# Liberal = cat person? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2007, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419 "2007-03-03T12:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/1 "2007-03-03T12:29:29Z")
I’d put this in GD if it weren’t such a silly question. But let’s face it, this is a pretty liberal cite, and for a large part a pro-cat cite. Why is that? I thought us liberals were all about nanny states and controlling people. Can’t do that with cats. Why is it liberals (or whatever you want to call them) are more likely to be cat people and conservatives go for dogs? (Just my personal experience). What does this say about human pyschology? Anything? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/2 "2007-03-03T12:34:32Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] What does this say about human pyschology? Anything? [/QUOTE] In general, people with more money are more likely to vote Republican. Similarly, someone with more money is more likely to have a larger residence. Ergo, no more need to have a small pet. I doubt there’s much beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/3 "2007-03-03T12:35:51Z")
I’d like to dispute the premise. I’ve never noticed rightists being dog people and leftists being cat people. As an anecdote I’m as leftist as they come and I love dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/4 "2007-03-03T12:46:05Z")
Well, my views have been shifting right in recent years. Our family got a dog two years ago. I used to be a cat person, now I’m very much a dog person. Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/5 "2007-03-03T12:48:33Z")
If there were any correlation at all, it might have to do with personality type. It would seem that people who are more rule-bound and hard-line might also prefer animals that can be controlled more easily. Apparently, there’s a correlation between religious fundamentalism and conservative politics; again, the belief that the Bible must be taken literally is another sign of adherence to rules to a degree that I think is less comon in people on the left. To the OP; you did mean ‘site’ as opposed to ‘cite’, right? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/6 "2007-03-03T13:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] To the OP; you did mean ‘site’ as opposed to ‘cite’, right? [/QUOTE] Err…yes I did. It’s very early in the morrning here. Not thinking very clearly…if I ever do. But you’re getting at the point I was going for. What’s the difference in thinking here…and how does it relate to small four footed furry people. There’s got to be some kind of corrilation, like I said there are so many cat people here. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/7 "2007-03-03T13:21:55Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] I’d put this in GD if it weren’t such a silly question. But let’s face it, this is a pretty liberal cite, and for a large part a pro-cat cite. Why is that? I thought us liberals were all about nanny states and controlling people. Can’t do that with cats. Why is it liberals (or whatever you want to call them) are more likely to be cat people and conservatives go for dogs? (Just my personal experience). What does this say about human pyschology? Anything? [/QUOTE] You make a lot of assertions above! Firstly, what do you mean by ‘liberal’? Here in Europe, we think Democrats are centre-right. We also don’t think ‘socialist’ is a dirty word. Secondly, the use of ‘nanny state’ is a right-wing smear. Leftwingers support a national health service and caring for the poor. Thirdly I read the Guardian (leftwing UK newspaper) and like dogs a lot. I don’t think much of cats. Why not run a poll here, asking political views and pet preferences? ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/8 "2007-03-03T15:16:31Z")
…only if they’re free market cats. Oh, you didn’t mean… Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/9 "2007-03-03T15:22:02Z")
> **[Are liberals cat people?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396769)** > > And are republicans dog people? I feel perhaps I should put this in GD as I feel it has serious poliical and philosphical ramifications. No, really, I’m wondering about an essentialy different mindset. Kind of interesting. bete"kitty lover" noir ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/10 "2007-03-03T15:46:46Z")
For the purpose of polling, I poll to the exact center on the Political Compass and would pick a dog of the two since you can play with them, but would gladly have both. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/11 "2007-03-03T18:04:01Z")
[QUOTE=glee] Why not run a poll here, asking political views and pet preferences? [/QUOTE] Well, that more or less what I thought I was doing. And I read the Guardian too. If fact applied for a job there. (Didn’t get it which is part of the reason I’m back in the US). And I agree US politics are more right wing in general than Europe. That’s why I used “liberal” instead of Democrate. But I don’t absolutly agree that “nanny state” is a right wing smear. For one thing the right wing can be just as nanny as the left. And the left can get get carried away. I picked up the phrase from my SO who’s pretty damn liberal and not even a little American. But I don’t mean to get seriously political. Just noting this is (at least by US standards 🙂 ) a pretty liberal board and there seems to be something of a pro-cat shift. Just a sociolgical poll. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/12 "2007-03-03T18:15:26Z")
It’s because cats are pussies. However, if you go into the most right-wing, conservative town in America, you will find plenty of cats. The stereotype is one of image rather than fact. I admit that when I think of cats, I think of some middle-aged lady fawning all over them and biting her nails about gay marriage and the fate of the Hispanic family across town. The only difference I can think of is plain old conservative people don’t intellectual about how they are cat people and how it fits their personality. It is just a pet. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/13 "2007-03-03T22:11:57Z")
\*@#&! Nader voters and their \*@#&! ferrets… ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/14 "2007-03-03T22:34:00Z")
Another factor is that liberals tend to congregate in large cities, in which cats are much more practical pets than dogs. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/15 "2007-03-03T22:39:47Z")
[QUOTE=athelas] Another factor is that liberals tend to congregate in large cities, in which cats are much more practical pets than dogs. [/QUOTE] Yeah, if there is a correlation, I’d attribute it to lifestyle trends such as that. A person with a suburban home in a red state is much more likely to have a dog than a Manhattan apartment dweller is. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/16 "2007-03-03T22:45:07Z")
I have both, and I’m a libertarian. You may be on to something. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/17 "2007-03-03T22:46:18Z")
Ancient Egypt deified cats. It was also a culture that remained pretty much the same for thousands of years. We get people who like the 1950s and we think that’s conservative. Old Kingdom Egypt puts that into perspective. I’ve always been totally a cat person. I also consistently come up “socialist” on those political compass type quizzes. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/18 "2007-03-04T00:03:21Z")
Not that I buy it ( I like the cities = liberals = cats idea myself ), but I have heard conservatives claim that liberals like cats because they are effeminate and possibly even gay, and therefore prefer a cat. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/19 "2007-03-04T00:05:47Z")
He most certainly is. He’s said as much on many occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419/20 "2007-03-04T00:12:58Z")
I’m a liberal and we’ve only owned dogs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-cat-person/394419.md?page=2)