First post since I came back from England; I’m a naughty girl for not posting anything sooner since I’ve been stateside! I have been busy wrapping up a mega session; that will be another post…

First of all, for Father’s Day, I want to say a big thank you to all the men out there who love cats, give cats wonderful homes, and especially who have come into Animal Talk to adopt one of our cats; many of those cats are adults and needed a home for a long time. I also always feel grateful to all the cat-loving folks out there like myself, who love their cats (and other pets) and give them safe and loving homes.

But the central point of my post here is that I’m a believer of the concept that real men are the ones who love cats!! (How dare she say that?!) I think there is a common (and I think silly) perception out there that cats often just make great pets for women, as opposed to men: that women are ‘cat-people’ and that dogs are MAN’s best friend. There are all sorts of quotes and opinions out there that perpetuate and demonstrate that stereotype, that women go with cats (and are likened to them, plus who can ignore the moniker “crazy cat lady”?), and men with dogs (and are likened to them!). Here’s a smattering:

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein

“If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat.” ~ Mark Twain

“I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance – a sharp, vindictive glance.” ~James Thurber

“Cats are very independent animals. They’re very sexy, if you want. Dogs are different. They’re familiar. They’re obedient. You call a cat, you go, ‘Cat, come here.’ He doesn’t come to you unless you have something in your hand that he thinks might be food. They’re very free animals, and I like that.” ~ Antonio Banderas

“Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies are like cats. Yell at a cat one time…they’re gone.” ~ Lenny Bruce

Some of you blokes out there do enjoy the company of kitties, despite the pervasive stereotypes that women are ‘cat-people’, and men are ‘dog-people’. Supposedly though, men like dogs because they are obedient and submissive (which makes them ‘easier to own’, so they say) and enjoy simple things like catching a ball; they are also generally not so graceful when it comes to ‘grooming habits’ or eating (case in point: compare a cat cleaning itself with a dog doing so – no contest here, I think). Cats are seen as more complicated, demanding, overly-sensitive, and how can you argue with the grace and beauty of felines? I also asked my test subject – my five year-old boy – if he thought dogs/cats were more like men/women, and he said “Men are like dogs. Girls are like cats.” Hmmm, maybe it is quite obvious then.
Despite the number of people who are afraid of dogs, there is quite the number of people who are ‘intimidated’ or freaked out by cats; isn’t it interesting how a cat usually spots the human in the room that is not a ‘cat person’ and tries to convert them?! This intelligence I tend to liken to female (feline) intuition. And why is there a ‘Cat Woman’ and then the werewolf (I’ve never heard much about female werewolves)? I think it’s even common place to call a cat you don’t know as being a ‘she’, and a dog is at first assumption a ‘he’.

So here’s a list for you of some brilliant and famous men who were known to have many cats and/or were/are cat-lovers (and not afraid to say so). And my guess, with the writers listed, is that their cats were often found lying on their papers and manuscripts. It’s quite the interesting list:

Winston Churchill Charles Dickens

Albert Einstein T.S. Elliot

Ernest Hemingway John Lennon

Freddie Mercury Isaac Newton (he even invented the modern-day cat-flap for doors)

Mark Twain Edgar Allen Poe

Confuscious Franklin Roosevelt

H.G.Wells Marlon Brando

James Franco Jack Kerouac

Joey Ramone Kurt Cobain

Bill Clinton Jackson Galaxy (cat whisperer, host of ‘My Cat from Hell’: a show you HAVE to see)

*Now is a good time to point out that Adolf Hitler was well-known to despise cats. ‘Nuff said.

For any man who has been/is in my life, it has kind of been a personal requirement that they love animals, and that must include cats. I believe you possess considerable empathy and compassion to love animals (especially the aloof and complicated kitty), and that’s a biggie, at least for me. My man I think actually is truly jealous of the attention that my handsome Jeffers gets from me; maybe I should give him a kiss in the morning before the cat?!
So if you’re a guy who can unabashedly love the crazy ways of the feline: them being affectionate only when they want to, demanding and temperamental, thank goodness for you, and I think you’re in good company. Cats deserve to be worshipped like they expect to be!

So cheers and Happy Father’s Day to all you ‘cat-daddies’ out there – and here are some of the lucky Animal Talk cats that have been adopted by men from us recently. You rock!! And at least in my book, in case you didn’t know – yes, real men do love cats.

xo ~ K

PS. Our favorite male kitties though? They’ve been ‘fixed’…please spay and neuter!!

PPS. I love both dogs and cats…and I like that they are different. Suits me happily. But this tiger may well have been a cat in a former life.