Ever since I was a little kid, I noticed a peculiar gendering of dogs and cats in just about every single aspect of children’s products. One extremely specific memory I have is my mom, my sister and I shopping at our local Gymboree and my eye catching a pair of thick, crochet slipper-socks with a cat face sewn on the front. These socks were pink, white, stripey and found in the girl’s section of the small store. As a thoroughly dog-obsessed kid, I was disheartened to not see dog faces on any of these socks. However, once I wandered over to the boy’s side of the store, I found exactly what I was after.
The dog socks were navy blue, black and red and planted firmly at the opposite end of the Gymboree from the cat socks, despite the items being nearly identical. My mom bought me the dog socks anyway because I wasn’t going to let the gendering of slippers stop me from obtaining another dog-themed item from my collection. This memory really stuck with me because who decided that cats were for girls and dogs were for boys?
What little me didn’t realize is that not only is the needless gendering of children’s clothing and toys a very rampant and bizarre problem, but the specific gendering of cats and dogs has some actual social psychology behind it. Now that I’ve grown up a little bit and, long-story short, changed my animal preferences, I identify strongly as an angry, feminist, crazy cat lady–a stereotype that has gained traction online again due to that now infamous quote from Vice President JD Vance.
Crazy cat ladies have been made fun of as single, child-free women in the media for decades as a bit that is insulting to cats and women alike. The cat lady cannot find companionship in her life, either platonic or romantic, so she is forced to settle on a cat collection–creatures that, according to stereotype, are cold and unloving.
The cat lady dates back centuries before any corny comedy shows picked up on them, but the purpose behind this stereotype has always been the same: to shame unmarried, childless women and paint them as devious and untrustworthy, as depicted by the equally devious cat.
Cats were actually commonly portrayed as feminine deities of women, childbirth and domesticity by cultures like the Egyptians and the Chinese, but when the Roman Catholic Church emerged onto the scene in the Middle Ages, all non-Christian god-like figures were declared evil and Satanic, so cats as a species suffered this stigmatization as well.
This carries into the era of witch hunting, a practice that cemented cats and witches as being true partners in evil, anti-Christian crime. It’s extremely rare to see a witch without her cat by her side. Fan favorites like Sabrina Spellman, Hermione Granger and even the Sanderson sisters all have a cat intertwined with their story in one way or another.
“In these witch trials, prosecutors would find the accused to be living with a small household pet, such as a cat,” said writer Charlie Burgess for History Bombs. “Many believed that these animals shared a supernatural bond with the accused women, and texts often described them as ‘demons’ or ‘devils.’ Some accused witches even claimed that these animals were carrying out their evil bidding on their behalf.”
Witches were often depicted as ugly, lonely outcasts, which instilled the fear of becoming either of those things into young women to encourage them to marry and have babies, protecting the nuclear family. This also explains why cats were often used during the suffrage movement to belittle the women leading the charge by comparing them to a meek, whiny animal.
“The ‘cat lady’ trope took off during women’s suffrage movements,” said Cally Chisholm on Good Faith Media. “Anti-suffragette propaganda included cats in its imagery to ‘represent the “loss” of a man’s role in the family if women got the right to vote.’ This propaganda reinforces the stereotype by suggesting women own cats and other pets as a way to cope with loneliness caused by independence, career ambition, singleness and childlessness. It presumes the only way to feel safe and secure is to be protected by marriage.”
Historically negative perceptions of cats remain to this day, with a 2024 WebMD survey citing that while 46% of people identified as exclusively dog people, only 12% identified as exclusively cat people. Even though they are the two most typical household pets, it makes zero sense to pit them against each other so frequently because they are very different animals.
Dogs are easy–they love everyone the second they meet them and will never leave their owners alone. Since dogs have so much unconditional affection to give, cats, by mere comparison, have the reputation of being mean and indifferent to the humans that love them. Anyone who’s actually ever owned a cat knows this stereotype is wildly unfair. Even though she doesn’t jump on me and lick my face, my cat always runs to the door to greet my family when we come home.
Cats require a little bit of time to display their affection, and I often find that people who speak with disdain towards cats just don’t have the patience to grow a bond with one. I believe that growing a bond with a cat is far more reflective of what it’s like to build a human connection than it is when growing a bond with a dog.
Most people need time to warm up to new friends before immediately joining each other’s wedding party, so why should we expect all animals to express instant devotion just because dogs do? If the fact that cats take time to love people is also what causes them to be compared to women, I think that’s a huge compliment to women’s ability to assess people’s character and trust their judgement before rushing into any sort of new relationship.
Additionally, if the survival instincts of women cause us to be perceived as cold or “cat-like” by an unwanted pursuer, then that’s exactly what we should be. Men cannot understand why they wouldn’t be instantly adored the second they walk into any room just for being men, whereas women have to approach the simplest errands with their car keys between their fingers (almost like cat claws, right?).
Women have no choice but to go through life like cats because men have the privilege to go through life like dogs, and I have to assume that anyone, specifically any men, who are cruel towards cats also feel cruelly towards women who don’t immediately worship them for existing.
“May I take this moment to remind you that society also likes to tell us that women are ‘complicated’ creatures, and that men will never really know what’s going on in their heads?” said Soaliha Iqbal for Pedestrian TV. “That women’s responses to violation are confusing, and that it’s not men’s fault for violating women’s boundaries because women just give mixed signals? When actually, maybe, if you just took the time to talk to women and get to know them as individuals, we wouldn’t have this issue?”
Even within the cat community, misogyny is present. A TikTok trend from a while back had users pitting their male and female cats against one another. The male cat was always a sweet, cuddly angel and the girl cat was a sassy, chaotic bully. While cats of different sexes do tend to have different personalities, I shouldn’t have to reiterate my point about people not taking the time to properly endear themselves to a cat to explain why this trend is nonsense and contributes to stereotypes that cats are fixed as being hostile and aggressive.
For as long as men have had their hound dogs beside them during hunting trips, women have been brewing potions with their cats. The bond between a man and a dog can be solidified in five minutes, but the bond between a woman and her cat will be an effortful but rewarding journey. No offense to women or men who are just normal dog people–this isn’t about you–but to anyone out there who speaks viciously of cats, maybe you should ask yourself why you think you are entitled to the immediate, unconditional devotion from people and animals alike.
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