so I have to buy more. I have used 80 pounds of seed so far this winter... most of it in the past month.

Neither, have three birds though. One of them, Ernie, my Senagal, will carry on a conversation with himself all day long. He is a nut bag and is as "crazed" as he looks!!

Here is a link to a picture of my pal :)

http://www.bikenaked.net/photos/birds_ours/images/123/original.aspx

We have an African Gray that is my wifes best friend. It talks up a storm, sometimes too much. My son hates the bird and the bird knows it so it goes out of its way to cause trouble. We will sit down for dinner and the minute he walks away the bird will swoop in and steal his dinner, it will then sit on its perch laughing and making belching noises at him. We tell him that since the bird will out live us we are giving it all of our money in the will and making him the custodian:)

Ernie is very cute

We're cat people.

I like cats a lot - I just can't eat a whole one......

I got no pets as I got no time, if I get any time I ride.
If I ever get to retire i will have a dog.

Interesting you should pose this message today, my aussie Brigid was this very evening introduced to the tender instructions of the North American striped skunk. She was temporarily blinded and bit her own tongue in all the excitement, but after the Baptist Treatment [total immersion] in strong chlorox and detergent she's on the mend. . .a little skittish but a smarter dog all things considered. The whole house reeks and, if memory serves, will for a month. Skunks don't really hibernate, they kinda' doze, and start to forage about in February. Seems all dogs who spend time outdoors hereabouts eventually undergo this valuable learning experience. As I write, she's drying on a stack of sacrificial old blankets blinking at me with that, "What exactly just happened here." look. Kinda' funny. . .now.

My avatar says it all!

We have two cats, one dog, some fish, some frogs, and a couple of hermit crabs. Used to have a turtle.

Also used to have 5 children running around the house, am now down to one.

Our cats are nice cats, but I like dogs better.

One dog, Scout. One cat, Kumquat. Used to have another cat, Quioui. She was 17 and had cancer and we just had to put her to sleep a couple of months ago. Don't tell the kitties, but I might love my puppy dog (94 pound rottweiler/lab mix) better.

I took out the ginormous pictures.

Jane

links (maybe) to pix....http://i18.tinypic.com/34o4k6w.jpg
http://i15.tinypic.com/4hvdfh0.jpg

Kitty is 16 years old, 5 of them spent in Germany. Except for the battle scarred ear is doing quite well for a cat that goes outside everyday.

Also pictured is Benjie our previous cat who was cycle savvy around the family.

Interesting you should pose this message today, my aussie Brigid was this very evening introduced to the tender instructions of the North American striped skunk. She was temporarily blinded and bit her own tongue in all the excitement, but after the Baptist Treatment [total immersion] in strong chlorox and detergent she's on the mend. . .a little skittish but a smarter dog all things considered. The whole house reeks and, if memory serves, will for a month. Skunks don't really hibernate, they kinda' doze, and start to forage about in February. Seems all dogs who spend time outdoors hereabouts eventually undergo this valuable learning experience. As I write, she's drying on a stack of sacrificial old blankets blinking at me with that, "What exactly just happened here." look. Kinda' funny. . .now.

I have a great deal of experience with dogs and skunks. There are three things that will reliably remove skunk odor on your dog. They are: February, March and April! All the other home remedies just serve as odor reactivators. I hate skunks with a passion, they are the most dangerous things my terriers face in the field as the spray is toxic in tight spaces and can easily kill a terrier in the ground.

Five cats here. We like dogs, too, but don't feel we have enough time for them. The cats (four of them over 10, two over 15) like to nap a lot.

I'm definitely a cat person, and living the last fourteen years with God's Own Cat has really reinforced that feeling - you know you've got a keeper when you're lying on the bed in pain with a broken wrist (the Gitane wreck last summer) while the wife dresses to get me to the hospital, and the cat comes in and starts licking the wrist. OK, Killian's first aid skills are a bit lacking, but major points for trying. And this is far from the first time he's been there when I'm physically hurt. A very devoted cat. The wife knows darn well that I'll cry more over the day he goes, than I would over her.

