How Do You Deal With Cat Haters?

[Anne]

When you come across someone who hates cats and expresses their distaste it can be very annoying and frustrating. What do you do when that happens? Any tips for handling or dealing with cat haters?
If you can share specific stories about how you handled a cat hater in a social situation that would be great too! Thanks!

 

[FlawlessImperfection]

My father is a great and wonderful man, but his dislike for cats is legendary (stemming from his allergies). He has a cartoon book we bought him when I was a kid called “101 uses for a dead cat”, he loved it. He grumbles and growls, and jokes and annoys, but he would never hurt one, it’s just his sense of intelligent gallows humour drives him to find new ways to rib all cat owners. My uncle (his brother) and aunt have always owned a cat, and dad always insults it. Last summer my uncle put dad’s Porsche in his garage during dinner at their house to keep it out of the elements. My uncle saw his cat Bode immediately settle on the warm hood, and was terrified- but being my fathers brother in sick humour, just left the cat and laughed all night..... until dad went to move the car- then we ALL laughed as he screamed and laughed and blustered. Now Bode is under threat to be used as a wash mitt to clean his paw prints from every car in the area. It’s actually great fun to annoy him, we will start family texts about the wonderful cat. However, now WE have gotten a cat that he doesn’t know about yet, and at 39 I’m STILL afraid to tell him! When he comes home next month I’ve been trying to figure out how to break the news? So, my son and I bought 3 little picture frames we are going to put his picture in, and create a little shrine to him hanging on the wall right above the cats food and water dishes. So I’m hoping he will be laughing too hard to yell at me, or at Princess Buttercup Maria EDWARD.
I suppose I should post a picture when I finish his shrine....

 

[1 bruce 1]

I ignore them and won't solicit a discussion involving cats, and if they become hateful about cats, I walk away.
If someone doesn't like cats or is so-so about them, or has no opinion due to lack of experience or perhaps fear, that's one thing. I just tell them they're not dogs, but are interesting and trainable and leave it at that.
But the rare person that gets downright hateful and will willingly tell someone they know is a cat owner and cat lover that they go out of their way to poison them, shoot them, hit them with cars, etc., is someone that has some severe anger and emotional issues that will probably be a danger to society at some point...JMO.

 

[FlawlessImperfection]

I ignore them and won't solicit a discussion involving cats, and if they become hateful about cats, I walk away.
If someone doesn't like cats or is so-so about them, or has no opinion due to lack of experience or perhaps fear, that's one thing. I just tell them they're not dogs, but are interesting and trainable and leave it at that.
But the rare person that gets downright hateful and will willingly tell someone they know is a cat owner and cat lover that they go out of their way to poison them, shoot them, hit them with cars, etc., is someone that has some severe anger and emotional issues that will probably be a danger to society at some point...JMO.

That is a person I’m glad I’ve not run across. *shudder*

 

[Katie M]

My dad *tolerates* cats. Three of my childhood cats in a row joined us while he was at work or out of town, and while he may have grumbled upon coming home and finding yet another new cat in the house, he never said they couldn't stay. He prefers dogs, though.

I don't think I've ever met a true cat hater. I will say I don't understand them, but then I take after my mom's side of the family, which has always swarmed with cats.

 

[1 bruce 1]

That is a person I’m glad I’ve not run across. *shudder*

Rare, but they exist =(

 

[FlawlessImperfection]

Rare, but they exist =(

Thank heavens for the “rare”. :/

 

[Livak]

Don’t engage them, they don’t want their mind changed.
Recently had an overly long conversation with an older man who was explaining why cats were useless and selfish (a classmate had brought me an unused scratching post is how it all came up) .

He didn’t want to be convinced, I don’t care enough about his opinion to attempt changing it so was very much each to their own.
He would not give it up though, went on and on. . A classmate, to diffuse the situation, said something like “it’s interesting a lot of older Irish men dislike cats” and I got to say “yeah, they can’t stand something fighting for attention from something as selfish as them”. He threw his hands up and walked off. WIN!

Interestingly though, another classmate who did not like cats at all, has said from hearing about our Dodger and Shinobi, and other classmates cats, that he didn’t realise they had such personality and now he asks to see pics and videos and tells me all about his crazy dog.

