# Are liberals cat people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2006, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932 "2006-11-18T09:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/41 "2006-11-19T23:04:39Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] I want to introduce another dimension here: hardcore dog people. Breeders, handlers, trainers, show people. I get the impression they’re typically well to the right, if they have any politics at all. They operate in a world where the important values are authority, obedience, conformity to standard, and intolerance of ambiguity. They also have a heritage from well-to-do socialites and more workingclass, hunting-oriented folks, both of whom tend to be conservative. [/QUOTE] I beg to differ on this point. You may be correct about old-school dog folks, but there is a whole different world out there now. Most folks I know from the training club I work at, the flyball team I’m on, the agility school I take classes at, and the breed clubs I know of are quite liberal. The mindset of “control over all” is changing. Newer training and working methods emphasize working as a team, in a partnership with the dog. Clicker training and free shaping rely on the dog trying new actions and being rewarded for it. Venues like APDT Rally-O competitions reward you more for having a dog that is having a good time than having a dog that is a robot. Maybe this is why there is a whole new breed of lefty dog people out there! To answer the OP - Our household is two way-left women, with 2 dogs and 2 cats, all spoiled rotten and loved greatly. Wouldn’t have it any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/42 "2006-11-19T23:09:45Z")
[QUOTE=Fetchund] I beg to differ on this point. You may be correct about old-school dog folks, but there is a whole different world out there now. Most folks I know from the training club I work at, the flyball team I’m on, the agility school I take classes at, and the breed clubs I know of are quite liberal. The mindset of “control over all” is changing. Newer training and working methods emphasize working as a team, in a partnership with the dog. Clicker training and free shaping rely on the dog trying new actions and being rewarded for it. Venues like APDT Rally-O competitions reward you more for having a dog that is having a good time than having a dog that is a robot. Maybe this is why there is a whole new breed of lefty dog people out there! [/QUOTE] Sure sounds that way. I’d also put breed rescue societies outside that old-school paradigm. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/43 "2006-11-19T23:17:52Z")
Card-carrying I.W.W. member/acid-head/foreign-film goer/communard/_jala neti_ practicioner/slow-foodie, here. Love/hate dogs and cats EQUALLY. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/44 "2006-11-19T23:44:30Z")
I’m a conservative dog person. At least I don’t know a dog who [owes me any money](http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/blog/neoxblog.html). I’m thinking of owning ferrets rather than a dog or a cat when I next move, though. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/45 "2006-11-20T15:39:48Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] …and dogs that display obedient and even worshipful behavior towards their master, because both are part of the same system of having power over others. [/QUOTE] Wow. You really have us dog owners read wrong. I like to share the love, like to get down and dirty and play, saved my dog from certain death from the pound, and had fun with my buddy. (He died last month). Do I sound like a conservative to you now? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/46 "2006-11-20T15:49:39Z")
Raised Republican (I got better though) and we always had dogs. Married Democrat and into a liberal-leaning set of inlaws, who have always had cats. (as did we, before my immune system reacted to the threat by attempting self-destruction). We have guinea pigs now. What does that make us? Libertarians? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/47 "2006-11-20T16:55:32Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] I’m a liberal and I don’t like cats at all. (I own three dogs.) [/QUOTE] Wait, are you . . . ME? 😉 OK, I do own cats - I even like one of 'em most of the time - but they came with my marriage. So I still consider myself a “Big Dog Liberal”. However, **Napier** might be onto something, because as a card-carrying “dog person”, I have noticed that the primary difference between dog and cat people is the attitude about how much control one has over one’s pets. Dog people, IMHO, tend to believe that anyone can be trained, and look askance at people whose pets behave badly. Cat people, on the other hand (again, IMHO) tend to figure that they can’t control anyone else and are more willing to adjust their own behavior as needed (for example, hanging all of the ornaments on the uppermost 2/3 of the Christmas tree instead of trying to train the damn cat to leave the damn tree alone). One thing dog and cat people have in common, however, is a tendency to blame themselves when something goes awry. Dog people blame themselves for failing to train the dog properly; cat people blame themselves for failing to adjust to the cat’s demands. