Digiteum Opinion: Are You a Dog Person or a Cat Person? Or Both? Or None?

Did you know that significantly more people identify themselves as dog people rather than cat people? During the online survey conducted by psychologist Sam Gosling, almost half of nearly 5k respondents admitted they like dogs more than cats, and only 12% ticked the ‘I’m a Cat Person’ box.

There was also a fine group of people who had their feet in both camps, and surprising 15% who, believe it or not, admitted they like neither dogs nor cats. Surely, they have their reasons, but we just have to ask. How come?

We decided to conduct a small survey locally and asked people at Digiteum what side they are on. Here are a few curious insights and good stories we recorded on the way.

We’ll start with the fact that not a single soul claimed they couldn’t care less about dogs or cats. Instead, we had a beautiful tie.

33.3% of people who took part said they like both cats and dogs

Now, I have a cat. But I’ve always dreamt of also having a dog, so both.

33.3% prefer cats, for various reasons

I’m a cat person, though dogs are cool. But I’m allergic to dogs, and anything that makes me get up and go somewhere in the morning is not a friend to me.

33.3% self-identified as dog people, and no less

I’m a dog person, undoubtedly.

Now, buckle up for a couple of beautiful stories and pictures that were meant to put a smile on your face.

Alicja, Talent Sourcer at Digiteum, shared a heartwarming and encouraging story of how she got her dog. She and her family took Easy (a.k.a. Izolda in a tight circle) from the shelter about 10 years ago.

The dog was originally found in the old town in North-East Poland when she was around 1 year old. Easy spent 3 months in a shelter before she met Alicja and immediately became a part of her family.

Today, Easy is a gracious 11-year old lady, and she still got it. She nailed Downward Dog and uses it every time she wants to show she needs a snack.

Alex, our UX/UI Designer with impeccable taste, is a proud owner of two handsome good boys – Brit and Raise, and here’s their story:

One lazy Sunday morning, my daughter started begging for a dog. My wife could hold a line for a while, and she did have a few good arguments. Then, I remembered how my parents gave me the same excuses, and I decided it won’t fly this time. This is how we ended up having our first husky Brit. In a year, we knowingly took gorgeous Raise to keep Brit company.

In a word, these two busters love running wild, doggy treats and a good nap. Usually, they sleep during the day and play in the morning and evening. I don’t even need an alarm anymore because Raise wakes me up at 9 a.m.

There is a bummer, though. Over these two years, we’ve been in an uneven fight with the dogs’ hair. We have three vacuums, four brushes, a blower and a huge stockpile of lint roller to pick up the hair.

No doubt, it’s worth it.

Fun fact: we have two UX/UI Designers at Digiteum – Alex and Pavel – who work and create together like John and Paul, except for the feud, of course.

Unlike Alex, Pavel is widely known for sharing space with two gorgeous cats. We’ll avoid mentioning ownership or things like that because everyone who knows cats knows that you don’t own them, they own you.

Here’s a story of Multik (a.k.a. Baklazhan, Chernysh) and Puss as in “Come here, puss!” from one episode of Family Guy (the one where Stewie is talking to a pillow after taking an entire bottle of NyQuil).

Puss has been living with me almost since she was born. ‘Hobo cat’ grew into a snow-white Angora with yellow-green eyes, just like the eyes of Muhammad’s cat. Curiously, it was supposed to be a male name until we took the cat to the vet for the first time and found out it was a ‘she’.

The black cat had a long history of living with different people and on his own until he ended up with me when he was about 5-6 years old. Skillful manipulator, he’s always been a subject of bidding wars. After legal distribution of property two years ago, it was decided, by mutual consent, that the cat stays with me and Puss.

Like all other decent cats, they sleep 16-20 hours a day. The black cat is slightly bigger because he knows better than to wake up before the alarm comes off. He tends to follow people and sit on their laps demanding food or, rarely, with no benefit whatsoever. He easily gains trust using his manipulation talent. Once, he sat on three different laps in a row and tricked each person into thinking he likes them more than others.

Angora cat, on the contrary, keeps distance and stays at arm’s length. In exceptional cases, she may get closer for a pet but only on her terms. Her kink is to drink water from the tub or a bowl at the bottom of the tub, especially if she also gets to drink some water right out of hand. Completely ignores the bowl in the kitchen though.

Cats have always been a part of my life. Since I started working from home, they also became a part of my work.

Pets easily become our friends and members of our families. And it applies not only to dogs or cats. Our co-CEO and co-Founder, Michael, is a cat and a parrot person. As befits a real Cap, he has a majestic African Grey parrot named Carluccio.

It wasn’t easy to get this rare breed back in 2004 because they are traditionally in high demand. But we were lucky. Carl stayed with the breeder longer than usual for he had an abnormal wing fold and a wound on one leg after a messy conflict with an Ara.

It was a challenge to get a giant cage too – I even had to travel to Moscow to bring it home. And then another challenge to move the parrot in. You see, Grey parrots are smart, cautious and prefer to stay away from unfamiliar places. He ignored all my efforts to talk him into getting into his new home, until Julia (Head of CRM at Digiteum and also Michael’s wife) came in, picked him up and put him into the cage. This ignited some spark. Since then, these two get along very well. Carl sits on Julia’s hands, allows her to scratch his head, and sees me as service staff on probation, even though I give him fancy snacks.

Carluccio is an incredibly intelligent bird that never ceases to amaze us. He can imitate voices and is not afraid to stand up for himself. Once I tried to teach him how to say “I will file a complaint!” to make sure he will be able to take care of himself if he gets into trouble. We practiced for two weeks, and I couldn’t tell if he actually got it. Then we went for vacation and left Carl with the breeder to hang out with other fellow parrots and learn some new words. Imagine my surprise when the breeder called us in a week, laughing and telling this hilarious story:

His daughter went to treat parrots with pea pods (pea for parrots is like ice cream for kids). So she moves along cages and runs out of peas just before it’s Carl’s turn. She turns around to walk away and suddenly hears a low male voice behind exclaiming “I will file a complaint!” Apparently, the training worked.

At Digiteum, we have cat people, dog people, and those who equally enjoy the company of felines, canines and smart aves. Now, according to the survey we’ve mentioned before, those who identify themselves being dog people tend to be more extraverted, outgoing and enthusiastic, while cat people score higher on openness – creative thinking, curiosity and imagination.

Not to brag, but it appears we have it all. Digiteum is an eclectic team with diverse traits, talents and a whole bunch of adorable fluffers and whiskers to hang out with. If you want to be a part of our team, check our open job opportunities or contact our Talent Manager directly at [email protected].