 

[surya]

I can't even talk sense into people who like cats. This lady became homeless because she broke up with her boyfriend. She dumped her cat out in the woods. I tried to convince her to go back and get it and I would feed the cat for her. I tried to explain it would probably be a coyotes dinner. She wouldn't listen to me, she just kept interrupting me and insisting her cat was fine. I run into cat haters all the time, I just change the subject.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

During a party at my parent's house a boy that came with his parents saw one of my mother's (very docile) cats and started shrieking saying he was scared of cats. Instead of shooing him outside where the rest of the party was; I started talking to him about cats. I explained how the noises and movements he makes can seem scary to the cats too. I explained how to talk and move around a cat. I explained a little about their body language. I didn't push him to go closer to the cats; but I figured educating him would go a lot farther than just telling him the cats wouldn't hurt him or making him feel his feelings were not valid. I figured a kid who is scared of cats becomes a man who hates cats.

 

[Kat0121]

My mother doesn't HATE cats but she definitely does not like them. To my knowledge, there is no rational reason for this. Her excuse was always, "Cats are sneaky". Even as a very young child I knew she was wrong. She would never harm ANY animal she just does not like being around cats. I have wanted a cat for as long as I can ever remember wanting anything. She would never let me have one.

I don't trust anyone who hates cats and as soon as someone told me that that was how they felt, I'd pretty much stay away from them. If it were not for that reason, there are likely other things about them that would make me feel the same way.

Once people decide that they do not like cats, pretty much nothing can change that except for meeting the right cat. Of course this would not work in the case of someone who would deliberately cause a cat harm just for being a cat. I think many of us have met someone who thought they didn't like cats until one showed up in their life and before they knew it, they were drinking their morning coffee out of a cat mug while surfing Amazon for the purrfect cat tree and the most comfy little bed for their new feline owner.

 

[Neo_23]

I try not to associate with people who don't like cats unless I really have to...

 

[surya]

I try not to associate with people who don't like cats unless I really have to...

Me too, If somebody tells me they hate cats, mentally I think, we can never be friends.

 

[Kieka]

I generally don't engage if I know they are actively anti-cat on cat related subjects. I tend to talk about my cats like they are my kids so people tend to hear half a dozen stories and then mention they don't like cats. Funny thing is, Link and Rocket stories have converted quiet a few people (at least to my face) that not all cats fit that negative stereotype. Especially a few of the more adventurous Link tales.

Honestly, I tend to avoid people who can't keep their negativity in check. Or at least, engage in a civil discussion about our different opinions. I think the most anti-cat type discussion I've had with someone was when a co-worker told me very proudly that he had his catdeclawed because it's what his family had always done. I didn't engage with the coworker whose kitten got crushed by a ladder and "the thing was free so why would I pay for a vet? I'll just get her a new one." In fact, I haven't talked to that particular person in two years because of his comment. Not just because it was a cat but the disregard for a life.

 

[FlawlessImperfection]

I generally don't engage if I know they are actively anti-cat on cat related subjects. I tend to talk about my cats like they are my kids so people tend to hear half a dozen stories and then mention they don't like cats. Funny thing is, Link and Rocket stories have converted quiet a few people (at least to my face) that not all cats fit that negative stereotype. Especially a few of the more adventurous Link tales.

Honestly, I tend to avoid people who can't keep their negativity in check. Or at least, engage in a civil discussion about our different opinions. I think the most anti-cat type discussion I've had with someone was when a co-worker told me very proudly that he had his catdeclawed because it's what his family had always done. I didn't engage with the coworker whose kitten got crushed by a ladder and "the thing was free so why would I pay for a vet? I'll just get her a new one." In fact, I haven't talked to that particular person in two years because of his comment. Not just because it was a cat but the disregard for a life.

Oh my goodness how horrible! I guess I’ve been blissfully untainted by true hate, ugh!

 

[1 bruce 1]

One of my elder, distant family members I only knew in my childhood (they passed away) always disliked cats. They were respectful enough to us children to not say anything bad, but (I later learned) routinely told my parents to get rid of our cats. Thankfully they never listened.
I later learned this person had a cat in their earlier years that was their surrogate child. The cat had free access to the entire house, ate off the counter tops, was spoiled and loved and adored and was this persons baby. The cat died at a young age, very suddenly (I don't know what the cause of death was) and it seems this person decided to harden their hearts to the species.
Very sad IMO.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I generally don't engage if I know they are actively anti-cat on cat related subjects. I tend to talk about my cats like they are my kids so people tend to hear half a dozen stories and then mention they don't like cats. Funny thing is, Link and Rocket stories have converted quiet a few people (at least to my face) that not all cats fit that negative stereotype. Especially a few of the more adventurous Link tales.

