my DH had a similar attitude about cats. He thought that cats were too "feminine" to be a man's pet. Men are "supposed" to have dogs.I was talking to some work friends at work, when the conversation worked around to our low finances (we are all college students). I mentioned that I was lower on funds than usual because Freya's spay coincided with a school payment, and we then had to pay for the treatment for her infection. One guy rolled his eyes and asked how much it cost to get her put down, insinuating that I should do that to save money. I knew he was joking, but it still made me mad. He also frequently makes jabs about cats, saying that they're the worst and they don't feel any affection. He also thinks the only guys who have cats are gay, insisting one of my male friends who lives by himself with a cat is just in the closet.
The funny thing is that cats adored him. even cats that were not generally social to anyone other than their families loved him. After yet another cat forced its way into his lap and refused to budge, I just looked at him and asked, "you like cats, don't you?" He had to admit that he did.
There are a lot of feral and stray cats in the florida keys. we went there for our 10th anniversary. There were a bunch of stray cats near a restaurant we went to and when DH came out with our leftovers, they were on him like white on rice. He took the leftover grilled chicken and steak. cut it into small pieces and put the container down so they could have it. I just asked him why it was so hard to admit that he loved all animals including cats. He really didn't have an answer other than he was raised to believe that cats are a woman's pet. So silly.