MikeLigalig.com

“It is a daily struggle,” she tweeted, “to not buy more cats.”

The longstanding, irrational bias against cats stems from archaic views about women.

Their owners are more likely to be single women than single men — according to the American Pet Products Association, 11 percent of cats live with single women but only 2 percent live with single men — and so they have become addendums to the spinster stereotype.



We seem unable to contemplate the thought of a woman enjoying the sweet company of a cat, without assuming it is a hallmark of a sad single existence. The words woman and cat don’t conjure up thoughts of a glamorous fast life, but pajamas, Chinese takeout, bowls of Ben & Jerry’s, couches and DVDs.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=79788.0

It should be pointed out that many men also love cats. Ernest Hemingway was mad about polydactyl, or six-toed cats, and kittens played with Winston Churchill’s newspaper as he read, and sat alongside him during meals.





Ricky Gervais frequently tweets about his cat, Ollie; he even aspires to the cat-lady life, telling HBO: “My evening usually consists of sitting on the couch in my pajamas from 6 p.m. with the cat on my lap watching trash TV.”

Ricky, you may join the sisterhood.



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=79788.0

Ms. Swift, who faces a constant barrage of questions about boyfriends and being single, mocked the cat lady stereotype to a reporter, joking that if she does not find a man by 30, she will naturally be scared, housebound and “surrounded by cats. So many cats, they’ve divided themselves up into armies and she wanders around lint-rolling the couch that no one’s going to sit on because she’s afraid to have people over...” Yeah, right.



This generation of young female celebrities is refusing to be portrayed as on a perpetual, sad manhunt. Asked at an event what she looked for in a man, Rihanna tartly and perfectly responded: “I’m not looking for a man. Let’s start there.” Katy Perry told Rolling Stone that she would happily have a child on her own: “I don’t need a dude.” Ms. Swift has become defined by her posse of female friends — as well as her feline companions.



Part of the appeal of cats is that they are independent and discerning. They have few needs. They come to you when they want; you can’t force them, or cajole them. They can be fiercely affectionate. They are gloriously indifferent. Cats don’t pretend to like you, and don’t care if you like them.

Let’s start there.

Julia Baird is a contributing opinion writer and a television presenter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She is working on a biography of Queen Victoria.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter.

A version of this op-ed appears in print on March 29, 2015, on page SR10 of the New York edition with the headline: Stand Up for Your Cats

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=79788.0

Oh hell yeah!!!!

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=79788.0