Outside cats, at least, are independent. It's evidenced by the existence of so many stray cats. They have leverage that other pets don't.

They don't need to understand the whole household. They only need to understand if they are being mistreated, in which case they can choose to leave and hunt vermon until the end of their (very few) days.

So I think it is better to be a housecat than a lapdog at least.