I generally think of the world as having two types of people - dog lovers and cat lovers. Sure, there are varying shades of gray in-between, but for the most part, most people seem to prefer either dogs or cats.

Personally, I’ve always considered myself to be a dog person. I grew up with them, and tend to go out of my way to stop and pet them whenever we cross paths. Given the choice of having a dog or a cat, the decision, at least for me, was a no-brainer.

It’s not as if I don’t like cats. I do, it’s just that if a person were to exhibit some of the same personality traits as cats, I’d call them jerks. Somehow with cats, we’re more than willing to overlook it and forgive them.

When I became a parent, however, I began to change my tune. As much as I loved dogs, our kids found them scary and intimidating (it’s a size issue), and I really hated finding dog poop on playgrounds and beaches. I know, I know, it’s not the dog’s fault, it’s the owners, but somehow you can’t divorce the two. Besides, as much as I love them, the thought of having to walk them two or three times a day was pretty much unthinkable, though I know many people do it.

It was with this mindset that I started to come around to the idea of getting a cat. Sure, we could have simply done without, but our children wanted to get a pet so badly, and Ruth and I are both animal lovers.

But more importantly, there are huge lessons that pets teach their owners, i.e., your children. So while our children make us better people, I can’t help but think that pets make our children better people. In fact, since we got our kittens, who by the way are immeasurably cute and entertaining, it has been very interesting to sit back and observe the dynamic that they have developed with Audrey and Nicholas.

It’s not unlike giving them a sense of what mom and dad have to continually go through. There is the important lesson of being responsible for another person, or in this case, cat (whatever, the point is your kid’s focus is taken off of themselves), by making sure they have food and clean water every day. The keys to this is having to deal with it diligently, even though the last thing your kids want to do is get up off that couch.

And there is the issue of being denied some free time and space, the perpetual state of most parents when they’re around their kids. After all, how many of us have tried to do something but have to drop it because our kids need us or want to play with us? I’ve found that kittens are really good at letting your children know firsthand what this is like.

Now I’d like to clarify that I’d never wish Schadenfreude on my children, or anyone’s children, for that matter, but empathy is an valuable lesson to be learned, and will go a long way to turning kids into better people. Even though they are probably not acutely aware of it, I can’t help but think that somehow it is being subconsciously relayed to their developing minds via their pets.

In the end, having pets is not unlike turning your kids into mini-parents. I know that in our house, I am the sole implementer of discipline. While I might be accused of being over-zealous at times, I feel it’s necessary to establish precedents, like not going to the bathroom in the plants or walking on the dinner table. Whatever be the case, Audrey and Nicholas, who seem incapable of being angry at their kittens, always come to their defense, and I have to confess to being proud of them for their selfless acts of courage, especially standing up to their mean ‘ol dad.

So, after all is said and done, I guess it’s fair to say that I’ve become a cat lover. They’re a lot of fun, not to mention clean. They have brought a great deal of joy into our home, especially for our children, and isn’t that what parenthood is all about?

Sure, I’ll always be a dog person, but on those cold and rainy nights when there’s a warm fire burning in our wood stove, I can look down at one of our cats purring quietly in my lap and think to myself, “Boy, I  sure am glad I don’t have to take you out for a walk.”

I hate to sound so utilitarian, but I just can’t help it.