People who "hate", "cant stand", "don't like"...CATS

hi there everyone.
This is the subject that bothers me last days.. the thing is im sure that if someone hates/cant stand/doesnt like cats/dogs/birds/ its cuz they DONT WANT to change their attitude towards these animals. i mean okay, people have their right to like/dislike different things..BUT my hubby didnt like cats! alllllllll his life! but when he understood that this is important for me, that this is my dream he overcame his feelings, and bought me a cat. cuz he loves me and can do anything for me. and guess what? NOW he loves this cute big-eared alien! sometimes he is worried about Givi even more than i do! i kno that our cat is an exemption for him..but still. i think that theres nothing impossible, people fight with their phobias and stuff, and if someone tells you that "ohhh nonono i cant live in one house with a cat!" that shows how this person treats YOU. theres nothing impossible, its just matter of willingness.

i DO really want to hear your thoughts on this matter!

Hello, and Welcome to TCS! Yes, I do feel your frustration when people say they "HATE" pets... all pets or even just cats. I don't care if you like them or not, but if you care at all about 'ME' then you'll have enough respect to 'tolerate' them as they are a part of my life... When I first met my boyfriend he told me he didn't like cats all that much. OK, that's fine, whatever. But, when we moved in together, he told me I wasn't allowed to have cats at all. Now that really bothered me. I explained to him all my reasons for liking cats and how they are important to me, such as if I had a baby! Now, 3.5 yrs later he loves PHX and all cats he meets. It seems like animals are just naturally attracted to him. I really feel that if you introduce someone new to your pet, and your pet doesn't like them AT ALL, then there is obviously something shady or suspicious about that person.. just my thoughts. Also, another story, one of our friends just moved out to Arizona to stay with us for a little while. The first thing he said when he walked in our condo was " Oh god, you guys have a furrball here?" Meaning,he didn't like cats. I was like, oh just wait till you get to know PHX, he has a personality like you've never seen. Now, 1 week later... PHX sleeps with our friend every night and they've become best buddies

I think people who don't like cats don't want them around because they scratch and destroy! They don't want to take care of them. Cats are LOVEABLE and people who don't like cats, in my opinion, are not loveable themselves.


I would rather associate with cat owners than with people who don't own cats. I find that I do not have anything in common with people (family too) who don't like/own cats. For me, it is really hard to hold a conversation with people who do not like cats. Their conversations have an emptyness that's hard for me to grasp.

I don't expect that everyone who comes to our house will love our cats, but I DO expect everyone to respect them! That's the one unbreakable rule in my house...respect every living thing under our roof. If people can't do that, they can leave...and I have asked people to leave and not come back because of it.

I've had a long-standing theory that people who don't like cats just don't like to be around anything they can't control. Of course, there is the distinct possibility that they just haven't met the right cat. My brother hated cats for years...until he met my Forest. He was completely unable to resist Forest's wobbly, funny charms. Now he's hooked...he even just got a kitten himself. (OK...he says it's for his daughter...but I've seen how he acts with that kitten, and how the kitten loves him.) In fact, Forest has won quite a few people over from the dark side.

I think people who dont like animals just need a lil more love in their lives. Daves parents arent cat people but even his dad who really dislikes cats will come over and give Herc a scratch on the head..Herc just lovesss Big Dave. We get a lot of comments from his friends who would come over for poker night about our cats just because some of them arent cat people but once they get used to the cats jumping from lap to lap and wanting attention they are fine with them. I know of one person that Herc has actually growled and hissed at and its a person that I get the heebie jeebies from (he makes me really really uncomfortable). Since that happened that guy is not allowed in our house.
When I first moved in with Dave he told me I had to wait a yr to get a cat. He wasnt a cat person and thought that they would destroy his leather furniture and said that if we got one it would have to be declawed. Until I told him what they did to declaw a cat. Now hes like a crusader to stop people from declawing their cats. His sister declawed both her cats and actually called me up to her apt to check their paws because she thought there was somethign wrong. Her vet never told her what the process was for it and when I told her she started crying and apologizing to Harley and Chopper for doing that to them. The one thing Ive realized from having pets is that Im not a happy puppy person. I havent had one since I lived with my mom and it was always my brothers dog so he mostly took care of it. It took me a while to get used to having my stuff chewed up and getting into dog mode. Its a lot diff compared to being able to let a cat occupy himself when he wants to. Bruno was the destroyer of the leather couch. He chewed across the back cusions and ripped all the stuffing out. The cats have NEVER scratch a single piece of furniture. They seem to prefer the walls...LOL.

