Cats and Lovers

I made this statement in a comment on yesterday’s post about cats: Personally, I think a man who does not like cats has other issues to deal with - cats are some sort of threat to some men’s manliness.

Buck questioned my comment making me have to think about it a little deeper. Yep, I think I will stick to my statement. I did use the "some men" not "all men" in my statement – so don’t take this personally. And keep in mind that this is just my theory or MHO.

There are some men who just prefer dogs, but they don’t necessarily have anything against cats and will tolerate them. I have known people who have had some sort of traumatic experience with a cat (just as there are people who have had traumatic experiences with dogs) and therefore have a true hate/mistrust for cats. But some men have said, "I don’t like cats" and have never really been around cats or the few cats that they have been around were not great cats (I’ve been around some cats and dogs that I really disliked). Just like there are great dogs and not so great dogs, the same can be said of cats. Cats have distinct personalities and should not be lumped together in to one large "I hate all cats." I don’t think these men really hate all cats; I think they are just mistaken and need to be enlightened. The question is - are they willing.

So why would men have an issue with cats, but not dogs? Cats are stereotyped as feminine. The Media has shown them to be "women’s animals." You see commercials and sitcoms where some boyfriend has to "put up with" his girlfriend’s cat. George Strait sang a song with the line, "She thinks I like her cat, but you know me better than that." It is true that sometimes the media will use some fluffy small dog with bows in its hair for this part, but mostly cats are portrayed as "a woman’s animal." Because cats are supposed to be feminine, men who try to be macho tend to stay away from cats. Like men who refuse to carry an umbrella, even in a downpour, because it is considered "girlie," there are men who refuse to "like cats" for fear that someone will be mistaken about their manhood (this may be subconscious). I think these men already have problems with their manhood and are mistaken about what is manly and what isn’t. They probably do not know women very well either and are possibly not willing to be enlightened there either.

I have known a couple of men who were hunter/trappers and did not like cats because cats are also hunter/trappers. I think cats are a threat to the men’s hunting ability – sort of rivals. I would say that is an issue of their manliness. In both cases the men were also bird watchers and since some cats kill birds, the men did not like cats. I have had some cats that never killed any birds or mice or anything, while I have had dogs that would kill rodents and some birds that landed in the yard. Yet both of these men liked dogs – just not cats. Why is that? It doesn’t seem very fair.

I have been bringing home cats since I was a little girl. My father was not a big animal lover. We always had a dog, but it was pretty much an outside dog that was only allowed in the house on rare occasions. I doubt if Dad really liked cats very much, but still, I kept bringing them home, and he tolerated my love for cats. I loved my Daddy for that. When I was dating Toby, he said he was not a cat lover. So, I brought him a kitten – sort of a test. Toby loved that cat, and I loved Toby. It was important to me that my man be flexible, willing to try things, willing to love what I loved. It made me willing to be flexible about what he loved. A man who says, "I do not like cats" and has no good reason and is not willing to "work with me," is a man with some sort of problem. I might still like the man and would probably still be good friends with him, but he would be just a notch lower on my list of what makes a great man. Like a cat that knows whom it likes and whom doesn’t, I would probably give a man hell every time I could just because in MHO he has a problem with women too.

Here are some pics of the new kittens. The fluffy gray and white is Harriet. The gray shorthaired cat has not been named, and it needs a name (we have been referring to him a Mitts). It has an extra "thumb" on each paw. What was the name of the six fingered man in "Princes Bride" – you know – My name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my Father. Prepare to die!