[QUOTE=lavenderviolet]
Yeah, I think it’s mostly the “crazy cat lady” stereotype. You don’t hear nearly so often about “crazy dog guys” (or even “crazy dog ladies” for that matter) as you do about mentally unbalanced women hoarding a bunch of cats. QUOTE]
Hee. Puts me mind of my mom’s old boyfriend. Who had a practicaly bare apartment, mostly because he had a pack…yes I think pack is the best word, of doberman pinchers. Who were allower the run of the house except for the basement which was full of 12’ boa constrictor. And she still makes fun of my dates.
To aderesss the OP, if you wallk in and are confrounted with 30 cats glariring at you from every shelf, ok you might want to back out slowly. If she has 5+ you might want to talk (said as a girl who’s has 8, 1 dog, two snakes and three mice, and one boyfriend (Domesticated.)
But just owning A cat? WTF. A cat doesn’t make you a cat lady. Just means you know how to stroke which guy’s should like,
There was this girl I almost went out with in high school. Cute brunette, feisty and short tempered, all the qualities I like in a girl (no, really). Recently hung out with her for an evening on my way through Dallas, and found out that in her house, she has:
2 Cats
4 Kittens
3 Dogs
2 Lizards
1 Opossum
Mind you, I can’t give her too hard a time, cause the dogs belong to someone else (she was dog-sitting), the kittens she was trying to get someone (including me) to adopt, and the lizards and the opossum belonged to her husband (as well as one of the cats, I think). The opossum was cute, but in a very creepy way, he’d just stare at you all the time. If you reached into his cage and grabbed onto his perch, he’d walk out onto your arm, turn around, then go back onto his perch.
So apparantly the crazy cat lady married the crazy… lizard man? I dunno, I got nothin.
Seriously, you don’t have to squee in happiness every time you see my cat but you need to like animals. Someone who doesn’t like animals strikes me as someone who would have a hard time caring about people too…not that there is any evidence of this (that I am aware of) but that is the impression that I get.
First I must say… I used to think this myself, but I don’t anymore. My husband feels nothing for animals. NOTHING. He normally resents them when they are thrust upon him (as in, “Hi, I’m your new roommate and I’m getting a cat, if you don’t like it tough” to give an example.) It took him a long time to concede me getting a cat. He’s not cruel to the cat… he’s at times even entertained by the cat, and if it sits in his lap he will pet it, but he has such a fundamental lack of personal connection to the cat it’s bizarre to me, a person who loves animals. Given this information, it repeatedly kills me his level of compassion toward human beings in need… it’s really staggering and inspiring the degree to which he cares for others. When I ask him about this strange disparity, he openly acknowledges that he’s a “species-ist” – humans are the most important, with animals falling down the hierarchy… I don’t really AGREE with him, but many would.
So all in all, I would have to say that people who don’t love animals being cold-hearted in general must be a stereotype as equally stupid as cat-loving women demand commitment.
In fact, it seems many women might get a cat because they plan to live the single life for a while and want some company… who knows?
For what it’s worth, Deep Fried, I dig your screenname. But yeah, the idea of women having cats because they’re “nurturing” or “commitment-oriented” is a bit silly.
I think it’s safe to say that people who are abusive or cruel to animals do have psychological problems. Such a person is likely to be cruel to humans too.
But simply not wanting to be around animals is a whole different story.
Even though I like my cats, sometimes I find the hair-shedding, messes, etc. to be a big nuisance. I can definitely understand why someone might feel teh pleasure of being around animals isn’t worth the hassle.
Oh, yes, I agree completely. One of the classic signs of a sadistic sociopath is abusing animals early in life. My husband derives no joy out of causing animals harm, and would definitely put a stop to animal abuse. He respects animals and nature and understands and cares that they can suffer… despite his constant references to his sister’s dog as “The Spawn of Satan,” I’ve seen him let her out of the basement or otherwise take care of her because, “It’s a living creature.” Animals just don’t, as he puts it, do it for him. That might be one of the biggest differences between us. We have a ton in common intellectually, politically, morally, etc, but I squee over everything from snails to giraffes and he’s just like, “Meh.”
My son calls me the Crazy Cat Lady. I’ve got 5. But he’s got one (had two) so he’s on his way to Cukoo Land anyway so I don’t know what his problem is.
