Why do some people hate cats?

[eyoungren]

I personally think it's because they were never a cat's "person" so to speak. Yes, cats can be anti-social at first until they get to know you but once you become friends with a cat they're super sweet and lovey. Once you're friends with one cat other cats usually end up liking you as well.

When I come home my cat comes running to greet me, she wants me to pick her up and hold her and cuddle her. Anytime I'm laying down or napping she wants to be right there to join. She's my baby girl and I feel bad for people who never experienced cats in their friendly lovey mode.

I've always had an affinity for cats. Cats I'd never met would come up, or I could coax them or pet them when others had nothing but issues with them. I've always loved cats, perhaps that meant I was never perceived as a threat, IDK.

My Achille's heel is that I inherited my father's allergies. I can pet cats and I like petting them. The problem for me is that after I do this, I MUST wash my hands. The oil in their fur bothers me and if I am slow to do this I will eventually start sneezing. I long ago learned to pet cats with my bare feet. For whatever reason I don't seem to have an issue with that.

Our last cat though (died a couple of months ago) had longstanding issues with feet. I suspect he probably got kicked quite a bit by his previous owners (we got him as an adult cat). So it took years before he'd stop trying to bit or claw me when petting him with my feet.

 

[Huntn]

Because they destroy millions of birds each year? For fun?

If you let yours out of the house at night, consider putting something like this round its neck, ideally with bells on.

I would not say it is for fun, but in their nature to hunt. And yes they do kill a lot of birds if given the chance. For the 2 decades we had cats, they were strictly indoor pets.

The first post that quotes cats as being anti-social, whoever that is, does not know cats.

 

[eyoungren]

The first post that quotes cats as being anti-social, whoever that is, does not know cats.

As if anything is wrong with being anti-social!

I know and have known several humans that very much deserve my anti-social attitude towards them.

Cats are just more discriminating about their choices than dogs are.

 

[compwiz1202]

I saw this reply to a tweet, and it just made me wonder why certain people hate cats.

No one hates dogs, not even cat people. Some people are afraid of dogs but no one actually hates them that I know of.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about how some people just don’t really like cats or prefer dogs over cats. I’m talking about absolute hate for cats. It reminded me of when I was younger how some teenagers would kill cats for entertainment.

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I don't hate either group, even certain breeds. I may dislike mean ones, but there are good an bads in both groups. We had two cats once. One was the nicest cat ever, and one was mean. Especially if you can get a kitten and bond well, they won't be antisocial towards you.

 

[flur]

It's been my experience that there are two reasons a person might hate cats - 1. they have childhood trauma relating to a cat (I'm including severe allergies in this group) or 2. they are an *******.

That's it.

To expand on 2:
Some people want animals to worship them. These people will always argue for dogs, because dogs do often worship humans, even if those humans treat them really, really badly. Stockholm syndrome is big in dogs. If you treat a cat poorly, their behavior toward you will reflect that.

Some people are control freaks and don't like when others think for themselves. "Others" being humans as well. Cats have the audacity to decide who they like, who they want to allow to touch them, who they want to mess with, and who they avoid, just like people do.

Some people dislike when others they see as inferior set boundaries. Cats are big on consent. They don't like to be touched without permission (like people, once a relationship is developed, this can change). The same people who get upset about cats setting boundaries often also get upset about women setting boundaries.

Basically, if you like your bodily autonomy, and having your thoughts, ideas, decisions, and personal boundaries respected, avoid people who hate cats (unless the person falls into group 1).

NOTE: I literally mean "hate" here. Some people live a lifestyle that's more conducive to dogs and have a preference that way. If someone says "I like cats but I've always had dogs and prefer them," okay, rock on. If they say "Cats hate me, I don't know why people have them" run like the wind.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I had a cat that was like your average generic cat. That cat had a brother that was like having a dog and a cat in one animal. I think people that hate cats, only experience those average generic cats that don't bond well with humans.

 

[BF1M]

People who hate cats are 100% serial killers. Every single one of them. I'll die on this hill.

 

[compwiz1202]

One of the triad for warning signs of a psychopath/serial killer is stuff like that.

That and arson. Is there a third?