Originally Posted by AZ<3Me

hi there everyone.
This is the subject that bothers me last days.. the thing is im sure that if someone hates/cant stand/doesnt like cats/dogs/birds/ its cuz they DONT WANT to change their attitude towards these animals. i mean okay, people have their right to like/dislike different things..BUT my hubby didnt like cats! alllllllll his life! but when he understood that this is important for me, that this is my dream he overcame his feelings, and bought me a cat. cuz he loves me and can do anything for me. and guess what? NOW he loves this cute big-eared alien! sometimes he is worried about Givi even more than i do! i kno that our cat is an exemption for him..but still. i think that theres nothing impossible, people fight with their phobias and stuff, and if someone tells you that "ohhh nonono i cant live in one house with a cat!" that shows how this person treats YOU. theres nothing impossible, its just matter of willingness.

i DO really want to hear your thoughts on this matter!

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I am ignorant of golf. When it comes on TV, I quickly change the channels. The thing is, I have never been exposed to golf. Had I ever been exposed to golf, my attitude might be quite different. And so it is with cats. I have found that most people that hate cats have in fact, never been exposed to living with a cat. People just tend to not like anything they do not understand or have not been educated on and cats are no exception. Twenty years ago I was the same way towards cats. I only understood dogs. My wife announced to me one day that I was getting a cat for my birthday. I considered this to be a low down mean trick at the time! After a couple of months, my attitude did a complete turn around. For the last ten years I have had nothing but cats. (I still love dogs.)

Originally Posted by Tari

I've had a long-standing theory that people who don't like cats just don't like to be around anything they can't control.

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OMG this is soooooo true! i just dont understand how this need of controlling can be stronger than love and affection to family/friends? i personally prefer cats to all other pets, there are a lot of reasons why but if someone i love want to bring home guinea-pig, for instance , i will keep my opinion to myself.. i dunno, i cant get it..and i absolutely agree that it is very difficult to communicate with someone who doesnt like animals and cats in particular..the interesting thing is that i met more women who doesnt like cats, rather than men...

Originally Posted by Persi & Alley

I am ignorant of golf. When it comes on TV, I quickly change the channels. The thing is, I have never been exposed to golf. Had I ever been exposed to golf, my attitude might be quite different. And so it is with cats. I have found that most people that hate cats have in fact, never been exposed to living with a cat. People just tend to not like anything they do not understand or have not been educated on and cats are no exception. Twenty years ago I was the same way towards cats. I only understood dogs. My wife announced to me one day that I was getting a cat for my birthday. I considered this to be a low down mean trick at the time! After a couple of months, my attitude did a complete turn around. For the last ten years I have had nothing but cats.

(I still love dogs.)

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the thing is that i know the person, who lived with cat 1.5 months, and didnt stop even for a day to find another home for it (it was a 3-5 days old stray kitten, i was a full-tiime "kitten"-sitter)) ). when kitty tried to play or cuddle that person jumped away screaming "TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME!" i cant find any explanation to this..

Growing up I was the only one in my family that loved animals. My parents tried to shut me up by getting various smaller low-key pets (goldfish, turtles, hamster, bird. etc.) finally when I was 8 or 9 we got a cat. It was kept in the finished basement, I was responsible for its care. I think my Dad was a closeted cat lover but my Mother and Sister were never comfortable around animals, they were not abusive just not interested. To this day my sister is uncomfortable around my cats. When she comes to visit I put them in the bedroom. I have to respect her feelings. Hey, I don't like and have never wanted babies-most people think that's weird and unnatural.

