Cats........

So it's kinda funny... lately my friends have been posting any sort of cat-related picture they can find to my wall on facebook. I don't know how this started, or how long it will last, but it is quite entertaining, let me tell you! :)

But it's also got me thinking (because for some reason I do think a lot about stupid things like this): where did the whole stereotype of the freaky cat lady come from?

It's quite silly if you think about it. Just... why?

Perhaps it has something to do with our society's ancestral roots in Europe/Puritan days (whichever one is more accurate) where cats were often associated with the occult, befriending witches, and acting as mediators between Satan and his followers. It wasn't uncommon to throw some random cat in with a witch being burned at the stake.

Of course, we don't usually tend to associate cats and witches in any literal, serious sense anymore, but there's this negative connotation around them.

And that having a preference for cats is also considered more feminine than masculine, so "generally speaking" women are more prone to accept cats... and things that are stereo-typically more "feminine" don't always get put on the same pedestal as their superior "masculine" interests, correct?

Now on the one hand we get the image of pink little girls playing with their fluffy kittens, and we all feel warm and fuzzy inside because it's just so darn cute! But little girls is one thing. Where adults are concerned (male or female), liking cats over dogs seems to be associated with being shy, reclusive, socially-awkward, weird, and hopelessly single... especially if you're an old lady who just happens to have a few of them.

I understand that dogs, in some people's eyes, will always remain superior to cats, and that's fine. But my question is, in light of this rather common stereotype....

What exactly is wrong with liking cats? I mean really, what? And how does liking cats automatically make someone weird?

I mean sure, the image of the senial old lady with 50 cats is pretty crazy... but the fanaticism does go both ways. Think about it....

Am I the only one who thinks it's crazy that some people carry around their little toy dogs everywhere in their purses?

Or how some people spoil their dogs rotten by treating them as if they were actual people instead of pets?

Or how people dress them up?

Or have whole spas dedicated to giving their dogs make overs and manicures?

Or wonder how the heck Dog Shows ever became an entertainment or sport?

Heck, there are even reality shows on Animal Planet about people and their dogs-- one of which is called "It's Me or the Dog" (because apparently some people really let themselves become controlled by their dogs that it ruins their relationships!)

And HOW DARE anyone deviate from the fanaticism of dog-lovers, and choose cats over their objects of worship!

I mean come on, how is any of that not crazy on their part? Why is it more acceptable to be dog-crazy than cat-crazy?

It all seems to go back to the image of the crazy cat lady! Dogs don't have this stigma against them like cats do. Cats are seen as cold, unloving, solitary, selfish, and sinister. I guess that all just comes as part of the baggage for those who have a preference for cats, especially where old ladies are concerned. Here you have this sad image of an old lady living and eventually dying alone, surrounded only by cats (which, IMO, would be more of a reflection of society rather than the cats, but I digress).

So basically it all seems to be a bit of a progression away from the witch, while still maintaining much of the original stigma.

Yes, that poor old lady cast off by the rest of society whose only comfort comes from yet another outcast: cats.

Then again, that actually makes for a very interesting point when you look at animal hoarding.

Usually, hoarding happens because there's some kind of underlying issue with the person rather than simply liking the animal itself, mentally and/or emotionally.

Many cases of excessive animal obsessions stem from the subject feeling aloof or "different" from other people. He/she feels like they can't relate to them, that they are outcasts, and then they come to find solace in animals who love unconditionally-- without the artificial boundaries humans set.

Or it gives them a feeling of power and control. That they can master nature, get in touch with the animal in them, get that adrenaline rush, be God, etc.

Or it could have just started as an innocent desire to nurture and protect that soon became out of control.

The hoarding fills some kind of need or void in the person. They somehow feel as though it is the animal who truly understands them, or that they can see themselves in the animal. So along come cats. They are different. They are rejected, and despised.... hmmmmm, I wonder what a psychological study would have to say about this!

But then again, animal hoarding doesn't just happen with cats. We hear a lot about cases of cat hoarding not so much because those who like cats have a higher chance of becoming crazy like that, but rather, because cats are one of those animals that's simply easier to hoard. We also hear about it more because of our predisposition to stereotype the freaky cat lady in the first place. That doesn't mean other cases don't happen with other animals. It can happen just as much with dogs, snakes, birds, insects, even big exotic animals.

Simply liking any of those animals does not make one crazy. It really just comes down to how you approach and treat the animal. Cats included, and believe me, there are plenty of cat-lovers out there who are capable of controlling themselves when faced with the option of owning dozens of them, despite the sentiments of this lady here.

But then again, perhaps anything I say, no matter how valid, will only further the resolve of people who already think I'm crazy for liking cats, so maybe I should just stop talking now. :)