 

[AlaskaMoose]

One whines and complain about anything there is, and find faults in others instead of oneself. That's is all there is to it. Every one of us grows-up liking and disliking one thing or another, and those emotions often grow to great proportions. A simple or minor "dislike" about something can turn to hate and even violence toward things or others later in life.

If one has pleasant experiences with cats or dogs from childhood, more than likely one will tend to accept cats, or dog, or birds, and so on later in life. But if one is frightened or has unpleasant experiences with a human, animal, or anything else, then one tends to dislike those things later in life. Some others don't care one way or another about cats, dogs, and the rest, and that is fine too. But to assume that it is the other person at fault instead of oneself is the worst thing one can do. In this case all one is doing is "something like" projecting one's emotions on the other person (looking in the mirror and seeing only what one likes or dislikes instead of what the other person is "really like"). One's assumptions of others are seldom true.

 

[reeneebob]

That and arson. Is there a third?

Bed wetting.

I listen to too many true crime podcasts

 

[Herdfan]

I saw this reply to a tweet, and it just made me wonder why certain people hate cats.

Cats simply don't like some people. I guess people that hate cats do so because cats never liked them.........

 

[decafjava]

Cats simply don't like some people. I guess people that hate cats do so because cats never liked them.........

My family's cats liked me well enough in my youth though I teased them without mercy. Especially the stray rescue (my sister had a bred Persian-Himalayan) who I would verbally - jokingly of course - threaten to put in the microwave whenever he jumped on the counter. He took revenge on our German Shepherd by walking along the top of our backyard fence causing our dog to get all excited and try to jump the very high fence we installed.

 

[eyoungren]

My family's cats liked me well enough in my youth though I teased them without mercy. Especially the stray rescue (my sister had a bred Persian-Himalayan) who I would verbally - jokingly of course - threaten to put in the microwave whenever he jumped on the counter. He took revenge on our German Shepherd by walking along the top of our backyard fence causing our dog to get all excited and try to jump the very high fence we installed.

I had a Persian once. Can't say they are too smart. We got him home and I set him down. He took one look at the sliding glass door and made a fast break for 'freedom'.

Surprised he didn't break his neck when he slammed head on into the glass.

 

[compwiz1202]

Bed wetting.

I listen to too many true crime podcasts

I remembered the two from when my parents watched CSI NCIS etc etc

 

[Bento.Box]

I do like animals very much but I usually don't like pets. Especially cats and dogs. A lot of them are not well trained and lack the respect for the personal space of humans that comes natural to most animals. You can't have food and other stuff lying around, and I'm also allergic to animal hair.
Often enough, pet holders are also antisocial and start argueing when people address their concerns to them (dogs not on the leash and poaching deer, cats jumping on the table and eating food etc.).

 

[Bogstandard]

I had a long term dislike of cats.
I kept canaries as a child, and my mum had cats...😁

Later in life, I met a couple of cats...

 

[eyoungren]

I do like animals very much but I usually don't like pets. Especially cats and dogs. A lot of them are not well trained and lack the respect for the personal space of humans that comes natural to most animals. You can't have food and other stuff lying around, and I'm also allergic to animal hair.
Often enough, pet holders are also antisocial and start argueing when people address their concerns to them (dogs not on the leash and poaching deer, cats jumping on the table and eating food etc.).

There has been a trend in recent years to treat pets as family members or 'children'. While I believe that pets can be a part of the family, I do not accept the latter.

I suppose it might be generational, or perhaps societal, IDK. I grew up rural where pets were part of everyday life. But they were like farm animals, they lived outside and only occasionally came inside. There was a legitimate reason for doghouses in the back yard - because your dog wasn't sleeping in your bed.

So that childhood led into properly training our animals. Dogs were on leashes and responded to commands and behaved. Cats were not allowed on counters, desks, tables, coffee tables, or any surfaces that might be used to hold or consume food. And the training was real. We could leave food out and expect it to be untouched in the morning even with cats and dogs inside the house.

Some of those training methods and conditions are now considered to be inhumane, particularly in the city/county I now live in. Times have changed and I choose now not to have pets (our last one died in July 2022) for those reasons and a few others.

At an old job of mine when I was in my early 20s, a coworker related a story where he was driving the company van full of employees on the freeway. A dog had got on to the freeway and was in his path. His choice was to avoid the dog and roll the van, injuring or possibly killing coworkers, or to hit the dog. The dog died. It shouldn't have been on the freeway. There was no malice in the decision, it was simply the choice that put human lives ahead of animals. A concept that today seems to be somewhat misplaced.

