# Why do some people (especially, it seems, men) hate cats? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413 "2004-03-30T22:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/101 "2004-04-03T02:26:45Z")
See, this is exactly what I don’t get. I’ve seen people make the occasional “tastes good” joke in other threads about pets but never with such maliciousness as in threads about cats. If cats are no different than any other animal, why do they get singled out more than any other for such vitriol? Seems to me that it’s “emotional involvement” right there. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/102 "2004-04-03T02:34:20Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > See, this is exactly what I don’t get. > > I’ve seen people make the occasional “tastes good” joke in other threads about pets but never with such maliciousness as in threads about cats. > > If cats are no different than any other animal, why do they get singled out more than any other for such vitriol? Seems to me that it’s “emotional involvement” right there. Well, the only “dog tastes good” jokes you usually hear are racist against persons from certain Asian countries. The joke is on the Asians and not eating dogs. Mention eating a dog to someone, even in a joking manner, and some people will look at you like you suggested eating their mother. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/103 "2004-04-03T02:43:48Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > People who consider animals, even pet animals, to be on the same level as a human child are (excuse the technical jargon) fucked up. I have a beautiful three year old daughter, anybody who tries to tell me that _any animal_ is in any way equivalent to her will, at best, be told to seek psychiatric help. We won’t go into what might happen at worst. This thread is drenched in anthropomorphism. Animals may or may not have emotions. Their emotions, if they exist, may or may not be analogous to human emotions. Nobody knows and anybody who claims he does is lying or indulging in wishful thinking. No matter how much you may think your cat/dog/parakeet/gerbil loves you, you are just projecting your own emotions onto it. > My undergraduate degree is in biology and I find animals fascinating and I’ve even owned pets over the years. I never, however, lost sight of the fact that they were only animals. People who get emotionally involved with animals need to re-examine their lives and how they deal with people. > Cats really are tasty when properly prepared. I’ve also had cat in a spicy Szechuan-style stirfry that was delicious. The marksmanship aspect of it is just a personal preference because I enjoy hunting and the season is always open for cats. I think you’re the one who needs help here. This has nothing to do with you or the way you feel about your daughter, but please realize there are people who **do** feel strongly about their pets, and nothing you can say or insinuate (“we’re crazy”) will change that fact. Just because you can’t imagine feeling this way doesn’t mean we can’t. I find your posts to be insensitive and rude. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/104 "2004-04-03T03:48:25Z")
Mr. Blue Sky Oh, true about that. I just meant no other animal seems to draw such remarks with the same frequency/vehemence as cats. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/105 "2004-04-03T04:40:14Z")
Animals.Are.Food. They.Are.Not. Your. Friends. Get.Over.It. Okay? Really, there is something grossly wrong with you if you equate animals with people on any meaningful level. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/106 "2004-04-03T05:53:28Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Really, there is something grossly wrong with you if you equate animals with people on any meaningful level. I actually put animals on a higher and more meaningful level that quite a few people. People like yourself especially. Somehow I’m perfectly ok if that makes me “grossly wrong” in your eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Innanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecd19e/32.png) [@Innanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/107 "2004-04-03T09:09:47Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Animals.Are.Food. > They.Are.Not. Your. Friends. > Get.Over.It. > Okay? > > Really, there is something grossly wrong with you if you equate animals with people on any meaningful level. I understand that my cat is not a human being. But humans are social beings and many of them have pets that become part of their social hierarchies. Desmond Morris speculates that one of the reasons that people have taken cats (and dogs) into their homes (beyond their usefulness at keeping vermin populations under control) is because their relative smallness, and facial structure remind them, subconsciously of human babies, who we are “programmed” to take care of. Is it any wonder that people become attached to their pets, if those pets are triggering some (not all) of the biological imperatives that cause us to take care of children? It becomes more understandable that people anthropomorphize their pets when you take this into account—especially if you remember that animals, whatever you think about them having emotions, do have