The women I know who don't like cats are extremely self-centered. They're into fashion, trips and accessorizing themselves. They're willing to have dogs because a little chihuahua can be toted around and people will look just because they have a dog as an accessory. I feel bad for those dogs because they'll never get the love they deserve.

I know people who are afraid of animals in general, people who are ridiculously allergic, people who just plain old don't like animals, or cats...

I don't really care how my friends feel about them. I have put Zissou in the bedroom too, because for a couple hours it isn't that big of a deal for her.

But anyone I would think of dating, has to like Zissou. Not really an option.

The funniest reason I've ever heard has been someone who didn't like cats because they were sneaky. I have never met a sneaky cat in my life, you alwasy know their intentions just sometimes it's not what you want it to be!

The thing I don't like about a lot of people that hate cats is that they can't just keep it too themselves. They seem to have to start talking about how nasty cats are and then (usually) how dogs are much better as if they're trying to change my mind.

I mean usually if it's obvious that someone loves something I don't like I just keep it to myself rather than try to argue with the person about it. (Unless it's a declawing enthuaist or something like that).

I also agree with the person that said that often people who say they hate cats have control issues and don't seem to be able to cope with the idea of a creature you can't force to do stuff and control.

Never met a sneaky cat...Bubba is a sneaky lil booger...He likes to try and silently climb up my comp chair to sit on my shoulder. His new fav position.

Originally Posted by Tari

I've had a long-standing theory that people who don't like cats just don't like to be around anything they can't control. .

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I had man tell me once that I should never trust men who don't like cats. Said if they don't like cats, they won't like women. For the same reason you stated, they are "uncontrollable".

I work with men who love to tell stories about how they booted, kicked, swung, threw, tossed or otherwise did something to cats. They seem to think these are manly things to do. They no longer dare to speak of such things around me.

One time, there was a new guy who was telling some type of anti-cat story. I listened wide-eyed and all feminine-like, hanging on his every word. When he finished, I responded , all breathless, with something like, "Wow, you mean big ol' 200 lb you got the best of a little ol' 10 lb cat? Ohhh you are a big brave man! Please let me have your babies!" Then proceded to tell him that studies prove most serial killers enjoy torturing animals and asked if he has a history of burying his dates after a nice evening out. Almost felt sorry for him. He wasn't with our company long.

As for people who just don't like, can't stand or hate cats I choose to not be around them. Their reasons are never valid to me. To hate something for simply being what it is shows a certain amount of immaturity I find disturbing in adults.

I don't mind if people just "don't like" cats - to each his own; I'm not crazy about dogs or kids. However, people like mentioned above, who go out of their way to brag about having abused cats, or even people who "hate" cats - I can't deal with people like that. And definately, if they come in MY house, then I expect them to treat my cats with respect. As for dating/marraige, I wouldn't even consider a man who didn't love cats.

Originally Posted by Bob'sMom

The women I know who don't like cats are extremely self-centered. They're into fashion, trips and accessorizing themselves. They're willing to have dogs because a little chihuahua can be toted around and people will look just because they have a dog as an accessory. I feel bad for those dogs because they'll never get the love they deserve.

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I agree! All of the women that I know who don't own a cat take many trips and are into fashion. I dress reasonably, but not high fashion. One time while visiting family, I got a comment on my apparel because I was not up-to-date with the latest fashion. They were up-to-date with the latest even tho it was not very modest especially for being married. I just let it go and was praying for the day we got back home to be with my pets.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

One time, there was a new guy who was telling some type of anti-cat story. I listened wide-eyed and all feminine-like, hanging on his every word. When he finished, I responded , all breathless, with something like, "Wow, you mean big ol' 200 lb you got the best of a little ol' 10 lb cat? Ohhh you are a big brave man! Please let me have your babies!" Then proceded to tell him that studies prove most serial killers enjoy torturing animals and asked if he has a history of burying his dates after a nice evening out. Almost felt sorry for him. He wasn't with our company long.