 

[reeneebob]

My cats are my children.

I can’t have kids, so I consider my cats my kids.

I don’t care if they jump up on my tables, counters etc. That’s what cleaners are for and I use them to clean surfaces before cooking etc.

They were treated like disposable, worthless trash as kittens by a despicable excuse for a human, and dumped in a kill shelter (because he was shy, as per the rescue who happened to be at that kill shelter getting animals due to be put down because no one claimed them within 10 days, and who immediately saved my Isaac Mewton from death at the ripe age of 8 weeks, and the guy dropping him off said that was why he ‘didn’t care what happens’), my other guy Schrödinger was dumped in a ditch in a box at 6 weeks with his sister. To this day he is scared of the sound of cars. I vowed to give them them best life I can because of how they were treated.

Before people judge others who treat their pets like their kids, consider that they may, in fact, be their proxy. It’s not generational, I’m almost 50…it’s not country vs city, I grew up in the country, but when I hear someone saying they want to get their cat declawed or use choke chains on a dog, it puts my teeth on edge. Times change and some of the acceptable training from when I was a kid have rightly been discovered to be abusive.

 

[SnappleRumors]

Because they are elitists.

 

[Huntn]

My cats are my children.

I can’t have kids, so I consider my cats my kids.

I don’t care if they jump up on my tables, counters etc. That’s what cleaners are for and I use them to clean surfaces before cooking etc.

They were treated like disposable, worthless trash as kittens by a despicable excuse for a human, and dumped in a kill shelter (because he was shy, as per the rescue who happened to be at that kill shelter getting animals due to be put down because no one claimed them within 10 days, and who immediately saved my Isaac Mewton from death at the ripe age of 8 weeks, and the guy dropping him off said that was why he ‘didn’t care what happens’), my other guy Schrödinger was dumped in a ditch in a box at 6 weeks with his sister. To this day he is scared of the sound of cars. I vowed to give them them best life I can because of how they were treated.

Before people judge others who treat their pets like their kids, consider that they may, in fact, be their proxy. It’s not generational, I’m almost 50…it’s not country vs city, I grew up in the country, but when I hear someone saying they want to get their cat declawed or use choke chains on a dog, it puts my teeth on edge. Times change and some of the acceptable training from when I was a kid have rightly been discovered to be abusive.

I’ll make a pragmatic argument about declawing cats which I know is unpopular in certain corners. When we had 3 cats, they were all declawed as kittens. They were strictly indoor cats, they were happy, loving, social, they walked and ran normally, they kneaded our legs displaying affection, there was zero indication that the cats mobility or functionality of their paws was adversely effected other than having no claws.

I support the idea that outdoor cats need claws.The pragmatic part is that in a country at least the USA is overflowing with strays, and the cats had to trade their lives as a stray vs being part of a human family, minus claws what would they choose? Which would give them the opportunity for a long happy life? I referencing the life of a domesticated animal vs a wild animal who, needs their claws, but as a feral cat would have a relatively short life expectancy in any human populated area.

There has been a trend in recent years to treat pets as family members or 'children'. While I believe that pets can be a part of the family, I do not accept the latter.

I suppose it might be generational, or perhaps societal, IDK. I grew up rural where pets were part of everyday life. But they were like farm animals, they lived outside and only occasionally came inside. There was a legitimate reason for doghouses in the back yard - because your dog wasn't sleeping in your bed.

So that childhood led into properly training our animals. Dogs were on leashes and responded to commands and behaved. Cats were not allowed on counters, desks, tables, coffee tables, or any surfaces that might be used to hold or consume food. And the training was real. We could leave food out and expect it to be untouched in the morning even with cats and dogs inside the house.

Some of those training methods and conditions are now considered to be inhumane, particularly in the city/county I now live in. Times have changed and I choose now not to have pets (our last one died in July 2022) for those reasons and a few others.

At an old job of mine when I was in my early 20s, a coworker related a story where he was driving the company van full of employees on the freeway. A dog had got on to the freeway and was in his path. His choice was to avoid the dog and roll the van, injuring or possibly killing coworkers, or to hit the dog. The dog died. It shouldn't have been on the freeway. There was no malice in the decision, it was simply the choice that put human lives ahead of animals. A concept that today seems to be somewhat misplaced.