distinct personalities—some of them would rather play than be petted, for instance. It is not surprising to me that people then think of their pets as something other than walking pantries. Of course, for some people, cats and dogs (and other animals, I would guess from **Useless Git** ’s earlier mention of seals) do not trigger those biological instincts, and so to them, the whole culture of pets and pet ownership must seem foolish and illogical. I would further guess that because they are a minority in at least the western world, that they might become a little hostile about the whole issue—much like atheists sometimes do in a majority Christian population (and this might be true of other religions, but I am most familiar with the Christian/Atheist dynamic). There are also of course, people who have other things that happen that cause them to dislike pets—allergies, scratches, bites, owners who do not properly care for their animals, all of which have been mentioned above. I would speculate that these bad experiences also override the “a cat, how cute” drive that many people seem to possess. And if my assumptions are incorrect, I welcome further evidence that will change my theories appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/108 "2004-04-03T11:51:06Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I don’t think killing animals is A-OK. I don’t eat them and try as hard as I can to both live in the modern world and avoid harming other animals. So there goes that argument. > > If my post seemed excessively angry, it was in response to your assertion that you would nail a cat to someone’s door. There was no indication that you were being anything other than serious about that, and I think most people will agree that such an action is criminal at best and evil at worst. > And I will reiterate my advice that you get screens in your window. Someday something worse than a cat could crawl in… OK, You don’t eat animals. There goes that argument, indeed. Nailing someone’s cat to a door… Criminal - yes, evil - definately. There was no indication of me not being serious, the thing is I really _really_ hate cats and I may have gone a _tad_ over the top with that post. Those cats belong to someone, maybe even children, and doing a thing like that could scar a child for life. I guess. Of course I shocked and disgusted a lot of cat owners - next time I’m talking about cats I’ll wait 10 minutes and read it over again before posting it. Thanks for the screens tip (trying to find out exactly what “screens” are. Some kind of drapes?), I’ve actually had all kinds of insects and mice and such crawl in. They don’t leave a mess like the cats, I kill the insects and mice and no-one seems to care about that. Although I’m sure you do, come to mention it. And FYI some cultures eat cats, they even grow (cultivate? breed?) cats specifically to eat them. I’m not saying that just to goad you guys but don’t call someone a sadistic disgusting fuck or whatever you called **Scumpup** , just because he is of a different culture than you. I’ve never eaten a cat but I would try it if I was in China or some other cat-eating country. Celebrating different cultures and all that… I also eat widdle bunny wabbits, seals, whales and horses and I’ll be damned if I’ll let sentiments stop me. If I stop eating our animal friends, GreenPeace will have won. Anyways… I’ve said what I think of cats and now I’ve tried to minimise the damage I’ve done to the outraged cat owners out there. I don’t think I was trying to be mean but I really dind’t think enough about the feelings of cat owners. I’ll be more careful in the future. > [@Spectre...something](#): > > At the risk of sounding like I’m just joining a pile-on, I really want to know. Is it a cultural thing? Do Icelanders not like to keep pets generally? Oh, Icelanders _love_ to keep pets. Who do you think put all those damned cats there? Cats are like roaches here, especially in the older parts of town - a pest. Most of them belong to someone and the strays are fairly friendly. Don’t skip the pile-on on my account, the more the merrier. Please don’t attribute my posts to Icelanders in general, we’re basically a good people despite the heartlessness and idiocy me and some Icelandic guys who were posting here before me have been displaying. > [@Malthus](#): > > I have often found that the way in which people treat animals is a good indication of their true personality. Good for you, I’ve often found out that the way in which people wear their hat is a good indication of their true haircolor. If so many of you want to chastise me for me feelings towards pets, wouldn’t the Pit be more fitting than IMHO? Have a nice day. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/109 "2004-04-03T14:13:18Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I have a beautiful three year old daughter, anybody who tries to tell me that _any animal_ is in any way equivalent to her will, at best, be told to seek psychiatric help. \ > Cats really are tasty when properly prepared. I’ve also had cat in a spicy Szechuan-style stirfry that was delicious. The marksmanship aspect of it is just a personal preference because I enjoy hunting and the season is always open for cats. Will you allow your daughter to have a pet? After a couple of years, when she became EMOTIONALLY attached to it, would you chop it up, cook it, and feed it to her so you can project YOUR twisted outlook on her? Would you take her on a little cat target practice? You should print out this entire thread and put it aside, so that when she grows up, she can see what kind of father she has. I’ll be glad to chip in for the psychiatrist. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/110 "2004-04-03T14:58:33Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Will you allow your daughter to have a pet? After a couple of years, when she became EMOTIONALLY attached to it, would you chop it up, cook it, and feed it to her so you can project YOUR twisted outlook on her? > > Would you take her on a little cat target practice? > > You should print out this entire thread and put it aside, so that when she grows up, she can see what kind of father she has. > > I’ll be glad to chip in for the psychiatrist. They don’t eat _pet_ cats, they’re special …food cats. Doubting someone’s parenting because he eats differently than you? Really? That’s just disgusting… and I know disgusting! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/111 "2004-04-03T15:04:03Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > They don’t eat _pet_ cats, they’re special …food cats. Doubting someone’s parenting because he eats differently than you? Really? That’s just disgusting… and I know disgusting! Re-read: > [@scumpup](#): > > Animals.Are.Food. > They.Are.Not. Your. Friends. > Get.Over.It. > Okay? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/112 "2004-04-03T15:33:12Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Will you allow your daughter to have a pet? After a couple of years, when she became EMOTIONALLY attached to it, would you chop it up, cook it, and feed it to her so you can project YOUR twisted outlook on her? > > Would you take her on a little cat target practice? > > You should print out this entire thread and put it aside, so that when she grows up, she can see what kind of father she has. > > I’ll be glad to chip in for the psychiatrist. You, sirrah, really do take a lot on yourself. If you want to make this a personal conflict with me, open up a pit thread and I’ll be happy to eviscerate you there. Would I take her cat for a little target practice? Depends on the situation. If the cat has proven itself to be a nuisance or a danger, then the cat has no future. Would I kill it for no reason? No. I never kill anything just for the sake of killing it. In the meantime, no matter how much you might like it to be otherwise, animals are not the same as people. Your cat doesn’t love you in any way that is analagous to human love. If you are so insistent that it does, then offer some sort of proof. In the meantime, I will print out the thread to show her as she grows up that there really are people who value mere animals above their fellow man. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/113 "2004-04-03T15:42:36Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > You, sirrah, really do take a lot on yourself. If you want to make this a personal conflict with me, open up a pit thread and I’ll be happy to eviscerate you there. You aren’t worth the electrons. > [@](#): > > Would I take her cat for a little target practice? Depends on the situation. If the cat has proven itself to be a nuisance or a danger, then the cat has no future. Define nuisance. If the cat bothered you, but no one else in the family, would you kill it then? Be sure to invite your daughter along to watch since it seems you think it’s an important life lesson. “Sorry, honey, the kitty pissed on the carpet, it has to die. You wanna pull the trigger?” > [@](#): > > Would I kill it for no reason? No. I never kill anything just for the sake of killing it. Give me a good reason for killing a domesticated animal (house pet). > [@](#): > > In the meantime, no matter how much you might like it to be otherwise, animals are not the same as people. Your cat doesn’t love you in any way that is analagous to human love. If you are so insistent that it does, then offer some sort of proof. Never said otherwise. The cat appears to like me. I’ll take it at face value. I don’t pretend to be an animal psychologist. > [@](#): > > In the meantime, I will print out the thread to show her as she grows up that there really are people who value mere animals above their fellow man. Over people like you? Yes. Over some of the scumiest (no pun intended) humans who have, and still, live in this world. You betcha. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/114 "2004-04-03T15:43:39Z")
