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A dog is an almost guarantee of happiness. When you call a dog, or even shake a treat bag, it will come running towards you with excitement, with its tail wagging and eyes lit up like it just hit the jackpot! It doesn't matter if you were gone for 5 minutes or 5 hours, you're going to get the same response from your dog, pure and unfiltered excitement. Every time my dog sees me when I come home, it makes it harder for me to leave the house because I know that this is the reaction I will get when I come home.
Unlike dogs, cats aren't as responsive to us people. When you call a cat or whistle or wave, they will usually look at you, but respond with a look that says, "whatever." When I call my cat, she looks at me as if I just woke her up from her nap for no reason. She may eventually get up if I have food that she likes, but otherwise, she will determine if it's worth her time to get up.
The reason for the difference between dogs and cats is mainly due to their evolutionary history. Dogs are descended from wolves, who are pack animals that rely on each other to survive. Over the thousands of years of domestication, dogs have developed a way to read the signals we send as part of their pack instinct. Cats, on the other hand, have developed as solitary hunters. Ignoring other animals did not threaten their survival, ergo the domestication of cats did not change this. When cats respond to us, it is primarily based on how beneficial we are to them, not because they have to.
Kittens tend to be a bit easier to train because they are playful and curious. But I've seen that as they mature into adult cats, they will dictate how and when you matter to them. Don't take it as a cat's stubbornness, it is the independence from their evolutionary past. When you finally do make a connection with your adult cat, it will make you feel as though you have earned that.
