Owning a Cat Can Tell Others a Lot about You But There is Bias

Once again I come to a discussion about the sort of person who likes cats. There are quite a lot of studies on the subject. I think that there is an overall slight bias against the sort of person who likes domestic cats and the reason is this. The overall culture of humankind and that which dictates how the planet is managed comes from the ambitious, testosterone-fuelled, male of the human species. And in general science is managed by men rather than women therefore studies are often generated by men rather than women.

How good a cat owner are you?
Jay Leno

So, science believes that owning a cat tells us a lot about the personality, health and dating life of the typical cat owner. Studies have found that cat owners are usually introverted compared to people who own dogs. They also tend to be more concerned with “expedience” rather than following the rules. This may be a by-product of one of the more outstanding and praiseworthy aspects of being a cat owner namely that they are, in general, more intelligent than dog owners and I presume other pet owners. They tend towards free thinking and not following rules.

On the downside (and there appear to be more downsides than upsides) cat owners are likely to be fatter because they are more introverted than dog owners and therefore stay inside more often and of course dog owners go outside with their dogs for a walk.

As for the typical cat owners dating life, one study concluded that cat owners are about 33% more likely to live alone and 200% more likely to live in an apartment. That also links in, it seems to me, with the potential for cat owners to be more introverted and to be single women and therefore less likely to be living in a large house with a family but more likely to own an apartment (downsized).

However, as mentioned above, I get the feeling that it is men who are judging women when you read about the personality and characteristics of cat owners. There is almost a hint of misogyny in the descriptions of the typical cat owner.

In addition, men who like cats and look after cats are sometimes described as being gay or impliedly criticised in an underhand way. They are not manly enough for the top male human predator. Once again this hints, to me, that it is the stereotypical, male of the human species who is judging other men in a slightly detrimental way.

If it is true that there is this form of bias when discussions about the personality of cat owners are published then there may be a slight bias against cats as well. If there is a bias against cat owners being typically intelligent, independent females (unable to form relationships with men) then the cat, by association, is also likely to be looked upon in a slightly detrimental manner. The “package” – woman and cat – are being judged by men of a certain character. Where there is a war between the sexes, the domestic cat is sometimes the innocent bystander who can be unjustly victimized.

I am free thinking. My conclusions are thoughts garnered over a number of years. They are not facts. Often scientific studies should not be seen as facts either.

9 thoughts on “Owning a Cat Can Tell Others a Lot about You But There is Bias”

  1. Gee, Michael, it’s sad that once again Gail (AKA Woody) is once again making sweeping statements about entire groups of people that he obviously knows nothing about. Sad thing is, he/she/it sounds really desperate now, throwing out dumb statements that it hopes will stick like wet mud on a wall. Good thing is, like you said, its asinine statements only proves your point how backward and vicious its ilk is. I can’t call Woody a man. I don’t know what it is.

    Comparing it to lice is an insult. To the lice.

  2. Oh please shut up. Not that many women call their cats “fur babies”. In any case what is wrong with it? It is just a mother’s instinct, isn’t it. Why are you so derogatory about that? You have to be a misogynist.

  3. Sandy, I knew this post would bring the lice out of the woodwork. Woody is back again. The comment he made and which you refer to reflects the classic attitude that I am referring to in the article. There are a lot of people like that sadly. They are all very wrong and it is an attitude which is also destroying nature and the planet.

  4. There are always plenty of negative assumptions about cat guardians, as opposed to dog guardians, that are usually promoted by males.

    I was glad to see Jackson Galaxy showing up to dispel some of the myths about males who prefer cats.

    Cats and dogs are much like young children (or babies) in that they need to be cared for and trained about behavior that’s unacceptable. Both are referred to as “fur babies” because of they have fur and are like babies.

    I don’t understand this reference: “due to the overwhelming preponderance of man-hating lesbians who “love” cats and use their cats to try to assert some kind of misguided authority in their ineffectual lives”. This seems as derogatory as any comment about people who love cats.

    There are so many reasons that people may prefer cats over dogs, but people will continue to make assumptions and judgments, due to a lack of true understanding of the choice of cats over dogs.

    I do love seeing cat-hating men transformed by simply receiving more knowledge and understanding of how to relate to cats. It’s so much different than relating to dogs. As they say “dogs drool, cats rule”.

  5. It’s pretty obvious when women run around calling cats their “fur babies” what is really going on. They are incapable of having children (either by dependency of finding a partner or being just that irresponsible and/or incapable in general) and use cats as an easy and readily available proxy for their failed maternal instincts.

    Get another “fur baby”, that’ll fulfill that chasm of emptiness inside of you.

  6. That reminds me:

    As someone wise once said, “Dear single girls, please stop saying you should give up and get a cat. If no man wants you please don’t force an innocent cat to live with you either.”

    (Though, due to the overwhelming preponderance of man-hating lesbians who “love” cats and use their cats to try to assert some kind of misguided authority in their ineffectual lives, I suppose that should be edited to say, “If no human wants you …”)

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