Why Cat Hate?

[mightyboosh]

I've just been reading another sad thread on 'Crossing the Bridge' where another member tells of people deliberately running over cats. I've often wondered why some people hate cats so much. Of course there are people that hate/scared of dogs, snakes etc. but not with quite the same venom as the cat haters (my anecdotal belief). Some have been badly bitten by dogs and are mentally scarred so possibly a reason to hate them but cats? Apart from scratches and minor bites I haven't heard of a domestic cat savaging anyone to death (I maybe wrong) You'd think more people would passionately hate dogs more that cats.
Obviously this site is biased (rightly so) and cats are beautiful creatures as we all agree but where does such cat hate derive? I've also witnessed drivers aim at cats. I once saw a cat run over by a car that didn't stop AND the two following vehicles finished the job also without stopping. I was traumatised at the time and simply couldn't believe my eyes. The scum that did this appeared to be grinning. I'd like to meet them in a dark alleyway one night.
Why?

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
P. - I'm pleased that we've gotten to know one another, because you've managed to keep your innocence in a world where it's a rare commodity. You're a fine fellow, do you know that?

Why do Humans - in cities across the globe - daily vandalise Ferraris owned by people the vandals don't even know? Why were the Pietà, La Gioconda, De Nachtwacht, and countless other works of art vandalised? Why were the Temple of Baalshamin, the Mar Elian Monastery and the Ziggurat of Nimrud destroyed?

What Human will ever have the grace and beauty and nobility of any cat? The cat represents everything which is wholly absent in its detractors. Where they are cowardly, the cat is fearless; where Humankind is base, the cat is wholesome; where they are swelled with false pride, the cat is the epitome of humility. It's the Nature of all things vile and base to be jealous of whatever's fine and fair and pure of Heart.

"So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head."
.

 

[furmonster mom]

My hubby and I have had this conversation many times... why do some people have such hatred for cats?
We're not just talking about the fearful kind of thing, like with dogs or snakes; nor is it the "bleah" kind of hate that I have for brussel sprouts; or the "time to get the bug spray" kind of hate when I see ants in the house...
No, we're talking about a very aggressive, go-out-of-the-way-to-kill, warlike kind of hate... almost malicious in some cases.
Over a cat.
It's not like the cat has some kind of agenda against us humans... unless you count global indendturing, which, I mean, come on, it's not THAT bad.
Hubby and I are boggled by it.

 

[surya]

I don't understand the hate either.

 

[kashmir64]

I personally believe it's because you can't control a cat. An awful lot of people have control issues.
They can control their spouse, they can control their children, they can control a dog.....but not a cat.
You can train a cat (somewhat), but in the end, they are doing whatever they want.

 

[scraggles]

There's a theory that goes along the lines of what you see in others that annoys you, is actually a trait that you dislike in yourself - essentially, what you hate in others you hate in yourself - whether aware of it or not.

As difficult as I find it sometimes to understand or to enpathise, most of those those that inflict pain are deeply hurting themselves - or it's the world that they've been brought up in and it's incredibly difficult to escape that circle of abuse.

Now this is just my thinking - and maybe it's a bit of a stretch... but maybe because cats are sometimes seen to be cold.... aloof... uncaring... that's the world that these people see and feel that they're up against. They just can't see the caring side. They see themselves in cats, and hate it...

 

[ihave4cats]

I think people hate cats for a number of reasons, some stated above like you cannot control a cat, or because some cats cans eem cold and uncaring. Also, I´m sure a bit has to do with how your parents were ie did they raise you to like animals or did they hate cats, maybe they were scratched as a child by a strangers cat, etc etc..... I think in general there are two kinds of people; people who are caring and people who are selfish. I have found that most cat owners, guys or girls, are normally caring and kind people towards other humans. People who say I hate cats are typically selfish and don´t really have a big heart. That´s just from my personal experience.

 

[sargon]

...I have found that most cat owners, guys or girls, are normally caring and kind people towards other humans. People who say I hate cats are typically selfish and don´t really have a big heart. That´s just from my personal experience.

While I'm not a dog person (mostly because, growing up my parents had some poorly trained dogs), I suspect that it probably applies in general to dogs as well (though to a lesser degree). In the cases of both dogs and cats, one of the main reasons that most people get them is for love and companions (sometimes they get dogs of other reasons,but that's a minority), which means hat those are things most pet owners value.

As to the hate, part is the false belief that cats are antisocial animals, but the biggest part is probably the residual effect of the centuries of the church said that they were "of the devil."

 

[ihave4cats]

You know I never thought about that with people who say I hate dogs, I agree with you.

While I'm not a dog person (mostly because, growing up my parents had some poorly trained dogs), I suspect that it probably applies in general to dogs as well (though to a lesser degree). In the cases of both dogs and cats, one of the main reasons that most people get them is for love and companions (sometimes they get dogs of other reasons,but that's a minority), which means hat those are things most pet owners value.

As to the hate, part is the false belief that cats are antisocial animals, but the biggest part is probably the residual effect of the centuries of the church said that they were "of the devil."

