Is Your Significant Other A Cat Person?

[Erin80]

My husband is NOT. I'm not sure why....he says because he was scratched by a cat once...but come on.
That said - since we've been together we have had 6 cats...Kaia is our 6th. Two of them came with me when we moved in together, after they were gone we got one more when our oldest daughter was about a year....two more after him did not work out and went to other wonderful more appropriate homes for them....and now we have Kaia who is the worlds best behaved kitten. I am pushing for another.....I miss having two.

I'm always nervous about vet bills, because though we can definitely afford it, he hates spending money on vet bills and it's always a fight between us. He's of the "wait and see" approach...and I'm a "if one little thing seems off we go to the vet" person. I always get my way, as I'd rather suffer his wrath than have my kitty suffer at all!

He is a good sport about pretty much always having a cat in the house....but I do wish he loved them as much as I do. We'd have so many!

 

[Lari]

He had a cat first! So yes. Though he's probably also the same wait and see about vet things. Though, to be fair, he's also the same about him and the doctor so that's less of a cat thing and more just him.

 

[walkingrock]

My husband is not an animal person period. He's been long-suffering with my NEED for animals, although there have been plenty of animal issues that have come between us. Currently just have 1 cat that is 9 years old, with the thought that this will be our last animal when he (cat) passes (could be another 10 years or so, who knows), I'm gonna try, don't know if I can live without an animal, although, he does really deserve some time animal-free! Anyway, I'm definitely the one to go to the vet if anything seems off at all, so I understand! I did have 2 adult cats for about 2 years, and it was a real issue for my husband, I decided to rehome one of them to keep the peace with my hubby, but it broke my heart for the cat. So, you are the only one who can decide if it is fair or doable to have 2 in your case. And yes, 2 are twice as expensive!

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

That's indeed a hard situation. You could try to convince him that putting off going to the vet can lead to even more expensive vet bills and the death of your beloved cats. I know that by now he knows how much you love them, so maybe recurring to thr financial benefits of being a heath cat would work better. But it's really up to him whether or not stop complaining. I totally understand you: my parents were always complaining about the price of cat's food, so I convinced them about the financial benefits of it (health cat = not so expensive vet bills)

 

[jcat]

My husband has spent the past 4 decades claiming he's not an animal person - he never had pets while growing up, but I had a slew of them, including multiple large dogs, when we got married. However, he spoils them terribly and will conscientiously take care of them when I'm away. He used to get "sticker shock" as far as vet bills were concerned, but now he tells me to pay cash and not tell him how much the bills are.

 

[Elphaba09]

My husband was a professed dog person when we met. His family had some outdoor cats when he was rather young; however, he does not really remember them.

When we met, I had three cats. By the time we started dating, I had one cat, who he liked. When we became engaged, that cat had died, so I was cat-less. Then, we got our first two. He loved them immediately and quickly became that cat person he was always meant to be! We now have nine, and he has a Game of Thrones inspired "Father of Cats" bumper sticker on his car. (I have a matching "Mother of Cats" sticker on mine.)

 

[posiepurrs]

It is funny, when we married he was more a cat person and I was a dog person. I grew up with a mini zoo- guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, dogs, a cat or two, fish, turtles, tortoise, even had a pet praying mangos! He used to bring home cats that people dumped at the factory where he worked. We were petless for a number of years when we first had kids, but as they got a little bigger it seemed natural to get a pet. Cat came first, my first color point Persian, a birthday gift from my hubby. That converted me to ALWAYS having a cat. We both love all animals, but my favorite are the cats. I think his are the dogs.

 

[mightyboosh]

Mrs mightyboosh is also a cat lover. She lost her soul cat a couple of years ago and still grieves for her. I have the edge for being a bit bonkers about them though, just a percent or two more.

 

[kittyluv387]

My bf says he's a dog person. But who knows, he hasn't had one of his own as an adult. He has come around a lot to cats. He actually adopted his own cat almost a year ago! She won him over because she is super affectionate and very cute and petite. She was my neighbors cat but they started leaving her out and she would cry and paw at their window. She was even shivering one night because it was a cold night. That did it for him so we asked the neighbors if we could have her and they immediately said yes. So she is officially his cat. I have 2. He says that he never imagined he would have a cat. He says he's never getting another cat after her. We shall see i guess haha.

 

[Shane Kent]

I grew up in a household with cats and my grandmother fed stray cats on her back porch. Karen's mother never liked cats, I am guessing she had a bad run-in with one as a child. Karen's mother has since changed her opinion of cats and even gets our current cats Christmas gifts. Karen and I were devastated when our first two cats passed away. At that point her mother realized how much they meant to us.

Karen did not dislike cats she just never had one growing up. I let Karen pick out our first two cats in 1996. She was madly in love with them before I got home from work to see them. She has been a cat lover ever since. She does not bitch to me about the cost and I am a little bit excessive when it comes to our cats.

