i say not. reasons i point to are them not bonding or caring and aligning with anthropomorphic wishfull thinking relative to dogs. Many owners overstate the "bond" because of emotional projection, rather than objective behavioral evidence. as seen in a study from the University of Lincoln, Potter & Mills (2015). shows : domestic cats do not show signs of secure attachment to their owners, published in PLOS ONE by Alice Potter and Daniel Mills. while Nagasawa et al. (2015) shows when studying interspecies gaze, When dogs looked into their owners' eyes, it triggered a massive spike in oxytocin (the social bonding hormone) in both the human and the dog. and found that In feline social language, direct, prolonged eye contact is interpreted as a threat or a assertion of dominance rather than an invitation to bond. When humans stare at a cat, the cat typically looks away or breaks eye contact to avoid conflict. also that dogs have far more utility as service dogs and protection etc. then cats can.

Convenience isn’t the same as better. your argument boils down to “cats require less effort and money, so they’re better for people who can’t or won’t put in the work.” thats not a case for cats being superior pets, it’s a case for them being the default low-investment option when someone isnt willing to meet a dogs actual needs. Thats fine as a lifestyle compromise but it doesn’t make the animal a better companion. It’s just lower standards dressed up as practicality. And that “practicality” has costs. Domestic cats exist at this scale because we keep them as pets. The free range population they create kills an estimated 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals yearly in the US (Loss et al. 2013), with owned outdoor cats contributing a large share. Keep them indoors instead and you still have a problem, indoor only cats show higher rates of obesity, boredom related behavioral issues, and stress when their environment isn’t heavily enriched. The “low maintenance” advantage just shifts the burden either onto wildlife or onto the cats own welfare.

saying "I am not sure how to argue with that" and retreating to unsubstantiated feelings and begging the question with "I just think a cat's easier, quieter company still counts for a lot". and counting for a lot doesnt mean a better pet. sounds like a concession almost.