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I am laughing so loud the neighbors probably think I'm crazy.

Although I've gotten similar reactions, every time I bested the escape cat and exclaimed "Haha I'm smarter than you!" my BIL would always say "Oh, good for you, you outsmarted something with a brain the size of a walnut".

Did the guy turn about beet red? Cry? Wilt like a dandylion?

My DH was never a cat person because his family never had any pets growing up, and just didn't understand them. The first kitty we had together was his first pet, and he'd found his new best friend. He's still always against getting cats, but when we do, he always takes care of them, and loves when a cat falls head over heels for him (ie. as Smudge does).

His parents are visiting from Australia for a few weeks, and are coming and going from our house to see the US, and it's very interesting watching his mother interact with the cats.

It's as someone else said - they don't like what they can't control. She has always tried to control every aspect of her children's lives (she was opening my BIL's mail when he was living at home, and would go searching through his room and looking through his phone bills to see what he was upto).

She freaks out when our cats do anything other than just sleep. She screamed when Stumpy leaped from the scratching post on to the couch near where she was sitting, and told Smudge to "GET OFF THAT you horrid cat" when Smudge was sitting on an album I'd left on the floor - I told her that Smudge was perfectly fine sitting on my album, she wasn't doing any damage, so why SHOULD she move?

She's regularly yelling to us "the cat's doing blah", and we say "And?". If the cats aren't damaging anything, and Stumpy isn't in the few spots she's not supposed to be (kitchen counter, dining table), we don't really care what they do.

She does pat them though (usually with her foot... ), and she definitely is making an effort, but she hates the uncontrollable aspect.

I don't mind if people say they don't like cats, because I'm not a big fan of dogs or children. We're all allowed to not like something, but HATING something for no good reason, and even to the point of abusing it is insane. I refuse to associate myself with people who hate cats. Cats are a big part of my life and I don't want to be with people who hate a part of who I am.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

One time, there was a new guy who was telling some type of anti-cat story. I listened wide-eyed and all feminine-like, hanging on his every word. When he finished, I responded , all breathless, with something like, "Wow, you mean big ol' 200 lb you got the best of a little ol' 10 lb cat? Ohhh you are a big brave man! Please let me have your babies!" Then proceded to tell him that studies prove most serial killers enjoy torturing animals and asked if he has a history of burying his dates after a nice evening out. Almost felt sorry for him. He wasn't with our company long.

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I'd have asked him if he wet the bed as a child, too.

I can respect that people don't like cats. I don't like birds, personally. Their movements kind of creep me out. And I'm irrationally afraid of spiders. So, I get it: not everyone is a cat person. But abusing them because you think it's the manly or "cool" thing to do? Just not cool.

Almost all of my friends are crazy cat people. In my immediate circle of friends, there are twice as many cats are there are humans (and that's not including the mama cat and kittens one friend is currently fostering). There are other animals, too: rats, snakes, degus (degases? degas?), ferrets, dogs, horses ... But cats are very prominent. J and I agreed, together, that we wanted to have cats. We both like dogs and other animals, but cats suit our lifestyle better. I can't conceive of being in a relationship where I couldn't have cats in my home and in my life. (I also can't conceive of a relationship where my partner would "forbid" me to own a cat, but that has more to do with my personal rebellion over anyone trying to "forbid" me to do anything I wanted to do than it does with my love for cats.)

All in all, although I "get" that people might not like cats, I don't really understand people who aren't cat people. Sometimes it's like they're a completely different species. I mean, how can you not like cats? No secret is so terrible that you can't confide it to a cat. Five minutes with a purring cat can erase an entire day's worth of crappiness. What's not to love? Spike, at his most annoying (which is pretty darn annoying!), is still better than a lot of people I know.