Why do some people have an irrational fear or dislike of cats?

I see what you mean, dogs get more of the good press. Did you know more cats are owned as pets then dogs, but there are more dog owning families, the reason more cats are owned is that cat owners are more likely to own more than one (like me, I have three). There was one cat movie by Disney, Aristocats, the other animal films have mixed cats and dogs like Oliver and Company. And in Lady and The Tramp the cats are the bad guys.

I have cats because I think dogs are too needy and well cats are so cute, entertaining and loving. My thought has always been a dog will love you just because but if you win the affection of a cat well then that is something. I also work quite a bit and my cats are easy to leave all day (although they would prefer I be home).

When I worked I always had cats because they could be left on their own without any problems. Dogs are so much more work! Now I no longer work and I still have cats because I live in a trailer park that charges an extra $20 per month in lot rent for each dog and I can't afford that. Besides, I can't really walk a dog anymore with my disabilities...cats are a perfect fit for me.

I am not a big fan of amphibians and reptiles, I personally like things with fur. But I also know a girl who is afraid of all animals because of the control issue. They move and startle her, I supposed she has never been around animals much. And those people I can forgive. Its the one who just think cats are evil because that bug me.

I have watched people for years, I'm more likely to watch people than interact first and I've really noticed that people that hate/fear cats are controlling people. People that hate/fear all animals are just afraid. My roomie's brother hates me because I'll tell him what an a$$ he is, tell her dad too...

I think you may have hit the nail on the head there, elic. My dad hated cats so much he claimed to be allergic to justify his aversion. At the same time he could never talk to us like human beings. He always had to be in control of any talk we had and if we started exerting our own personalities, he would throw in a stupid play on words joke to throw us off balance and prove how "smart" he was. He basically alienated me completely and even when I went home to reconcile with him, he still could not bring himself to discuss our differences with me like one adult to another. It was sad because I knew he was dying at the time and sincerely wanted to heal our relationship before he did. But he wouldn't have any of it.

I guess those are all good reasons. But why do people judge all cats because of one bad cat, I mean I would hate to for all my cats to be judge on the behavior of one.

Seriously, I knew I liked the Irish for some reason.

The best that I could say is "Beware of people who dislike cats." -- Irish proverb

Well personally, I would rather be a cat than a dog. And I have heard of some cats protecting their owners. Besides cat provide other services such as keeping away mice and snakes.

Hello cleverson99 Me as well, I prefer dogs than cats, but cats are adorable to me as well, I always stay at the pet shop and happily look at those cats inside the cage, but I just won't buy one for myself, I have a pug and maybe that's why I don't think I would buy a cat at this moment. When I was small, I hate animals and found they are quite wild and would hurt me, after I met my pug I changed a lot. As for the cats, when I was small, I felt fear when I saw their paws, it seemed like their nails would cut me.

I can understand how some people might be afraid of a Cat's claws.

I guess that makes sense. Glad I was raised by my mom, she grew up on the farm and allowed us to have as many different pets as we could in the city.

Most of the time when my cats scratch me its because I have done something to them to deserve or they are scared. You do have to be careful about that cat scratch fever but like alaskanray said its rare, I have been scratch many, many times. You just have to learn how to handle cats and then usually you have no problems.

Hi alaskanray, I understand your boss, it is because he has a dog at the first place, and he found it was the cat making all this accident happened. I heard about that disease about how they can cause to pregnant women, however, just two weeks ago, I read from a newspaper that a article was telling us, the Toxoplasma gondii in the cat's waste would affect our women only after it places the litter box for more than a hour, I mean the article was telling if we keep the litter box very clear and tidy the waste almost immediately after the cat left it in the litter box. It is indeed a fear of cats deep inside my heart, when I was small, I have watched a scar on a pretty girl's face, it seemed to be permanent, and since that moment I told myself, never touch cats if I don't know whether the cats like the stroke from others.

I gave a cat to my boss one time and the poor thing got frightened by their dog and scratched her granddaughter's face trying to get away. The woman freaked! She took her granddaughter to the emergency room, for heaven's sake, and called me to take the cat back. Some folks just have no sense about cats. The only thing you need to worry about if you're pregnant is that you shouldn't clean the litter box. There is a disease that cats can carry that can cause birth defects in unborn babies. But as long as you're not cleaning the litter box, you can have cats during pregnancy, no problem. I have a friend who can't have a cat anymore because she got cat scratch fever, which is a viral infection. Like herpes, it never goes away, just goes dormant and if she has a cat it can become active very easily. As long as you clean any scratches right away, though, this very rare disease need never be a threat. I had a cat bite clear through my thumbnail one time and I can't count how many times I've been scratched over the years. I have enormous respect for my cats and their weapons and have learned growing up with cats to be careful with them...especially if they are strange cats that I don't know. I love my cats, though, and love my work with the local stray and feral cats.

I know how you feel. I am not exactly dying to have children and people think that is weird especially when I say my cats are likely to be the only children I have. My family tries to convince me that I want kids but since the likelyhood that I will be married again is very low, I don't think kids are in my future and I am really just happy with my cats.

I say especially guys because you hear about cat ladies but not cat men? And most of the people I have talked to that hate cats irrationally (and by that I mean they have no fur phobia, and no bad experience with cats they just hate them for no good reason) have been guys. And all my friends who have cats happen to be girls. So that is the trend I see. I am glad there are some guys out there who like cats as well. I have a friend who dislikes all animals because they startle her when they move.

LOL...Any time I hear my daughter yell, "Oh, I could KILL them!!!!" I know our cats have gotten into her yarn again. They will bat at that ball until it is completely unraveled and the yarn is spread from front to back of my trailer and back again! I have to laugh because I'll calmly suggest that if she wants we can always get rid of them all and of course she says NO WAY. LOL Aren't they just wonderful pets? You know what they say..."My dog thinks he's human; my cat thinks he's God!"

hmm, I didn't know there were cultures who didn't like them. I have three and they have never really broken anything of note. They actually have destroyed less items then my ex-husband did--he was terrible broke everything and he had no regard for my stuff or how much it would cost to replace the items he broke. Its funny that my cats were more house broken than him! I keep my yarn in a plastic tub so there is no chance of kitties in the yarn, because they do love that yarn. And I am allergic to cats and just choose to take medication and keep the cats. I love them so much. Shooting strays is terrible, I wish people wouldn't harm cats, cause sometimes the stray they are killing is someone's pet, it happened to my family, someone killed our outdoor kitties several years ago.

I guess it could be. If you were raised around pets, then you are more likely to like and have pets when you are older. Makes sense. And there are a lot of myths and bad press against cats that probably color peoples' thinking.

I have a friend right now who is pregnant and people are freaking out about her cleaning the litter box and some of her friends/family want her to get rid of the cat! She is livid about all the well meaning advice people are giving her about her cat. People just repeat those old wives tales and think they are helping.

It is terrible that such a movie influence you so much to a dislike of cats. Your grandfather's actions are not in any way funny. It is just sad for black cats and perhaps the people who had those cats as owners. I hopefully will be able to adopt a black cat in my lifetime because I know they get a bad wrap and are often euthanized because of the bad PR they get.

The reason that their pee smells is that in the wild cats use urine to mark their territory and if they are house cats hopefully they are peeing in the litterbox consistently! And the rubbing has nothing to do with sexuality. It is also a scent mark from the scent glands in their face. Their rubbing you is just a greeting. The better sense of self is one of the reasons I like cats.