Honestly, I tend to avoid people who can't keep their negativity in check. Or at least, engage in a civil discussion about our different opinions. I think the most anti-cat type discussion I've had with someone was when a co-worker told me very proudly that he had his catdeclawed because it's what his family had always done. I didn't engage with the coworker whose kitten got crushed by a ladder and "the thing was free so why would I pay for a vet? I'll just get her a new one." In fact, I haven't talked to that particular person in two years because of his comment. Not just because it was a cat but the disregard for a life.

Agreed.
"The thing was free". My God. This goes to show how people view cats anymore and it's really disgusting IMO.
I don't expect anyone to be as obsessive about their pet cats as we are but sheesh. If that person knew we'd spent over 2K on our asthmatic cat in the last 5 months alone they'd probably have an aneurysm.

Poor suckers is all I can say...maybe to them a cat or dog is "just a cat (or dog)" but we know better.

A life is a life. Nice people don't rank order life by the purchase price. Someone should inform this douche canoe of this fact but I doubt he would listen...

 

[FlawlessImperfection]

One of my elder, distant family members I only knew in my childhood (they passed away) always disliked cats. They were respectful enough to us children to not say anything bad, but (I later learned) routinely told my parents to get rid of our cats. Thankfully they never listened.
I later learned this person had a cat in their earlier years that was their surrogate child. The cat had free access to the entire house, ate off the counter tops, was spoiled and loved and adored and was this persons baby. The cat died at a young age, very suddenly (I don't know what the cause of death was) and it seems this person decided to harden their hearts to the species.
Very sad IMO.

You make a very good point, if we take the time (and patience) to discover a “mean” person is really a “hurting” person, we may be able to help them and cats. I try to remind myself of this in general, patience and love are powerful tools to effect positive change in all sorts of lives, and can make them happy, healthy and maybe longer too.

 

[kmbishop111]

I try to sit back and genuinely listen to what the person is saying. I try to pick up on the underlying reason for dislike/hate for our feline friends. Sometimes they'll go thru 5 or 6 "surface" stories, then usually the real reason makes itself apparent. By letting them voice their opinions, uninterrupted, I find they are more receptive to listening to mine. I try to empathize with the valid points they raise and suggest things to help that makes sense to them. I always throw in a couple independent, unbelievable cat tails that may give them a new respect for felines in general. If I can turn it around to in some way compare likenesses and commonalities it usually works out favorably.

Then their are "the other ones." I don't entertain pure cruelty and evil. These are the ones that more times than not move on to humans and nothing you can say or do will change the mind of a psychopath. Steer clear.

 

[Winchester]

Fortunately, I don't remember ever coming across somebody who truly hated cats. I do know people who are deathly afraid of cats. The family who used to live next door to us didn't like cats and the woman was afraid of them. Evidently, a kitten tried to climb up her dress when she was a little girl and it completely freaked her out. She came into our house and said, "Oh! Oh no! You have cats!" And she starting screaming (and I do mean screaming). And, of course, her little girls picked up on that right away and they got scared. I basically said, "Look, yeah, we have cats. They're not going to hurt you. They do like to play, but that's all it is. They're OK. Honest." The little girls were curious about our furkids and, eventually they were fine with the cats. And I will say that, when Hydrox got breast cancer and had had a major operation, Rick was away on union business and it was just me at the house during a bad ice storm, when I needed help with Hydrox and called my neighbor, she came right over and helped me. No questions asked.

When Da Pumpkin Boy passed away and I was so distraught, a girl at work told a friend that, "My god, it's just a cat." I don't even consider that cat-hating behavior. I think it's just that she doesn't like animals. Period. I did try to talk to her, but we didn't get anywhere. She's now in her mid-40s and, you know, she never got married. She was in a couple relationships, but they never seemed to work out. There was always something wrong. And as strange as this may sound, I've kind of wondered if it all ties in together sometimes. She doesn't understand what it's like to love and be loved unconditionally. She never "got it" either.

My dad wasn't a cat person, but he tolerated them. When Mom first got Cuddles, he said she had to stay outside in the garage. And one night it got really cold. Mom came home from work and found Dad asleep on the couch with his arms wrapped around Cuddles, who was lying on his chest. And that was the end of Cuddles staying out in the garage.