Are Puppies More High Maintenance Than Kittens?

Bathroom

• Most people enjoy the occasional awesome surprise, but with a puppy at large in your house, the surprises are often neither occasional nor awesome. If you are not alert to your puppy's needs, they will come in the form of urine-soaked carpet and puppy droppings. A kitten may leave similar surprises, but it's far easier to teach a tiny kitty to use a litter box than it is to house-train a puppy. In fact, it may take a kitten only a day or two to learn, because a litter box provides the surface she wants. Puppies require considerable monitoring for housebreaking to be effective. The process takes a few weeks at best, and after your canine pal is house trained, you still must take him outside frequently, regardless of weather. A cat just shuffles herself into the litter box when she needs to go. You will need to clean the litter box daily, however.

  Female kittens may begin their heat cycles before 6 months of age, and they go in and out of heat frequently during a breeding season, or even year-round. Female puppies may have their first heat as early as 6 to 8 months, and they cycle fairly predictably, usually twice a year. You may encounter marking inside your home with unaltered cats and some dogs. Neutering or spaying your kitten or puppy greatly reduces or ends the likelihood of marking behavior.

Training

• While you can train both cats and dogs, dogs want to work with you because it's in their nature to be part of a pack. Cats, while social, do not work together for survival and do not look to others for leadership. The result: Puppies are far more attentive and eager to please than kittens are. That pack drive is what bonds a dog with a human or family and enables him to learn and take on roles in the family structure. But look at a household with an untrained young cat and an untrained puppy: Kittens typically don't require training to become well-behaved adult cats. Puppies who aren't trained can be destructive and out of control.

  Dog obedience classes are an excellent option for training, but you'll need to practice basic obedience and good puppy manners away from the classroom as well, or the puppy won't learn much. Whenever you're with your dog, you are training him, whether you intend to or not, and he's either learning good behavior or bad. Mouthing, jumping, counter-surfing, inappropriate chewing, constant barking, aggression and pulling while on walks are just some of the bad behaviors your pal can acquire, unless you are paying attention and teaching. Training a puppy requires your attention and time; until you tell your buddy what's right and wrong, he will chew things he's not supposed to, disturb your neighbors, jump up on people, nip in play and generally be difficult to be with.

Exercise

• Both puppies and kittens may run around the house like crazy animals for an hour, then suddenly drop to the floor and sleep for a spell. But all the energy they expend on their own does not completely meet their needs. Puppies require regular walks with you, and your participation in suitable games such as fetch and tug. Without play time with you and sufficient outdoor exercise, your pup will become restless and bored, which can lead to incessant barking, whining and destructive behavior. When you decide to get a puppy, you must plan to interact with him constantly and consistently, and not to isolate him. Kittens also need their share of play time, but they don't require you to take them out and exercise them. Playing keep-away with a feather or rolling a ball along the ground for 30 or 40 minutes each day will keep your kitty happy.

Grooming

• Skip grooming your kitten or puppy, and you'll have fur everywhere, from your computer desk to every piece of fabric you own. Some breeds shed more than others. Long-haired cats require far more grooming than short-haired cats do, and dogs with double coats or very long hair are higher-maintenance than pups with short, single coats.

  You're far more likely to have to clean up nasty hairballs with a cat than you are with a puppy, but puppies require at least occasional bathing, and some breeds require frequent bathing and professional grooming. Cats almost never require bathing.

Socialization

• Socialization is the process of accustoming your puppy to all the sights and sounds of the world he will live in, and helping him learn that most things in the world are harmless. You'll need to constantly introduce him to lots of different situations, taking him places with you, going for walks in different environments, getting him used to car rides and mingling with groups of people and other dogs, so he knows how to behave in all circumstances. Joining a dog training group or club is a good way to do much of this socialization.

  Kittens do not require such extensive socialization, particularly because they won't find themselves in so many different situations.

Destruction

• Kittens and puppies are apt to gnaw on anything they can get their teeth on when they're teething. Both can be destructive, but puppies tend to be more destructive, and the larger the puppy, the worse the damage can be. For both kittens and puppies, teething begins at around 3 months and ends at around 6 to 7 months, when the permanent teeth are fully in. During this time, regardless of training, a puppy or kitten will chew, and if they're not given appropriate things to chew on and watched carefully, they'll chew things they're not supposed to. Even without teething, both kittens and puppies have destructive tendencies, but puppies often do more damage and dish it out more frequently. You'll need to crate your puppy when you have to be away from home without him, as well as when you sleep. Always keep an eye on him when you're at home and he's out and about, looking for interesting things to do. Make sure you're there to make use of opportunities to teach him right from wrong.