I think I fall somewhere between dominionist and humanist. I love my cat very much, I will feed him special food if it will help him be healthy and live longer and I will mourn him deeply when he dies, but I'm not going to take him to therapy or leave him my (nonexistent) stock options. Thing is, he's not a human (as much as he thinks he is), he's a cat, and to treat him as a human is somehow disrespectful to both of us (in my head).

I don't think I fall into any of the those categories. I need a category that defines me as "someone who knows her dogs are just dogs, but still likes them more than 98% of the people she comes across."

Hayden, I really hope your brother stays safe and gets home without too much complication. I know if he's anything like you, he's doing his best to share his resources and help anyone who needs it.

I think I'm a little bit of all three. I love my cat fiercely. He sleeps with me, I do give him special food and medication 2X/day. When he dies, it will wreck me for a good long time. I am not taking him to therapy or leaving him money in my will. And, my medical treatment options are for sure geared toward what is best for him combined with very real financial limitations.

What ChiKat said.

(Hi there, ChiKat!!! kermit waves ChiKat-ward)

I may not be leaving money for my dogs in my will directly, but you can be damn sure I have a plan set in place for if I perish before them. And that does include proper $ for their care. I do not think that is strange; I think it's being a responsible pet owner. I volunteered at the SPCA and saw way too many animals put down because there was no plan for them after their owners died.

Oh, and I'm walking around with a big honkin' gauze bandage on my neck, and I'm just waiting for someone to ask me what happened so I can tell them about my vampire attack last night.

How about a category for people who would really like a dog, but doesn't think that would be fair to the dog because of their lifestyle, so has cats and trains them to act like dogs?

How about a category for people who would really like a dog, but doesn't think that would be fair to the dog because of their lifestyle, so has cats and trains them to act like dogs?

I would call that the "Awesome people" category!!

If you can train a cat to act like a dog, I think your category is "magician".

I think giving an animal special food (which many people do or else most food companies would create special diets) is very different than cooking special food. A woman I do yoga with has a pack of dogs and, though she is a vegan herself, she does have her personal assistant cook special all-meat meals for her dogs because she finds the toxins in all processed dog foods too terrible for her dogs.

It seems like there is a lot of privilege wrapped up in the ability to do that.

My medical treatments for a dog (not our current dog) would be predicated on what is actually beneficial for the dog vs. the amount of pain it would cause the animal + the expense.