I have several pet couches and cat trees.

Taz with his step sisters Zoe and Kitty

• Shane Kent
• Nov 17, 2017
• 1

Taz and Rusty.

• Shane Kent
• Dec 6, 2017
• 2

Playing on the cat tree.

Kitty and Rusty in Sweaters

• Shane Kent
• Dec 31, 2017

The sweaters were a gift from Karen's mother

 

[Katie M]

I don't have a significant other, but I figured I could talk about my father here.

Mom's side of the family loves cats. Dad's side . . . not so much. Dad *tolerated* our cats when I was growing up. Three of them in a row joined the family while he was at work or out of town, and I can only imagine his thoughts upon coming home to find *yet another* kitty in the house. But he never said no, and that's the important thing.

 

[Tobermory]

The Spouse likes the girls, although I don’t think he adores them. They feel the same about him. I do understand. He wasn’t allowed to have pets growing up, and he doesn’t have a lot of intuition about animals. Having said that, I will also say that he loved Max wholeheartedly. He wasn’t working when I picked Max up off the side of the road on my way to work one day, so the two guys had a chance to bond before The Spouse found a job. And he cried last summer when Max crossed the Bridge at 20, the first time I’ve ever seen him do that. Sometimes there’s just that one special “one,” even if you’re not a cat person.

 

[KarenKat]

I was that person ... self-professed dog person. My BF had 2 cats when we moved in together 3 years ago. Now I belong to a cat forum lol.

 

[Pucks104]

Yes my husband loves cats!

 

[Erin80]

I was that person ... self-professed dog person. My BF had 2 cats when we moved in together 3 years ago. Now I belong to a cat forum lol.

That’s awesome, and hilarious.

 

[Erin80]

I don't have a significant other, but I figured I could talk about my father here.

Mom's side of the family loves cats. Dad's side . . . not so much. Dad *tolerated* our cats when I was growing up. Three of them in a row joined the family while he was at work or out of town, and I can only imagine his thoughts upon coming home to find *yet another* kitty in the house. But he never said no, and that's the important thing.

Your dad sounds like my husband. Haha!! He does a great job of tolerating them though. Also, I get him to relent before bringing a kitty home. He doesn’t say yes...he just stops saying no....and that’s my go!

 

[Jem]

My husband, when we first started dating, always claimed that he was NOT a cat person, he liked dogs. Then he met my cats, and changed his tune. He realized that cats do have personalities, that they are smart and "trainable", and super fun to play with. When we moved in together, I came with all 3 cats from my home with my family, he fell in love, and we even adopted a fourth together!
We have since lost two of our four, and just last weekend, I ask him what he wanted to do next, another cat? maybe a dog?
And his reply was..."I don't want a DOG." Like I insulted him by even asking!!!
We've decided that we are holing off on any new pets for a while, since we just lost one less than 2 weeks ago, and still have two, one of which, that requires extensive care.

It is so cute, and he would probably kill me if he knew I posted this about him, but he even sings to them, songs that he makes up about them on the spot. He was always so proud of himself and whichever cat, when he taught them something cool. I definitely married my match (at least when it comes to cat love!)

 

[Purr-fect]

My wife loves cats and had two when I meet her years ago. Together we have always had at least one cat in our lives and will continue to do so for as long as we can care for them.

This summer my wife spent many hours helping me remove an old wooden deck, planting cat friendly vegetation and building a fenced area for the cats.

 

[bengalcatman]

My first wife liked cats but was really more of dog person. My cat (Bits) was pleased that my wife and I divorced. Bits finally had me all to herself. As various women I was dating came over to my house, Bits made it clear that she disliked them. Bits did her level best to insert herself between me and any woman in the house. Ankles were scratched. Any attempt to pet or make friends was greeted with a hiss. Except for one woman. Deb accepted Bits as "first lady" of the house and treated her with respect. By the time Deb was moving in, she and Bits were friends. That was more than twenty years ago. My wife is a cat lover.

When I am away, Deb takes our bengal Makena out hiking

And Makena loves her dearly

Our other bengal, Lilia, has some emotional problems from her former life. Lilia is bonded strongly to Deb and seeks her out when she is frightened or upset

When we got a kitten - Deb became "mum" in no time

We don't argue vet bills, we just deal with the shock together We are on the same page with house rules: you can meow all you want, but neither of us will let you on the counter tops, give you food from the table while we are eating or feed you early (they all eventually give up trying.)

The cats are a source of joy for both of us and that is a nice part of our relationship.

I play with the cats all the time, they get first rate medical care and eat good food (read expensive.) I could see where all of that might be difficult for someone who was not a cat lover to understand.

 

[Jem]

bengalcatman - may I just say that all your cats are beautiful, and your wife certainly exudes a gentile, caring soul like quality in her photos. No wonder your cats (and you) love her.