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/48 "2006-11-20T18:52:35Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] Liberal with cats here. This idea appeals to me because I imagine a stereotype in which conservatives favor both “big brother” intrusive government, and dogs that display obedient and even worshipful behavior towards their master, because both are part of the same system of having power over others [/QUOTE] You could also say cats are independent rugged individualists while dogs are completely focused on handouts from above. I think you could spin it either way. We’ve had lots of animals – cats, a dog (pit bull no less), numerous small parrots, fish, and a chinchilla recently – many, many pets in the morew distant past. Our politics? The more animals I meet, regardless of species, the more green my politics are becoming. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/49 "2006-11-20T19:37:03Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] … I imagine a stereotype in which conservatives favor both “big brother” intrusive government, and dogs that display obedient and even worshipful behavior towards their master… [/QUOTE] Maybe liberals have spoiled dogs. I know [I do](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b86/kkobayashi1/2006-10-25-23h25m45.jpg). :o ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/50 "2006-11-20T20:42:45Z")
Liberal cat person (3 of 'em) who also has two dogs. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/51 "2006-11-20T21:52:34Z")
I have no pets or children, so I guess that would make me independent. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/52 "2006-11-20T21:57:12Z")
Fiscal conservative, social libertarian here. I have five very spoiled cats, no dogs. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/53 "2006-11-21T05:55:24Z")
winterhalk, you sould really make those five go out and earn there own living. Are there no mice? Are there no small flightless birds??? This has been a very interesting thread. I guess in many way inspired by this site. Which has to be agreed has a liberal bent, and a thing for cats (I just came here from a kitty thread). Still wondering if there isn’t some (vague) corillation between liberals liking wanten independent cats and conservatives prefering nice dependable dogs. Sure it’s just woolgathering but I have to ask. Now, back to the kitty pictures. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/54 "2006-11-21T06:05:53Z")
Me and Mrs. Small are both liberals, and we only have one pet… She’s a pug…well, a peeka-pug… so dog! Brendon ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/55 "2006-11-21T06:30:25Z")
[QUOTE=brendon\_small] Me and Mrs. Small are both liberals, and we only have one pet… She’s a pug…well, a peeka-pug… so dog! [/QUOTE] Hmm…you’re going to have to prove to me that pugs arne’t large insects. I don’t know what political party they belong to. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/56 "2006-11-21T14:22:09Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] Hmm…you’re going to have to prove to me that pugs arne’t large insects. I don’t know what political party they belong to. [/QUOTE] Well, she barks. Other than that I don’t know for sure 😛 I’m pretty sure she couldn’t care less about politics, even if we gave her a vote. She’s pretty absent-minded. Brendon ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/57 "2006-11-21T16:42:08Z")
Very liberal. Love dogs. Dislike cats intensely. I look askance at single women with cats. Yes, it’s a prejudice, but, you know, there’s a grain of truth in there. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/58 "2006-11-21T17:10:17Z")
[QUOTE=brendon\_small] Well, she barks. Other than that I don’t know for sure 😛 I’m pretty sure she couldn’t care less about politics, even if we gave her a vote. She’s pretty absent-minded. [/QUOTE] Well, I believe there’s a cockroach that barks so that doesn’t prove anything. Other than that she sounds like a typical American. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/59 "2006-11-21T18:06:40Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] winterhalk, you sould really make those five go out and earn there own living. Are there no mice? Are there no small flightless birds??? [/QUOTE] Well, some of them \*are \* so cute that they could probably pose for calendars. Something to consider… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932/60 "2006-11-22T19:46:36Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] Well, I believe there’s a cockroach that barks so that doesn’t prove anything. Other than that she sounds like a typical American. [/QUOTE] Well, she doesn’t have buggy eyes like most pugs. Maybe she’s only half insect - she is only half pug! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-liberals-cat-people/380932.md?page=4)