 

[muffy]

[QUOTE="ihave4cats, post: 4374259, member: 90634" People who say I hate cats are typically selfish and don´t really have a big heart. That´s just from my personal experience.[/QUOTE]
I agree with you completely. My sister and brother n law hate cats and have dogs. They are selfish and have cold hearts.

Muffy

 

[roobear]

This is a very extreme form of hatred and totally barbaric if you ask me. I don't like dogs but I would never deliberately hurt one let alone try to run one down in my car. My dad didn't like cats, but he still did right by mine of I wasn't there, he was always the first up so he would give the cats their breakfast and open the cat flap, they knew they couldn't rely on him for cuddles but he was never nasty to them. I can't imagine how anybody could hate an animal so much as to want to run over it, although I guess some people could say the same about me hoovering up spiders. Shelob made an appearance in my lounge the other day, I am armed with a Dyson!

 

[Summercats]

I think because dogs often cower when threatened and try to appease, cats are more likely to fight back.
Also a cat that is not socialized or has been abused will hide, dash about etc and for people with control issues that is annoying.
Typically women are more likely to have cats and some men hate women. Animal abusers are likely if given the chance grow to be people abusers or killers or already are.

Boosh, where are you from?

 

[mightyboosh]

Burnley, UK.

 

[Summercats]

I read a book once The Great Santini and in it the father of the family would drive to the side and out of his lane to run over turtles. People sometimes have a bully mentality that leads to cruelty.

 

[smurf]

There is a lot of misinformation swirling around concerning cats that people tend to believe. Take for instance all the constant, ugly ranks about how cats kill millions and millions of birds and wildlife from institutions like The American Conservancy, The Wildlife Society, The Audubon just to name a few. Then there's that author Peter Marra writing a god awful hate filled book about cats as if every bird species that is disappearing is due to the cat instead of humans. They use junk science stating flawed studies and exaggerated statistics about the damage cats have on the environment. It's added ammunition for the cat haters to use to make their point about how bad cats are. I'm afraid the poor cat has become an easy scapegoat and the hate just keeps building against these innocent creatures.

 

[Purr-fect]

I dont know of anyone who hates cats....although I imagine they exist....I just dont personally know them.

Some people are aloof to cats. Some think cats are significantly affecting the worlds bird population. Some think cats destroy their
Gardens, damage furniture and are a nuisance.

I think some of the adverse reaction to cats is because their affection, love, trust, attention...... even the acknowledgement of your existence must be earnt. They cant be easily trained, unless they want to be, they dont accept discipline well and cross a cat and they dont forget. Unlike most dogs (which I love), they dont have the need to please or interact with humans. Cats can survive on their own, they dont need to live in packs, their survival is not dependent on their ability to interact.

Because a cats affection requires nurturing, patience and time and because its not 24/7, its a more rare experience for many people, than interacting with a dog.

Meet a dog on the street and its tail is often wagging, it wants to interact with you......its instant gratification for the person petting the dog.

Meet a cat on the street.....its likely not going to approach you, it will probably be skittish, despite your calling and coaxing, it will ignore you. The end result is no gratification for the human.

We live in a society of "now". We have less patience. We expect our pets to respond to our needs and in our time frame. Cats dont follow our rules or our schedules.

But the upside to me is when a bond is established with a cat its more precious, as it is less common and isnt simply given for free.

 

[mightyboosh]

There is an evil person on the loose in the UK at the moment. Knee caps and baseball bats is a rhyme that he should become familiar with.

Police issue description of ‘Croydon cat killer’

 

[Cataria]

Some people have no empathy for animals. They don't see animals as living creatures capable of emotion, or even capable of feeling pain or fear, and they can't understand something that expresses themselves differently from humans. If they can't personally see it, then it's obviously not there, right?

I'll be honest, I had some moments of feeling that blindness myself toward an animal's emotions for the very first time a few years back when I started taking riding lessons. Don't get me wrong, I love and have always loved all animals and definitely respected horses, but for the first two months of riding lessons, I couldn't understand them. My instructor would make comments like "look at her ears, she's really interested and trying hard to understand what you are telling her to do" and "that horse is worried about something, be careful" but I couldn't see any of that. I'm guessing that if you are already predisposed to believe that animals don't have feelings, taking the time to actually learn what an animal is saying isn't likely to happen. Fortunately for me, I can understand horses now, yay.

I know of a number of people personally who hate cats, most of them are also people who also claim to love dogs. Dogs are good at displaying their feelings in a way that pretty much anyone can understand, which tends to make people more sympathetic to them.

But what sucks is, at least when it comes to the people that I personally know, I think their claim of loving dogs isn't quite accurate either. They really like well-trained dogs, the dogs that will do anything their owner will ask under any circumstances. That's not liking a dog, that's liking an automation, and the vast majority of dogs aren't that good. They say things like "if my dog ever hurts my child under any circumstances, he's dead" completely missing that dogs have needs and motivations and fears themselves, and if their dog has been just fine for years they aren't going to start attacking their children unprovoked. If their dogs freak out in storms, there's no sympathy for the dog's fear, it's "this is loud and annoying and inconveniences me." I feel so bad for those dogs. Their owners won't ever love them as much as the dogs do them.

