Article: Why Does the Web Love Cats?

If you haven't noticed, cats are big on the Internet. Even though the occasional panda, turtle or slow loris gets a slice of the viral action, cats are, and always have been, the prevalent species to be found online.

So why is it that the collective web is a "cat person," so to speak? Why are there so many kitty pics and videos cluttering up the Interwebs? And what is it about feline-themed content that makes it so weirdly shareable?

Link to full article:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/mil...ry?id=11946664

Interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

Not one single mention of 4chan. Anything that gets started on there (and sometimes it only takes a handful of people to start it) spreads out through the internet. Lots of less "cute" things have went viral from it - sadly that has always been the driving force behind the odder cat stuff online.

I didn't have time to read the whole article and will go back to do it, but from my perspective, cats tend to be villified in the media, especially on the web, and I spend a heck of a lot of time dispelling myths about cats and attacking bogus research about cats and cat predation.

Originally Posted by LDG

I didn't have time to read the whole article and will go back to do it, but from my perspective, cats tend to be villified in the media, especially on the web, and I spend a heck of a lot of time dispelling myths about cats and attacking bogus research about cats and cat predation.

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The difference here has to do with demographic. A lot of the people you deal with will be older. Those responsible for (cute cat stuff) 4chan's meme's, Caturday, and the offspring sites are... well, kids. Mostly in the 14-24 range, with a lot of them being male. If you want to trace it further back it goes back to Japanese forums and image boards (like 2chan) - different culture, likes cute things, etc. Maru chan's vids on youtube are an example of that.

Cute article. I was a little surprised at no mention of Maru.

Cats may be more popular than other animals on the internet, but offline, people tend to be crueler to cats than they are to dogs. Nothing scientific. Just my own experience and observation. People who don't hate cats often view them as pests that kill birds and scavenge from trash bins.

Even people who own cats don't do the right thing for their little ones. Empirical data shows dog owners frequent vets more often than cat owners. When a cat does go to the vet, it is often seriously ill and near its end.

Don't even get me started on those who declaw their cats and allow them to roam the neighborhood day and night.

So when I read articles like this, I just role my eyes. It's how people treat them offline that matters to me.