So lopsided!

[pomtzu]

Yes - this great community is named "Pet Talk", tho at times it seems like "Cat Talk".

I can't help but wonder why the Cat section gets so much activity, and the Dog & Pet Sections get so much less. Is it just that there are more "cat only" members that never venture out of the cat section, except to maybe post in General? And even the members who own both dogs and cats seem to gravitate more to the cat section in most cases. Then there are those who have dogs/cats/other pets, that almost never post about them, and only post in General or Dog House.

There have been times when I might not be inclined to post in DOTD, but I do if I see that it has only a couple of posts, as compared to many in COTD. Aren't other dog people noticing this also??? - and wouldn't it be nice to post just a couple of lines as a courtesy to the dog's owner? The cats seem to be holding their own, while the dogs are floundering.

It's kinda sad - IMO of course.

[catnapper]

I guess some of us have long memories. Years ago, there were some trouble makers on the dog side. A lot of us got hurt. A lot of us still avoid dog as much as they can. Its sad too, becuase Callie is a super girl that I'd love to brag about, but I am once bitten and twice shy (so to speak)

And the funny thing? The majority of the troublmakers haven't been seen in ages. I guess my avoidance became habit and now I just can't get comfortable over there.

Edited to add: I just realized I've been here almost 9 years.... and a lot of the drama was from at least 6 or 7 years ago. I know it was still here 4 years ago when Nicki passed, because I considered posting a memorial to her on July 4th (4th year anniversary of her passing) and I decided not to because of interactions from 4 years ago!!! See? Long memory!

Funny thing though about the drama.... it just made me REALLY close to a lot of cat people. I talk to several on a regular basis and know I can always pick up the phone at any time or day and talk to them. I know I wouldn't have carved out those friendships if not for the negativity that was going on at the time.

[Taz_Zoee]

I think I remember the "issues" catnapper is talking about. When I first joined in 2006 it was the opposite of how it is now. The dog section was always getting more action. Maybe it was all the drama queens that were around back then.
I will admit...........I am horrible about posting in the DOTD, COTD and POTD. I always look at the animals each day, but do not post as often as I should.

[pomtzu]

This probably isn't the same incident, but I remember a time from several years ago that was much the same, and it did drive me completely away from here for a while. There was a sudden influx of new "bully" members from another forum, only looking to start trouble, and try to push the bully breed down everyone's throat. I have nothing against bullys - they just aren't my favorite breed of dog, and some do intimidate me, and I said so. There were many heated "discussions", until I finally had enough and left. After a while I got to thinking - pi$$ on them - I was here first - and I like this place too much to let a few a$$holes drive me out - so I came back. Fortunately, not a one of those "members" has been heard from in several years.

[Cataholic]

Me, three! I recall those issues. But, to be fair, I am a cat person at heart. I love ALL animals, and have done way more dog rescue than cats, but I am a cat person more.

To be even MORE fair, my interest have gone from loving to talk about my pets on PT to wanting to do more to improve the lives of animals, overall, and FB is more in line with my interest. My "free time" is spent on FB, where I can make a bigger difference, in that regard.

[Karen]

So now it is time to reclaim and come on back to the Dog side! We would love to hear your brags about Callie, catnapper!

[happylabs]

I don't know. I read everything and post on all subjects.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Any one who knows me already knows that I'm a huge cat person. I do try to get over to the dog general section and I will sometimes comment on some threads. I do more reading over there than commenting though. I remember when the dog section was always very popular and the cat section didn't have as much action. I try to stay out of all of the drama and fighting that goes on but I don't think that this would ever make me not want to post in that particular section again. I'm also on FB but I don't post much over there. I still prefer PT over FB. I'm also not very good at posting comments for DOTD,COTD, or POTD unless I recognize the animal or have plently of time to post.

[mrspunkysmom]

I've been posting in CotD, DotD, and PotD (sometimes) most days.

I never thought to leave the cat forum or general forum until a few months back. I was surfing the site and noticed a lot of cat people posting and commenting on dog peoples dogs. And on multi-species households, too. It never occurred to me to check the other forums.

I probably should try looking in on the Pet forum.

I figured that there were as many cat people as others and I didn't need to post.

Oops.

I do remember when I first joined feeling very much put upon by some people. This was about 6 - 8 years ago. I don't know why I decided to come back. Glad I did.

[kitten645]

Well my two cents...as a retailer...weird I know. I can carry cat things and they sell but dogs are REALLY breed specific. There is no poster child for rescue dogs. How they look etc. Maybe that's part of it. I don't know of the unpleasantness that went on before although I've been a member for many moons.
I have a good friend with a large doggie that recently had a severed ligament. She spent $5000 to fix him and it worked. Only to find out a couple of weeks later that a different leg/shoulder has a cancerous tumor eating away @ his bone and he's probably only has a couple of weeks left. I've been going to her home everyday @ lunch time to be with her and Major and it makes me appreciate that all pet bondings are equal if different. I'm a cat person @ heart but I love Major and his gentle giant manner. She has a cat as well that is definately a second class citizen. I give them both loves.
But I enjoy the cat section here and there just aren't enough hours in the day to hit ALL the internet spots I'd like to support.
Like everything in life, there are cycles. Perhaps this thread will prompt people to check out other forums?

[Scooter's Mom]

I'm guilty of this. I have 2 cats and 1 dog. I love them all just the same, but most the time I talk about the cats more than Jadie.

[pomtzu]

Yesterday's results:

Dog - 9
Cat - 19
Pet - 6

I rest my case..............

[Asiel]

I did notice that there are many more cats on PT than there are dogs, guess yesterday's count shows it. Not being a cat person and not ever owning one leaves me without much knowledge about them so posting anything about them is almost impossible -- I do love to look at the cat pictures though and I suppose I should make an effort to post more on DOTD, COTD, and other pets.
Maybe we need some kind of recruiting team to bring more dog people here if that's possible-- the more dogs the more we learn from everyone.