 

[vyger]

Some people have no empathy for animals. They don't see animals as living creatures capable of emotion, or even capable of feeling pain or fear, and they can't understand something that expresses themselves differently from humans. If they can't personally see it, then it's obviously not there, right?

I'll be honest, I had some moments of feeling that blindness myself toward an animal's emotions for the very first time a few years back when I started taking riding lessons. Don't get me wrong, I love and have always loved all animals and definitely respected horses, but for the first two months of riding lessons, I couldn't understand them. My instructor would make comments like "look at her ears, she's really interested and trying hard to understand what you are telling her to do" and "that horse is worried about something, be careful" but I couldn't see any of that. I'm guessing that if you are already predisposed to believe that animals don't have feelings, taking the time to actually learn what an animal is saying isn't likely to happen. Fortunately for me, I can understand horses now, yay.

I know of a number of people personally who hate cats, most of them are also people who also claim to love dogs. Dogs are good at displaying their feelings in a way that pretty much anyone can understand, which tends to make people more sympathetic to them.

But what sucks is, at least when it comes to the people that I personally know, I think their claim of loving dogs isn't quite accurate either. They really like well-trained dogs, the dogs that will do anything their owner will ask under any circumstances. That's not liking a dog, that's liking an automation, and the vast majority of dogs aren't that good. They say things like "if my dog ever hurts my child under any circumstances, he's dead" completely missing that dogs have needs and motivations and fears themselves, and if their dog has been just fine for years they aren't going to start attacking their children unprovoked. If their dogs freak out in storms, there's no sympathy for the dog's fear, it's "this is loud and annoying and inconveniences me." I feel so bad for those dogs. Their owners won't ever love them as much as the dogs do them.

Interesting --- about horses. I had a pair for many years. I got my gelding when I was in college and while other "kids" were out partying and getting drunk I was out riding the countryside. We learned from each other. He became a very good trail horse. I learned to always watch him because his senses were far better than mine. We worked as a team. If I wasn't sure about going up an incline or down one, I would trust him to know. Just ask him to go which for us consisted of shifting my weight letting the reins loose tapping him on the neck and saying lets go. If he didn't want to then it was not safe period. We went in places that I didn't think we could go but he knew better. I trained him to side pass, we could open gates with out ever dismounting. To back up in a pattern, to do sliding stops, which are really cool. That is when the horse at a run will shift his weight to his back legs and literally slide his back feet to stop. It was all done with just shifting weight to balance with him and taping him on the side and the neck. He became so sensitive that it became difficult to get people who wanted to ride him to understand that everything they did meant something to him. To get him to go forward you never kicked him, just a shift in weight, a touch on his neck with the reins and a quite lets go. A kick to him meant to take off at full speed, which left some people who wouldn't listen, laying on the ground. I taught him to ground tie, which is to stay and not move if the rider gets off, pretty important for a trail horse because sometimes you fall off and if the horse decides to leave its a problem. Anyway, there is a huge amount of communication that goes on with a good horse and rider, only a small part of that is verbal. It is true body language.
So when I came home from college and moved back to my parents while I regrouped and looked for work my dad commented: "I don't get it, other people go to college and they come back married or something. You come back with a couple of horses, why does someone who has never lived in the country do that?" The short answer to that is that they taught me how to live with the living world instead of trying to dominate it which is what many people try to do today. And that is why they don't understand cats or any of the rest of the living things around them for that matter. The only good animal is a dead animal mentality is part of the reason for the environmental disaster that is unfolding around us. People view living things as enemies and the living world as something to be subdued rather than to be lived with. Many of them don't just hate cats, they hate all living things. They have sterile lives with nothing living around them. And a lot of the time they can't even tolerate each other either.

 

[di and bob]

I think a lot of it is that cats are not submissive like dogs. A dog lives to please it's master, a cat is it's own master. I witnessed my 6 week old kitten get run over by a car that came up over the curb to do so. I was standing in the yard feet away. Since then I have seen countless cars swerve to hit a cat, and have buried so many......yesterday even, at church of all places, I was asking around to try to find a home for a spayed female that showed up at a house we are remodeling, and one women stated "the only good cat is a dead one", I was speechless. It forever changed the way I think about her. I have said more times then I can count, I don't particularly care for smelly, barking dogs, but I would NEVER want one hurt or dead. This is always after the person states their dislike of cats. I have had many dogs in my life and have loved every one of them. I think I came to prefer cats when I saw how persecuted they were and no one seemed to care. My soul truly cries for all the homeless, the unloved, the unwanted. One thing too I have noticed, rural communities seem to have the the most hatred/indifference to cats, and people who are raised by cat haters tend to be that way too. I truly don't understand it, I love cats, and prefer them, but I don't HATE dogs and want them dead like so many I see.What makes them this way?