I don't know... maybe Blast is the person we need... Experience over theory, you know.

Sue

Count me out of this discussion, I'm way too biased.

-Blast, currently down to #5 in google image search for "cat bite"

LOL!! That more like it! I've got spares if anybody would like one or 5!

I think I've got one good hunter cat. I walked through my bedroom one night about 10 days ago, and Blackie was asleep on the bed. I went back in there an hour later to go to bed, and he was sitting on the bed chirping to me, and there was a dead opossum on the floor. Blackie had been closed in alone there since about 6 p.m.

It was a young opossum about 8" long (w/o tail). This being a crappo mobile home where the builders cut 6" holes in the floor for 2" drain pipes, I'm assuming he came up that way. Blackie followed me into the bathroom and proceeded to open the cabinet door and look in, then backed out. No more opossums, I guess.

Possum and collard greens; Possum, grits and gravy; Possum stew...

Sue

Benefits:
* A cat would take less effort to feed in a long-range situation.
It is a matter of return on investment. And, as revolting as it may seem to us, will gladly eat what we excrete. This is how Ferrel dogs live. Cats can't handle it.

* A cat can often provide at least part of his food by himself.
Ferrel cats are short lived and miserable. Most live off the mistaken sympathy feeding by humans. Domestic cats don't last long in the wild.

* A cat would take up less space than most dogs.
A cat is miserable on a leash so they demand a crate to survive the woods. So the difference is minimal.

* A cat is more portable than a German Shepherd or Pit bull.
Depends.
A dog can be trained to return and behave themselves and allowed out on their own in a wilderness setting. Even on a leash the dog is traveling under its own power. Cats you have to crate and carry.

* A cat requires far less fresh drinking water storage than a dog.
Dogs will drink from puddles. Will lick dew from grass and will such down what you spit out brushing your teeth. Avoid using toothpastes is Rover is waiting.

* A cat can keep rodents down if you find yourself having to live in substandard conditions.
Cats are pretty miserable as rodent control. Small dogs, like terriers, are much better, determined and consistent, at it.

* A cat can often catch/kill rabbits, so he might be willing to help provide food for you.
Many tribes and hunters use dogs to hunt, or help them hunt, game. Nobody uses cats for that purpose.

* A cat doesn't roll in rotting animals and then climb into your lap.
Dogs mark the edge of their territory but are quite selective. Male cats are quite indiscriminate; the females stay pregnant, and both are quite noisy and resistant to confinement for much of the year.

Dogs can form working and productive relationships. Cats are largely incapable of productive work.

You can eat a dog. Cats are very poor food. Cats are perfectly willing to eat you, alive if necessary, if you are incapacitated. Dogs wait much longer and don't eat pack members while alive.

Dogs can be fitted with a harness, carry a pack, draw a travois, cart or sled.

http://www.womenofthefurtrade.com/wst_page16.html

Domestic cats are entirely dependent on humans outside human habitation, cannot be effectively put to work, and are generally indifferent to humans. If you want a pet you can go with cat or dog. If you want to get something done you go with a dog. On the other hand, if you want decoration, cats are more decorative.

We exist for the pleasure, amusement and service of our cats. Dogs are or can be at least a cooperative partnership.

A. It was a joke.

B. "Dogs...will gladly eat what we excrete." Only if it's high in protein.
* Feral cats are not part of the equation.
* Cats are miserable on a leash? Well, I wish you'd told me that before I trained Trilby to a leash. She never seemed to mind it. Odd... maybe she was unique.
* You don't have to crate a cat to carry it, backpacks work just fine.
* Dogs and cats will both drink from puddles, but I don't like my pets ingesting giardia and radiator coolant.
* All of my pets are neutered/spayed. Irresponsible fools are the main owners of intact housepets.
* "Dogs... don't eat pack members while alive." Both dogs and cats kill their prey before they eat it, and it's a fallacy that dogs will wait for a packmate to die first. Starving is starving; a mother dog will eat her own puppies.

Sue

You guys are forgetting the other animals. It's not just dogs and cats, you know:

Turtles - the "bug in" experts. Sure, they are more philosophical advisors than servants, but at times we do need input on our strategic thinking.

Cockroaches - the ultimate survivalists. If a nuclear bomb goes off, just think, what would the roaches do? Before you know it, your genetic material will be all over the world for billions of generations.

Tiger, 1, caged - necessary for defending oneself against an attacker armed with a banana.

Ostriches - if all else fails, stick your head in the sand.


bingley

This is somewhat related. When discussing ways to signal for help with our scouts, we talked about being sure to have whistles, mirrors, be big and bright, etc. One of the scouts, who I didn't give enough credit to at the time, said he would just carry a dog whistle to call for a highly trained rescue dog. That took me by surprise. I shoud have commended him for thinking outside the box, and then asked him what he would do if he were at a park 500 miles away and the dog were at home. Instead I told him that it was a bit far-fetched. Shame on me. I won't make the same mistake again.

Interesting idea. How would a "highly trained rescue dog" react to a dog whistle when in the field?

Of course, rescue dogs are not a part of every SAR scenario - it's more likely that a helicopter would be deployed as soon, or sooner, than the doggies.