Why do so many people hate cats?

Why do so many people hate kitties? Even in the media, cats are more often that not portrayed as bad, like in the movie Cats and Dogs, and cartoons like Tom & Jerry.

I have no idea why some people don't like cats. And I never thought about it but you're right; Cats are many times portrayed as devious and mean and ornery.

As far as how cats are portrayed in movies or cartoons, etc... Take the cat in Stuart Little, for example - At first he comes off as a snooty grouch potato —next thing your know, he becomes a timid sweet heart, who helps save Stuart's life and they end up best friend. Now there's a sweet cat portrayal, LOL!

I think overall cats are portrayed as devious and ornery because they just are at times... Look how cats are portrayed in cat litter or cat food commercials. Those commercials almost always depict the happy, sweet and healthy family cat ...

I took an art history class my last semester at school and found some interesting information about cats and dogs.. OK, apparently, if there is a dog in the painting it represents faithfulness, love, loyalty, etc. So if there is a picture of a naked woman with a dog, it means she is chaste and loyal whatever, if there is a wedding picture with a dog it means that there is strong love and faithfulnesses between the two..

Cats, on the other hand, represent sneakiness, wanton sexuality, general meaness, untrustworthiness, whtever. So if there is a naked woman pictured with a cat it means she's a hooker.

I'm not sure why. But we had to study paintings from very long ago and it was consistent from atleast 1600+ that these roles are assigned to animals.

Same with a lot of books, the dog is
"Mans best friend" and the cat is the
evil, sneaky creature.

Dean Koontz loves to portray dogs as
the heroes and cats as nasty creatures.
Like in The Vision one of his books
theres a cat in there that the cop
wants to kick out at becuase it's
a nasty creature.


I've wondered the same thing since I'm a
big cat lover and have never thought of them
as anything but perfect animals.

I think it has something to do with the cat's independent spirit. For a long time, people tried to bend animals to their will, heck, some still do. Cats just won't have that, part of why I love them. Cats were also linked with witches for a long time, so that has to be part of it too.

The interesting thing is that the bubonic plague that killed so many people was partly due to the lack of cats. Peopl killed cats, because they were witches' familiars. The plague was carried by rats, I guess the fleas on the rats actually. If there had been more cats to kill the rats, the plague might not have been so bad.

It's an interesting question...I've personally always been perplexed when people tell me "oh, I don't like cats, I'm more of a dog person"...it's not like there's a law or anything

I happen to love cats AND dogs...but some people seem to think it's one or the other.

SIGH...i know plenty of people who hate cats...i told someone at work last month that i had had a poor night's sleep because my kittens were a bit rambunctious and woke me up several times...her reply?

WHY NOT GET RID OF THOSE DAMN CATS?

hello? i LOVE those "damn" cats, thank you very much! and anyone who's met them thinks they are the SWEETEST little babies ever. they love to cuddle and give kisses.

Sigh...cats have just gotten a bad name.....

Those people aren't comfortable with them for some reason. I know that hubby doesn't like them because he had a couple of them harm him when he was little (they didn't do it on purpose and he doesn't understand what they really were doing--one was kneading bread and had claws). His family also never really had a family pet.

Other people, like my ex, like to control everything and you can't do that to a cat. They think that if you can't control something and it doesn't make you into a god then it's a terrible thing.

My Dad had never had a cat and had only come across the barn cats (which were a little more aloof than a house cat), but when he owned his first house cat he fell in love with them. He is the catmeister in our family now.

I dont like people that dont like cats.

Because cats are misunderstood, hard to read, and independent by nature. There is always something wrong with a person that your cat refuses to get near.

When my ex was trying to get back with me he came over to my house and tried to pet Toes and Toes promptly bit him and drew blood. My ex said, "There's something wrong with that cat."

I said, "I don't think so. He has good reason to not like you."

Toes always has had good taste in people. He likes hubby even though hubby doesn't really like cats so I figure hubby is okay and will learn to like cats like my Dad did.

That's what I love about cats.
They do what they want when they
want and nobody tells them what
to do lol

I also love the funny looks Spaz
gives me when I try and call her sometimes,
she'll just look at me like "what do you want"
and look away lol

I've always loved cats so I find it hard
to understand why anyone can hate them.

Cats also seem to make new people around
them earn their trust.

I was a "dog" person. It took two years for my landlord to convince me to get a cat. My standard answer was always, but I don't like cats! I was always raised with dogs, and even though there were friends with cats that I was quite happy with, I never thought I would like to have one.

There is a vast misconception about the nature of cats among people who don't have any. I thought they were such independent creatures there was not much point in having one as a pet, they merely occupy the same space as humans, but don't care to interact.

My cats follow me around. They wait for me to come home at night. They stand on the stairs telling me their day, and telling me off if I am home late. They just wait for me to sit down so they can sit beside me, or watch me do nothing at all. They let me know what they think of everything that happens in our little world. I cannot imagine how these creatures can possibly fit the preconceived image I had of them.

So where does that image come from? I think from other people who have had cats, and who didn't bother to get to know them and bond with them.

As my sister told her dog, you're lucky we got you first, because if we had gotten a cat, we would never have bothered to get a dog at all.

My theory is that people who hate cats are intimidated because most cats are smarter than they are.

LOL--I love some of these comments.

My favorite dogs have always been ones that were human-like (cat-like?). I don't like dogs that are just big stupid animals, I used to babysit 2 dogs: one was super smart and human and the other was a big stupid animal. I felt bad for the big stupid one. Just imagine all the stuff he was missing!

Originally posted by valanhb
My theory is that people who hate cats are intimidated because most cats are smarter than they are.

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Originally posted by hissy
Because cats are misunderstood, hard to read, and independent by nature. There is always something wrong with a person that your cat refuses to get near.

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I TOTALLY agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by valanhb
My theory is that people who hate cats are intimidated because most cats are smarter than they are.

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Hear Hear!

Originally posted by valanhb
My theory is that people who hate cats are intimidated because most cats are smarter than they are.

Click to expand...

LMAO I think I like this theory the best!!