The stereotypical cat owner may be a woman, but Johnny Barton said he is just as likely to own an assortment of felines.
I don't know if the stereotype is true because I am probably going to be a crazy cat man when I am older
said Barton, who is a senior studying audio production at Ohio University.
He said he thinks that people probably buy cats to comfort themselves if they don't have anything else.
Patricia Stokes, a professor in women's and gender studies, said that despite the fact that men love cats too, the cat lady idea has survived.
I think there is this idea that women are desperate and lonely if they end up single later in life she said.
But that stereotype might not hold true, according to a comparison between unmarried males and females in the top 10 cat-friendly cities as ranked by CATalyst Council, a non-profit organization. U.S. Census data showed that four out of the top 10 cat-friendly cities had a higher population of single men than women.
We looked at the number of owned cats the number of veterinarians that are feline-specialty veterinarians
the number of emergency facilities and veterinarian behavior
all per capita
said Steve Dale, spokesman for CATalyst.
The tie between women and cats is stronger than just this one stereotype.
We have also got this cultural association of women with cats that goes way back. The witch crazes of the middle ages in Europe burned cats and women together as witches
Stokes said.
The connection also exists in everyday speech.
When women gossip about each other
they are catty. We rarely call men catty
although they gossip too. Then
the idea of a cat fight
you would never apply that to a man. So there is just this whole cultural association between women and cats