I’ve hit 2 dogs over the last 40 years vs wrecking my and possibly other peoples’ cars. And when the opportunity presents itself I avoid the collisions by slowing down and using my horn. Recently traveling up a highway encouraged a Buck to get off the road with my horn.

 

[Macky-Mac]

people who hate cats do so because they've realized that cats are smarter than them

 

[eyoungren]

I’ve hit 2 dogs over the last 40 years vs wrecking my and possibly other peoples’ cars. And when the opportunity presents itself I avoid the collisions by slowing down and using my horn. Recently traveling up a highway encouraged a Buck to get off the road with my horn.

Oh yes, absolutely. I slow down for animals and I watch out for them and avoid them whenever possible. But my example above was a split second decision. The dog appeared and it was either roll the van or run over the dog. There was no other choice at that time.

I value animals and I'll do whatever I can to protect and not hurt them. But whenever faced with a decision between them or me and my family or others, I'm going to choose human lives.

For the record, I have hit a dog. Fortunately someone else came along and transported the dog to a vet. It was night and the dog appeared out of nowhere on the road. I've also hit cats that decided to dart out at the last moment. At that point there is literally nothing you can do.

 

[Huntn]

I had a cat that was like your average generic cat. That cat had a brother that was like having a dog and a cat in one animal. I think people that hate cats, only experience those average generic cats that don't bond well with humans.

When I was young (apologies if I already told this story) we had always had dogs so when Mom brought home a cat, we did not care for it. It was not until I was an adult, I grew to appreciate cats as pets.

 

[eyoungren]

When I was young (apologies if I already told this story) we had always had dogs so when Mom brought home a cat, we did not care for it. It was not until I was an adult, I grew to appreciate cats as pets.

I'd always wanted a cat as a kid, but my dad was allergic to them so we had dogs instead. But when we rented a home in 1981 the owners of that home had an outside cat. So the cat came with the house whether my dad liked the idea or not. It was either rent the home with the cat, or find some other place.

After that cats were tolerated by him inside the house. He never came to like them, but he did move beyond not ever wanting one in the house. This held even into retirement after my sister and I were long out of the house. After my mom's last dog died some kittens literally fell into her life (through the kitchen ceiling as they'd been in the attic) and my dad by this point didn't have any problems with keeping them.

I had dogs too as a kid (later on) but I've always preferred cats.

 

[reeneebob]

I’ll make a pragmatic argument about declawing cats which I know is unpopular in certain corners. When we had 3 cats, they were all declawed as kittens. They were strictly indoor cats, they were happy, loving, social, they walked and ran normally, they kneaded our legs displaying affection, there was zero indication that the cats mobility or functionality of their paws was adversely effected other than having no claws.

I support the idea that outdoor cats need claws.The pragmatic part is that in a country at least the USA is overflowing with strays, and the cats had to trade their lives as a stray vs being part of a human family, minus claws what would they choose? Which would give them the opportunity for a long happy life? I referencing the life of a domesticated animal vs a wild animal who, needs their claws, but as a feral cat would have a relatively short life expectancy in any human populated area.


I’ve hit 2 dogs over the last 40 years vs wrecking my and possibly other peoples’ cars. And when the opportunity presents itself I avoid the collisions by slowing down and using my horn. Recently traveling up a highway encouraged a Buck to get off the road with my horn.

It’s actually extremely hard (almost impossible) to find a vet here that will declaw a cat. Almost all refuse and educate on what that surgery actually entails. It’s done only for a medically required treatment.

Our rescue we adopted from made us sign a contract that we would not declaw them. It wasn’t even going to be an option anyway.

Kids can damage furniture and the answer isn’t to essentially amputate their fingers at the knuckle and then expect them to walk to them. Dogs chew and scratch and destroy furniture (the main reason people generally give for declawing a cat) and you don’t declaw a dog or pull out it’s teeth. You train them.

We trim our cats nails every three weeks, and they haven’t scratched any of our furniture. They are not allowed outside. Provide scratching posts and keep the nails trimmed and there is no need to permanently damage their feet.

That’s all I’m going to say on that subject.