I never really liked dogs - and now that I'm riding again, I'm reminded that I actually HATE dogs. On a couple of my circuits, I'm seriously considering packing the .22 derringer.

Three dogs, three cats. One cat who is skittish around the dogs, one cat who likes the dogs, and one cat who loves the dogs and would wash all of them within an inch of their lives if they'd only hold still long enough.

My alternate use for the MUP is dog scootering: put a sleddog harness on Skye, hitch him up the the scooter (the one with the nice 16" wheels, fat tires, wide platform, and mountain bike brakes), and head out. The hardest part is convincing him to turn around at the halfway point; he wants to keep running all day. The most common comment from cyclists as they pass us is, "That's cheating!"

The cats (four of them over 10, two over 15) like to nap a lot.
Mine has had bouts of insomnia lately; only sleeps 21 hours a day instead of the normal 22.

Whats to like about dogs? They eat, bark, bite and crap, not necessarily in that order?

Five cats here. We like dogs, too, but don't feel we have enough time for them. The cats (four of them over 10, two over 15) like to nap a lot.

Same here about dogs. So now we have 3 cats, one Tuxedo, one Russian Blue, and one Tortise Shell. The Torti is the newest addition, only 5 months old(rescued feral at 3 weeks old we had to bottle feed her and 3 siblings). K.C., the torti (short for Kitty Cat, cause my wife and I couldn't agree on a name) is going to be the top cat. She's got so much energy she'd wear the Energizer Bunny out. I do really like the cats, but dogs are just so much more....

Cats, baby!!

But have to admit that I'm kind of jealous when I see people hauling their doggies around on their trailers. So I'll opt for Either in the poll...

Five cats and a dog. Not because I don't like dogs- it's just that he's a handful. I'd be happiest with 2-3 dogs plus the cats.

Whats to like about dogs? They eat, bark, bite and crap, not necessarily in that order?

One could say that about a lot of people as well :D

Cat Is My Co-Pilot...

Cats, baby!!

But have to admit that I'm kind of jealous when I see people hauling their doggies around on their trailers.
Try wrapping Kitty around your neck.

One could say that about a lot of people as well :D
That being true, I have never been bitten by a human and have never seen a human taking a dump on the MUP!

2 German Shepherds
Male is 10 years young from the Manhattan bloodline. Very attractive black and tan, very smart.
Female is 1.5 years young her mom is a German Import from the Vom Weinerau kennels. Extremely attractive black and red. Will put her "B" and Schutzhund 1 titles on her this spring. Then she will be used for breeding.

1 PitBull/Doberman mix. I adopted her from a rescue group before she was destroyed. She was people and dog aggressive when I got her but now she loves everybody.

1 cat, a male Tabby that we rescued that was thrown out of a moving car. He has been neutered and is a great companion for my wife.

Tom.......

I found myself curious about the pet preference of 50+ riders, and whether it has changed with time.

I am currently pet-free. Yes my pet preference has changed over time.

I've never been a cat person and regard them as completely undomesticated. They are cute, but completely self centered and offer nothing to a relationship. A person is owned by their cat.

Dogs are better. I've had a number and to have the best relationship, it takes a lot of work. Dogs are pack animals so they are more in tune with the social give and take. Dogs are great actors, and take most of their owners in with their performances. Dogs are the only good walking companions. Terriers are a different question. Terriers have their own adgenda and are eager to enforce it.

Forget reptiles and fish. They are great decoration and if that's what you like, fine.

I like birds. They are on their own planet and I think I've learned a lot about life watching for them and caring for them. I've raised a number, my ex and I had a flock of canaries and I've raised a number of wild baby birds including doves, finches, mockingbirds and hummingbirds. With my short attention span, raising wild babies is the best. About the time the newness factor is dimming, they are ready to live on their own. Hummingbirds are my favorite. They are so aware. Finches have the best problem solving skills and Mockingbirds have such a strong attitude. But I've learned a lot from our flock of canaries, watching them live their lives. Growing up, growing old, laying eggs, raising young. It's our lives in miniature.

But right now, I'm so busy that having an animal would be a disservice to it.