I spent a weekend dog-sitting for the first time ever in the spring of 2 B.B. (Before Buddy), rising early to walk my brother’s Chihuahua-terrier before work.
The Manhattan of 7 am is a different world: Everywhere I looked, bleary-eyed New Yorkers clutched leads, yawning as dogs of all shapes and sizes pulled them along. I never knew there were so many dog-friendly apartments, let alone so many people willing to share cramped spaces with dogs of all sizes. Seven-pound Cosmo was one thing, Greate Danes and Dobermans quite another.
You’d think New York City, with its sky-high population density, would be a cat town. It isn’t. Neither is New York State as a whole.
Sadly, Buddy and I live in a state dominated by dog-lovers, one of 25 including California, Texas, Florida, Virginia and both Carolinas. Although cats are the most popular pets in 25 states as well, feline strongholds tend to be in places with lower population density, from Oregon and Washington in the west to Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi in the south, to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maine in the east.
The information was compiled by market research firm Time2Play, which surveyed more than 3,000 Americans. The team also asked respondents whether they posted photos and videos of their pets online. Even though cats remain the undisputed masters of digital space, almost 57 percent of dog people showed off their pooches online, while only 43 percent of cat servants did.
Bud and I have been thinking about moving someplace warmer for years, but of course the king’s needs come first. Maybe we’ll settle in Louisiana or Nevada, where Buddy can establish a new realm for himself.
Do you live in a cat or dog state?
Pain In The Bud 
Dogs will always be more popular than cats. But make no mistake. Cats with their subtlety and hard won affection are the unsung best human overlords!
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Indeed, those of us who have been won over by cats know this well.
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Apparently I live in a dog state, but the number of cats found by rescue persons this year has increased enormously. Shelters are full. Sad to say.
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It’s crazy how quickly we went from having few or no adoptable cats due to people adopting en masse during the pandemic, to shelters back above capacity.
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Same here, Leah. 😦
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I’m in Minnesota and I thought for sure we’d be a dog state. Was shocked when I saw we are not! We’ve got 2 cats, but I’m trying to convince my husband to let me add a Mini Wiener Dog to the mix. I need another one in my life!
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Posting your pet on social media isn’t a good indication that you live in a state with a high number of dogs or cats. What about all of the citizens who don’t post on social media?
And I’d watch out before you move to Louisiana or Nevada; you might get a surprise when you find out that the local or state government doesn’t have the same level of trustworthiness as New York. (I lived in New Orleans and the Louisiana state government was notorious at the time for corrupt politics.)
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I lived in Louisiana for a year when my husband was stationed there. Absolutely hated it! I’m from MN and the weather and the bugs were awful! I came home at the end of Jan, and it felt warmer in MN than it did when I’d left LA. They have a wet cold which cuts right through you. I think NY has more of a climate like MN. Dry winters, hot but not super muggy summers. And the bugs are MUTANT sized!! Disgusting!
Also, it’s a dead RED state. I like living in a place where they actually care about women’s rights, voter rights, healthcare, etc., even if you do have to put up with the winters. I couldn’t stand being surrounded by MAGA supporters and having no hope of it ever changing.
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Mutant sized bugs: I know what you mean, having lived in Fort Polk for 3 years. Palmetto bugs, right? Like gigantic flying roaches. Also truly immense tarantulas! Louisiana’s fauna and flora is in overdrive, just like the weather.
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YES! That was the place we were stationed too. Fort PUKE is what we called it. Thank GOD we were only stuck there for a year! One time when my husband was out in the field, I found a huge 2-3 inch spider in the bathtub. You don’t get those in MN! I freaked the hell out! We also had those Kamakasi wasps with the long legs that would come after you. Just what the hell?! And I also picked up a Black Widow when picking up a bag that’d flown out the door. Man, I HATED that place so MUCH!!
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The survey asked about state of residence, pet preference and whether the respondents shared photos of their pets, so they were three separate questions. There might have been more. I don’t have it in front of me now, but in the PDF I believe it had info about why the survey was commissioned and which organization commissioned it.
As for New York, I’m not sure it gets more corrupt than this dump. Cuomo, Sheldon Silver and Joe Bruno were the triumvirate who ruled this state. Cuomo resigned with too many scandals to mention, while Silver (Dem) and Bruno (Rep) were both convicted on felony bribery/corruption charges.
We’ve had state lawmakers using their positions to steer public money to their private businesses (Pedro Espada), threaten to throw reporters off balconies on live TV (Michael Grimm), and sell their votes for things like approval for developments.
Don’t even get me started on the police. I could write a book on the scandals and corruption just in the county I live in.
Unfortunately it’s only gotten worse with the collapse of newspapers, because they were the only effective government watchdogs. TV news is a joke, local bloggers don’t have the skills or institutional support, so politicians and career government bureaucrats know there’s no longer scrutiny. Trustworthy is not a word I’d associate with New York government.
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Isn’t the currant mayor of NY a cat fan? I read somewhere he and his wive do TNR and adopt stray cats.
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That was Curtis Sliwa, the GOP nominee. Also the founder of the Guardian Angels and a local radio host.
He lost the mayoral election to former NYPD captain Eric Adams.
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