Okay first of all, I love cats and dogs. I love them more than anything else in the world and they deserve all the love and adoration. I would rather go to a party with a cat and dog over going to one with actual real humans in it. I could actually go on about why that is the case but, that's a story for a different post.
So. Let's get on topic.
I recently did a poll on my Instagram. As one does. And the question was, ' What's more therapeutic? Dog videos or cat videos?' The results of which were a little surprising, although not entirely unpredictable. The canines won with a landslide victory of 79% votes. A little sad, considering that means 79% of my voters are delusional and/or anarchists. But hey, no worries. I'm here to set the record straight.
Let's begin.
I have, in my infinite years of experience, realized that we as people crave to live new experiences. That's just how we are wired. We want to do new things. And things that are preferably taboo at that point. They change with age, like children want to use swear words. Teenagers want to smoke cigarettes and try weed. Anyone older, I've learnt, just wants to be happy and at peace. And so on and so forth, you know?
But yeah. New and interesting experiences. That's what we live for. And when we're down, those are what make us feel better. And you're going to be doing your therapy with a cat or dog. There's a clear answer as to which one can provide you that new and interesting experience. And it's clearly cats.
Here's why.
First off, the cute factor is cancelled out because both are absolutely adorable. No doubt there. But then what comes into play, is the personality. And I think cats have a lot more personality than dogs.
Dogs are stable creatures. They know their purpose in life. They don't care much about anything else. Dog videos, therefore are very predictable. Even before you start watching, you know there's going to be an incredibly cute dog in it and that it's going to do something very cute and wholesome. That's like a universal truth. Dependable and positive creatures, these good boys will always have your back.
Cats, on the other hand, are chaotic. They have varied personalities, and you can never know for sure how a cat is going to react in a situation. Much like a certain other mammalian species I know of. I have never met cat that hasn't done something surprising that amused me. You can have cats that love to play and get petted and you can also have cats that will slap you in the face if you look at it too weird. And that's the cool thing. They resemble us and that's why we find solace in their randomness.
Cuz what is therapy, even? It's us realizing that the things we do and the things that happen to us are okay. Realizing that things are going to occur whether or not we ask for them to. And that we can forgive ourselves for it. Or allow ourselves to forgive someone else. And what better thing to make us see that than a creature that doesn't ask for forgiveness or permission no matter what it does. It's like one of those reverse psychology things. Monkey see, monkey do not...
That's why I believe, with all my heart, that cat videos have more therapeutic potential than dog ones. Of course, this is open to discussion. And if you think otherwise, you are always free to tell me your thoughts, no matter how incorrect and illogical they may be :)