OK **Mr. Blue Sky** … **Scumpup** is obviously not the type to have pets, so I doubt his daughter will have one. Eating cats is one thing. Having a pet cat to take out for target practise or cooking it is another thing entirely. I had rabbits when I was a kid, I’ve eaten rabbit on a few occasions since then. I would never have eaten on of my pet bunnies but I was aware of the fact that people ate them and I often joked with my friends “That’s a big one, she’ll do nicely for Sunday dinner” etc. Just because some of you don’t like the idea of eating cats I find it really self-righteus of you to call someone who does insane and saying he might scar his child for life. But that’s just me, the cat-nailing sociopath and whale killer. The OP: > [@](#): > > Why do some people (especially, it seems, men) hate cats? > > I have trouble understanding this. I mean, I do understand that cats are not the right pet for everyone. I understand having a preference for or against a particular type of pet for oneself. And I know that a lot of people have allergies, especially to cats. > > But what I fail to comprehend, on a deeply emotional level I suppose, is someone who says they hate all cats, and that they all deserve to be tortured to death. I don’t see this kind of invective against dogs, hamsters, goldfish, parakeets. Just cats. And mostly from men. Me and Scumpup have tried to answer this, albeit not in the nicest fashion possible unfortunately. Neither of us has, to my knowledge, said that cats deserve to be tortured to death. Torturing animals is useless and ugly, killing them is in our nature (“maybe _your_ nature, you fucking bastard!” etc. …knock yourselves out) - it’s what we do. We don’t understand why you are so sentimental about them, you don’t understand why we are so callous about them. You are not going to make us feel otherwise nor vice versa, and that was not the point of the thread (or was it?). BTW, dogs are quite useful for hunting whereas cats just take up space. Oh, and offer their unconditional “love”. Again, I would like to point out that personal insults towards us would be more appropriate in the Pit and I’d be happy to discuss this further there, perhaps a double pitting would be in order? ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/115 "2004-04-03T15:48:22Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Animals.Are.Food. > They.Are.Not. Your. Friends. > Get.Over.It. > Okay? > > Really, there is something grossly wrong with you if you equate animals with people on any meaningful level. Get over it yourself. You can’t tell me (or anyone else) how to feel. There are people out there who do feel differently than you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/116 "2004-04-03T15:54:41Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > Me and Scumpup have tried to answer this, albeit not in the nicest fashion possible unfortunately. Neither of us has, to my knowledge, said that cats deserve to be tortured to death. Torturing animals is useless and ugly, killing them is in our nature (“maybe _your_ nature, you fucking bastard!” etc. …knock yourselves out) - it’s what we do. We don’t understand why you are so sentimental about them, you don’t understand why we are so callous about them. You are not going to make us feel otherwise nor vice versa, and that was not the point of the thread (or was it?). BTW, dogs are quite useful for hunting whereas cats just take up space. Oh, and offer their unconditional “love”. > > Again, I would like to point out that personal insults towards us would be more appropriate in the Pit and I’d be happy to discuss this further there, perhaps a double pitting would be in order? Intersting pod you two peas live in. True, I’ve never seen a “seeing eye cat” or cats in any other service job. So? It’s a pet, not a slave or hired hand. Your dog “loves” you just as much as my cat “loves” me. Not all dogs are hunters. There’s plenty of space-taking dogs running around and no one seems to mind. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/117 "2004-04-03T16:03:26Z")
> [@Boscibo](#): > > Get over it yourself. You can’t tell me (or anyone else) how to feel. There are people out there who do feel differently than you. Are you reading this, **Mr. Blue Sky**? You know what? Never mind. If you want to keep this personal, take it to the Pit - I’m checking out of this hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/118 "2004-04-03T16:06:45Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > Are you reading this, **Mr. Blue Sky**? > > You know what? Never mind. If you want to keep this personal, take it to the Pit - I’m checking out of this hijack. See ya! ---
**Author:** ![Blaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/119 "2004-04-04T05:17:32Z")
I grew up in rural Louisiana and can remember having a dog as a kid. I believe a large part of some men not liking or even hating cats actually started with their ownership of a dog that hated cats. We have all witnessed at one time or another a dog chasing a cat. It’s a basic fact of life. However, in the right situation even a cat hater can become a cat lover. I was never particularly fond of cats as a boy, but now living at home with **Blonde** and three cats my view has changed over time. Here,…Kitty, Kitty !!! ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413/120 "2004-04-04T08:20:21Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Animals.Are.Food. > They.Are.Not. Your. Friends. > Get.Over.It. > Okay? > > Really, there is something grossly wrong with you if you equate animals with people on any meaningful level. Some animals are food **for me**. Some animals can be friends **for me**. And **nowhere** did I equate animals with people on a meaningful level. Whatever that is. I will never see the world the same as you. Get. Over. It. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-especially-it-seems-men-hate-cats/237413.md?page=7)